Don't Try This At Home: Sepak Takraw May Be The Toughest Sport On The Planet
How about a little volleyball this summer?
How about not using your hands or arms?
Say what?
Say hello to Sepak Takraw, a sport so impossible that a pickup game between you and your friends would almost undoubtedly end in a 0-0 tie.
You can only use your legs, chest and head to touch the ball, which means unless you have Abby Wambach's forehead, you're going to have to execute some bicycle kicks.
The sport is popular all over Asia, and the name is a neat combination of a Malay word "Sepak" -- or "kick" -- and a Thai word "Takraw" -- which roughly translates to "ball." (The ball usually is made of rubber or rattan.) Takraw is not too big in the U.S., though a group of college students in California organized a team in the mid-1980s. There was even a U.S. contingent at the World Championships in 1989. The Americans didn't fare all that well. And can you blame them?
If you want to read more about Sepak Takraw, head over to Out of Bounds or check out this Yahoo! Sports story on up-and-coming hockey star Andreas Athanasiou. And yes, he's a Canadian of Greek heritage who loves this Asian sport. What did you expect?
How about not using your hands or arms?
Say what?
Say hello to Sepak Takraw, a sport so impossible that a pickup game between you and your friends would almost undoubtedly end in a 0-0 tie.
You can only use your legs, chest and head to touch the ball, which means unless you have Abby Wambach's forehead, you're going to have to execute some bicycle kicks.
The sport is popular all over Asia, and the name is a neat combination of a Malay word "Sepak" -- or "kick" -- and a Thai word "Takraw" -- which roughly translates to "ball." (The ball usually is made of rubber or rattan.) Takraw is not too big in the U.S., though a group of college students in California organized a team in the mid-1980s. There was even a U.S. contingent at the World Championships in 1989. The Americans didn't fare all that well. And can you blame them?
If you want to read more about Sepak Takraw, head over to Out of Bounds or check out this Yahoo! Sports story on up-and-coming hockey star Andreas Athanasiou. And yes, he's a Canadian of Greek heritage who loves this Asian sport. What did you expect?
No comments:
Post a Comment