Takraw (Rattan Ball Game)The game makes use of a hollow, loosely woven rattan ball which is kept aloft as long as possible by a circle of players who can use their feet, knees, elbows, and heads but not their hands. Footwork is the secret of the superior player. The game is common in various versions in most parts of Southeast Asia. But perhaps nowhere is it played with the enthusiasm and vigour as in Thailand where it is seen throughout the country in the courtyards of Wats and on fairgrounds. There are certain basic rules to takraw as a competition sport but it is often played without scoring and the participants just enjoy putting on a good show. To the Western observer, it seems to be similar to volleyball yet only one takraw version (called net takraw or sepak takraw) has a similar game philosophy - to hit the ground in the field of the opposing team. In most other versions, the scoring is rather similar to gymnastics. Points are given for the skill with which feats are performed. The more complicated and impressive the feats the better the score (or, if a score is not being kept, the better the audience’s reaction; Thai spectators can be pretty demanding).The intricacy and speed are often astonishing, and there is a wide range of defined kicks. Among them are the sole kick (using the arch or sole of the foot), the instep kick, the knee kick, the shin kick, the shoulder kick and the head kick. One of the most amazing is the cross-legged jump kick. The player crosses one leg over the other and leaps up to kick the ball with the instep of the crossed over foot. Another version is the cross-legged knee kick. In this one the player crosses one leg over the other above the knee and then leaps into the air kicking the ball with his crossed over knee. The most common version of the game is circle takraw (takraw wong), The ball is passed from player to player and each is given points for style, consistency and retrieval of difficult balls. After a set time or a set number of throws, the highest score determines the winner. The most ordinary version of the game is tossing takraw, which has far fewer rules: the point is simply to see how many times the ball can be hit aloft by the same player. Some can hit the ball from positions, which call for stooping or lying down. A good player is able to keep the ball aloft for ten minutes, and if others join him the group should manage to keep it in play for about an hour. One of the most difficult versions of the game is called hoop takraw (takraw lod huang). Hoop takraw seems to be the most popular version in Thailand. A team usually consists of seven players (never less than six) who stand at the perimeter of a circle. Hoops are suspended over the centre and the players must hit the ball through them during a 30-minute period. Successive teams try to surpass the previous score. One of the best scoring feats in hoop takraw is when a player makes a hoop of his arms behind his back and kicks the ball with his heels through that hoop in such a way that it also passes through the hoop suspended in the air.As mentioned above, net takraw (sepak takraw) is somewhat like volleyball and it requires a similar net and court. Lots are drawn beforehand to determine placement of the players and the first serve. Near the net, the ball is then tossed to a team-mate in the middle of the court, which kicks it into the opposite camp with the aim that the ball touches the ground there. The game proceeds at an incredible pace as the ball is returned almost instantaneously. Some players wear athletic shoes, while others are barefoot. Net takraw is played in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and other international competitions. The Thais introduced net (sepak) takraw to the SEA Games while the Burmese introduced a variation called imitation takraw, in which a player takes a particular position to toss the ball and all other players must imitate that position. The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country where takraw is practically unknown. Kite FlyingThis is a competitive sport and Thailand is probably the only country in the world were competitions are fought with two types of kites. One depicts a male, the other a female. The female kite, Pakpao, is diamond-shaped, 0.76m long and usually has a long tail. It is normally just flown by one person. Being light, the kite can move swiftly when properly handled. Chula, the male kite, is 1.5m or more in length and shaped like a five-pointed star. Chula can be of enormous size requiring up to 20 men to send it aloft and manoeuvre it. Bangkok’s Phramane Ground (Sanam Luang) near the Grand Palace is the most prominent site for kite fighting competitions. By tournament rules a minimum of two Chulas and four Pakpaos must compete in a match. A Chula team consists of the captain, one or two handlers who fly the kites and a team of youths who run with the string when the captain gives the order. The Chula kite’s battle equipment includes a number of Champahs - strips of split bamboo formed into grappling hooks; these are spaced along the string at intervals specified by the rules. Chula kites are organized in size divisions with a minimum of three or a maximum of five Champahs depending on the size of the kite. The Pakpao uses the long starched cloth tail as a snare, together with a formidable semi-circular string loop hanging from the string that flies it. There are around fifty rules governing contests between Pakpao and Chula teams. One of them requires the giant Chula to keep within the corridor of attack allocated to it in Pakpao territory. Contests are often timed. The object of the air battle is to force the opponents into each other’s territorial ground-space. A skilled Chula team can capture two Pakpaos in a single sortie. The rules only allow a maximum of two Pakpao on each sortie, for which the Chula is scored twenty points; should it bring back three, the sortie is considered a draw. It must not be thought that Chula is always the winner. The Pakpao can be tough fighters and when two Pakpaos make a combined attack on Chula it frequently crashes in Pakpao territory. To be ensnared in a single Pakpao’s loop can be sufficient cause for his downfall. If a Chula caught in a Pakpao loop can still land in its own territory the Chula is the winner just as if it were the Chula entangling the Pakpao. The Pakpao only scores if the Chula comes down in Pakpao territory.In case a Pakpao body is lost but the tail remains on the Chula line or the tail is lost but the body remains, the Chula kite landing in its own territory is still considered the winner. During competitions, the Pakpao kites usually try to attack the Chula kite that has invaded their territory from high above. As soon as the two kites are entangled, the Chula team always has a chance to make it home. The Chula captain will blow his whistle as soon as the entanglement happens, and his team of youths will run with the line to assure just this: coming down in Chula territory. Aside from the fighting kites, Thais make and fly all sorts of other kites in hundreds of different shapes: owls, fish, faces, serpents and so on, ranging in size from a few centimetres to more than 7 meters. Fish Fighting This is another unique sport of Thailand and some of the neighbouring countries (the designation ’sport’ may be as wrong as in the case of dog races in that there is no direct human achievement involved). Fish fighting can be seen only in the provinces as it has been banned in Bangkok. Fighting fish breeders bring their champions, about the size of a middle finger, in little bottles of water, each in one bottle. Before a contest, the prospective adversaries are placed alongside each other in their bottles so that they may take the measure of each other and work up animosity in the process. Bets are based on the form and reaction shown by the fish.When fighting is agreed upon, the fish are scooped out of their bottles and carefully put into a large tall jar. Coming face to face, the opponents transform themselves into beautiful creatures, their colours deepening, their gills quivering and widening, their fins and tails spreading out. Every part of the body becomes vibrant with colour. They lose no time in attacking each other, biting fiercely and cruelly. With mouths locked for minutes or sometimes even hours, they flit up and down the water in the bottle, manoeuvring for positions. Parts of gills, fins, tails and scales are continually chewed off. This is a fight to death and a drawn fight is rare. During the mortal combat, enthusiasts cast their bets basing their calculations on the amount and severity of the injury inflicted and received by both sides. A kind of fighting fish called lukpah is indigenous to the ponds, canals and marshes of Thailand. When caught, it is put into a bottle of pond water. Only the male fights. It is distinguished from the female by its more brilliant colours, longer tails and larger fins. However, the lukpah is now only seldom used in fish fights as has been replaced by another fish called lukmoh, which reportedly doesn’t know the meaning of defeat.