The etymological deconstruction of the East Asian sport Sepak Takraw, literally ‘kick’ and ‘ball’, does not do justice to what is possibly the most exciting football oriented sport ever invented.
Despite its superficial comparison with volley ball, Sepak Takraw is significantly older than its hand based cousin, dating back to the 15th century but only gained popularity outside of aristocratic circles during the 16th century.
Subsequently, the game is ingrained in East Asian culture. In Bangkok, murals painted on the walls of Wat Phra Kaew depict the Hindu god Hanuman playing the game with a troop of monkeys.
While the ancient version was played without a net, modern Sepak Takraw resembles volley ball with one key distinction: players must only use their feet, knees and chest to move a rattan ball from their side of the court to their opponents.
Teams are comprised of three players with specific roles; at the back stands the Tekong who is largely responsible for serving and returning serve. At the front stand the ‘inside left’ and ‘inside right’ who are responsible for more of the spectacular acrobatics.
A game is competed in through a ‘best of three sets’ format, with one set consisting of 21 points. The first side to reach 21 points is awarded the set, however sides must win by two points to be awarded the set.
The game, however, has a number of variations throughout East Asian.
In Myanmar it is known as chin lone, and is considered more of an art as there is often no opposing team, and the point is to keep the ball aloft gracefully and interestingly. Interesting yes, but it is no Sepak Takraw.
Chin lone’s more competitive cousin may be one of the most enthralling spectacles of any sport to date.
To serve, players literally round-house kick the rattan into the opposition court in a move that Chuck Norris himself would be proud of.
Following the serve, brilliant acrobatic chaos ensues with teams attempting to spike the ball back across the net at their opposition. Dissimilar to traditional volley ball though, every virtually every spike that is made is a flying back-flip (or flip variation) kick combination.
The only word that can describe it is ‘amazing’, truly amazing.
The sport however, does have a large international following and a growing fan base in the United States and Canada.
In all honesty, if ninjas were to play a sport, this would be it.
Watch the video below to see some of Sepak Tekraw’s spectacular highlights.
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