There are many sports that share similar concepts or qualities and Sepak Takraw is an example of a sport that has a lot in common with volleyball. This sport is native to Southeast Asia but is growing in popularity in other parts of the world.
Sepak Takraw (or kick volleyball) is a 2-on-2, or 3-on-3 sport that uses a net similar to badminton, where the players use everything except their hands to keep a rattan ball in the air. It is similar to volleyball in that the goal is to keep the ball from hitting the ground on your side of the court and you want to play the ball back to your opponent’s side of the court within 3 hits.
When you learn about the history of volleyball, it was invented as a combination of different sports. William Morgan took ideas and concepts from basketball, baseball, badminton, tennis, and handball to merge into what became volleyball today. So it’s not surprising to look around the world of sports and see that volleyball also has variations that share many characteristics. Today we have beach volleyball, snow volleyball, CROSSNET, and in this article, we explore Sepak Takraw.
The Mesmerizing Part of Sepak Takraw
The mind-blowing part of the sport is the way these athletes spike the ball. To watch them do it live is just inspiring! It’s especially impressive considering the average height of the athletes is pretty short (at least from an American’s perspective).
This video gives you a taste of the gameplay. It’s hard to put into words just how gifted these athletes are!
What Is The Real Name?
This sport is actually known by several names depending on the region of the world where it’s being played. Here are the traditional names by which it is called by various countries.
| COUNTRY | NAME OF THE SPORT |
| Singapore | Sepak Takraw |
| Indonesia | Sepak Takraw |
| Malaysia | Sepak Raga or Sepak Takraw |
| Philippines | Sipa or Sipa Takraw |
| Thailand | Takraw |
| Myanmar (Burma) | Chin Lone or Pike Kyaw Chin |
| Cambodia | Sei Dak |
| Vietnam | Calameae |
| Laos | Kataw |
Though it’s known by these different names, it is most widely known internationally by the name Sepak Takraw. The word “sepak” is the Malay word for kick. “Takraw” is the Thai word for a woven rattan ball. So the name literally means, kick ball.
In Myanmar, the game is viewed less as a sport and almost more of an art form. Often, it’s not played with two teams, but one group working to keep the ball in the air with creative and interesting moves. If that sounds strange, think of back a generation ago when there was a popular pass-time called hacky sack, it really would have been quite similar.
My Adventure Into Takraw
Years ago I was fortunate enough to travel to Thailand twice and one of the amazing things that caught my attention while visiting there was this sport that I had never seen before. While traveling into villages far away from the city, we saw young boys playing on a dirt road with what looked like a ball made of sticks and a rope for a net. The rectangle of the court was a heel-drawn line in the sand.
What fascinated me was how quick, versatile and agile these kids were with their feet. In American sports, the majority of our activity is controlled with our hands, while most of the world is drawn to soccer or football (not American football). Many American athletes find it easy to transition from one sport to another being generally athletic, but often feel awkward when it comes to primarily using our feet.
Our guide that day was a local Christian friend named Sampong who happened to love the sport. He saw that I was interested and smiled quietly, and began hatching a plan to convert me. “Tonight we play Takraw with friends.”
Over the next few weeks, I had many opportunities to play. It turns out that a 6’3″ tall guy doesn’t have to be too skilled with his feet, because using your head to spike the ball or your shoulder to block comes pretty easy when you’re so much taller than the average players.
Sepak Takraw’s Basic Rules Of The Game
Sepak Takraw is an official sport that is part of the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games. It is governed internationally, by the ISTAF, the International Sepak Takraw Federation.
General Regulations for Sepak Takraw
Within the rules for competitive play, there are a variety of rules depending on the tournament, the league, the organization and the level of play. There are two types of play: “regu” and “doubles regu.” Regu is for 3-on-3 and doubles regu is 2-on-2. On rare occasions you may see a “quadrant” game that is 4-on-4.
The court dimensions are the same as a doubles badminton court, 44 feet long by 20 feet wide (13 m X 6 m). There is a centerline dividing each half of the court. There is a server’s circle in the middle of each side of the court, and a quarter circle in the corners where the centerline meets the sidelines.
The net is 5 feet high (1.52 m), again exactly the same as a badminton net.
The game is played using a ball called a rattan ball. Traditionally this was made out of reeds woven together. In today’s world that’s been replaced by a hard, synthetic rubberized plastic. It has enough flexibility to bounce, but it’s tough enough to really be uncomfortable when you’re hitting it with any part of your body, especially your head.
The balls used for men and women are just slightly different. The ball used by women is just slightly larger and about an ounce lighter.
Serving Rules In Sepak Takraw
When serving, the server stands with their non-serving foot inside the circle. Their teammates must be inside the quarter circles. One of the teammates tosses the ball to the server, who serves the ball over the net while keeping their one foot planted inside the circle.
Whichever team wins the serve from the coin toss gets to serve 3 times regardless of who wins or loses the points. Then possession of the serves alternates back and forth between teams, each team getting 3 at a time.
If the points come to deuce at 20-20, then the teams alternate serving one point at a time.
The game is won by the team to reach 21 points first, as long as they have a 2 point lead. If the game continues, the first team to 25 wins.
The ball may hit the net on the serve, just as in volleyball, it’s in play if it crosses into the opponent’s territory.
Matches are typically played to a best of 3 games.
Sepak Takraw Gameplay Rules
After the service is in play, the players may move around their side of the court freely, there aren’t rules limiting who can attack or defend.
Players are not allowed to cross over or under the net except with the follow-through of their spiking kick.
You can play the ball with pretty much anything but your arms and hands.
The ball has to stay in continuous action in the air, not allowing it to touch the ground or be caught (like under an arm or between your legs).
Unlike volleyball, the same player may hit it multiple times in a row.
Interesting History of Sepak Takraw
- The first record of the game dates back the to 15th century when it was mentioned in some Malaysian historical texts.
- A mural in Bangkok’s Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which was built in 1785, depicts Hanuman (a Hindu god) playing in a ring with a group of monkeys.
- Some of the early descriptions were of groups of men forming a circle and competing at who could kick the ball either the highest or using the most entertaining tricks.
- After being played in the form of a circle for hundreds of years, in 1740 the game began to evolve in Thailand and began to be played in what now would be recognized as a team sport.
- Known as “sipa” in the Philippines, it was the national sport until 2009 and is still included in the elementary and high school curriculum.
- Some believe that the sport was actually a variation of an exercise called cuju. This was something Chinese military men did to loosen up their limbs, exercise and improve dexterity. They would use a feathered shuttlecock (think of a badminton birdie) and kick it into the air, trying to keep it afloat.
- In the 1940s, the game finally became recognized as a sport in Southeast Asia and the name Sepak Takraw was accepted.
If you’re interested in learning about other variations of the sport of volleyball, visit this category page to choose the next one you would like to explore.
REFERENCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepak_takraw
http://sepaktakraw.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Law-of-the-Game-2016-as-per-Oct-2016-V1.0.pdf
Photo Credits:
Feature image by dbgg1979 on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped to zoom.
Takraw player image by Mark Fischer on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
YouTube video by Power Volleyball
Court diagram from https://commons.wikimedia.org/: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
Modern rattan ball image by Wicker Paradise on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped to center.
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