Kick it over the net!

December 10, 2006 5:43 PM

The Thai sport of Sepak Takraw is similar to volleyball but players may not use their hands. It's like the best parts of volleyball, soccer, hacky sack, gymnastics and Tae Kwon Do rolled into one sport. Each team may use a combination of feet, knees, head or shoulders to pass the ball three times before spiking it back over the net.
posted by freshwater_pr0n (14 comments total)

My brother just got back from Thailand (lived there for two years). I'll definetely have to ask him about this cool sport.
posted by dropkick at 6:02 PM on December 10, 2006

Interesting! Cf also juega de pelota
posted by IndigoJones at 6:19 PM on December 10, 2006

totally interesting, thanks. any links to video of the player Suebsak Phunsueb's "horse kick" serve? i couldn't google 'er up.
posted by facetious at 6:28 PM on December 10, 2006

It's played with an awesome woven bamboo ball, anyone who's played haki in a circle or kicked around a soccer ball will love this sport.
posted by furtive at 6:33 PM on December 10, 2006

Facetious, it was a struggle to find enough good english-language pages to make an FPP. If you have any good links to add, please kick them down!
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 6:47 PM on December 10, 2006

See also footvolley.
posted by hydrophonic at 7:09 PM on December 10, 2006

i just saw this being played on the beach in rio de janeiro.
posted by brandz at 7:28 PM on December 10, 2006

Where would one find clubs by region or state that play this sport? I've google'd with no luck. I'd specifically be looking for groups in FL.
posted by photoslob at 7:53 PM on December 10, 2006

Wikipedia's got a good run-down on it, and it should be pointed out that this isn't just a Thai sport -- many Malaysians and Indonesians will argue that it was invented in their country. There's fierce competition between these countries whenever the national teams meet up, as they do at the Asian Games.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 9:00 PM on December 10, 2006

See also the non-competitive Burmese sport of Chinlone, previously discussed here.
posted by homunculus at 10:21 PM on December 10, 2006

Jesus, seeing all those crazy acrobatic shots of dudes kicking the ball over the net, I can't believe this sport isn't also called "Breakneck Ball." Amazing stuff.
posted by antifuse at 3:05 AM on December 11, 2006

A really stupendous and beautiful sport. It is surprising that countries with such an old tradition like Takraw and Chinlone are not better soccer/football. Foot skills as those demonstrated in Sepak, once translated to soccer/football, would be quite invaluable, one would think?
posted by Azaadistani at 3:23 AM on December 11, 2006

Aha - I saw this on a non-English sport channel in a hotel TV in Prague recently, and couldn't figure out what it was, where it was from, or anything... cool stuff!
posted by Chunder at 4:30 AM on December 11, 2006

The video above is a pretty "tame" version, as compared to the competitive ones played internationally. I tried looking for clips on the recent Asian Games, but couldn't find any. Anyway I saw those on TV - and the moves were breathtaking. Like a combination between acrobatics and soccer/football.

Usually Thailand and Malaysia are the strongest teams, but increasingly - other South East Asian countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar have gotten stronger too. Definitely a sport to watch out for - it's quite a surprise that it isn't anymore popular considering how exciting the game can get.
posted by arrowhead at 8:42 PM on December 11, 2006