Spotted this in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated. Brief mention of the semifinal of this sport played in Asia called Sepak Takraw, which is a hybrid of Soccer and Volleyball. Never heard of it before, looks interesting. Just thought I would share. Here is a URL that includes pictures, history of the game, and an explanation of the rules: http://www.gajahmas.com/hisraga.html
It's basically a different version of that Brazilian game. I've talked about it before, I'm not sure which was invented first.
I saw some of it when I lived in Indonesia. The guys at the local karate club played it and they were pretty impressive. Unlike the game they play in Brazil, the net is at badminton height and the ball is ball is made of woven rattan. As I remember, was close in size to that of a #3 (FIFA scale) ball.
Three players a side. Points scored similar to volleyball/badminton - that is , must win service to score points. (Tho I don't remember if this rule has been changed in volleyball..) The sport originated in malaysia. Translated to english, Sepak takraw simply means "kick rattan ball". The only major news to have risen from this sport was from a few years back, when a woman wanted to break into this male-dominated sport but was denied. Apparently she was good enough to give her male counterparts a run for their money...
It is always refreshing to have reminders of your own limited athletic abilities...thanks for the pics.
I used to play this a little. We used a plastic ball instead of rattan though. I definitely became a much better bicycle-kicker, but the flexibility necessary to really play is ridiculous, as you can see from the pictures. The guy who taught me to play was from Thailand, and could jump up and kick a basketball net with his foot even though he was about 5'6". He was not very patient with me, and I felt like I had zero skill with that ball. I think that he just wanted someone to play with, and he thought that maybe because I was a soccer player I would learn quickly. Ha. The basic elements aren't too hard, but when your foot has to be higher than a five foot net to make a real shot, it gets frustrating. He would demonstrate these shots, and I would just laugh. Not to mention the fact that you are essentially landing on your head repeatedly (at least I did). Also, that ball is the perfect size to inflict serious testicular damage, especially when some crazy Thailander is kicking it at you upside down from five feet away at a hundred miles an hour. You think that you are protecting yourself until the ball bounces up underneath your coverage and castrates you. Forget about it when you are trying to block (which I could not do anyway). You have to raise your nuts just above net level, which is exactly where the other guy wants to kick the ball. No matter where it hits you, it stings like hell though.
I saw this a couple times when I had ESPn Int'l. It's absolutely amazing to watch. The skill the guys show is truly amazing.