A sport native to Southeast Asia, some may describe Sepak Takraw as a form of karate volleyball. And I guarantee it is just as exciting as it sounds.
The high paced game is one of the oldest foot-based pass times in Asian culture and has developed into a popular team sport.
The term Sepak means “kick” in Malay, and Takraw is the “ball” in Thai.
Resembling football the players pass around the ball using anything but their arms. The game is played on a court of similar proportion to badminton with teams of three either side of the net.
The aim of the game similarly to volleyball is to keep the ball up and loft it back over the net.
The difficulty comes in the sheer pace of the game and a very small ball that allows for acrobatic freestyle moves and lightning-quick circle play.
A great deal of athletic ability is shown in defence as defenders close to the net propel their bodies upwards to defend against the incoming ball, much to the comparison on a karate kick.
The sport has since seen overseas competitions in Canada and the USA with recognised appearances on channels such as EuroSport.
To view highlights of Sepak Takraw please view 3GunPictures video below.
Court
The court and the net height and size are identical to those used in a double badminton court. The rules are very similar to those in volleyball, with the following exceptions; the use of hands is not permitted, each player may touch the ball only once before it is kicked over the net, there is no rotation of positions.
Players
A match is played by two regus (teams), each consisting of three players.
One of the three players will situate at the back; he is called a “Tekong”.
The other two players will form in front, one on the left and the other on the right. The player on the left is called a ‘Left Inside’ and the player on the right is called a ‘Right Inside’.
Scoring
Point: When either side commits a fault a point is awarded to the opposing side team or when the ball strikes the ground in the opposition’s court.
Set: Each set is won by the side which scores fifteen points with a minimum lead of two.
An official match is won by the best of five sets, win 3 sets of 5.
Ball
The weight of the ball is 170g-190g, and the size of it is a perimeter 40cm with a hole of 12 indented It is much smaller than a handball, a little bigger than a softball.
