an Asian sport with a reputed two thousand year history, is the oldest of the shuttlecock games. Starting life as a sport for men it has evolved over the centuries, into the predominantly children's game that it is today.
The purpose of the game is to kick a specially constructed, usually home made, shuttlecock into the air and keep it there for as long as possible solely by the use of the feet. This is normally accomplished by administering repeated kicks with the instep of either foot.
The game can be played by any number of players as follows:
If a solitary player, the object is to keep count of the number of times the shuttlecock is kicked into the air and to try and better one's previous highest score. When the shuttlecock falls to the ground the game is over.
If more than one participant, players form a circle and kick the shuttlecock to each other. A player who misses and lets it fall to the ground has to drop out of the game. This process of elimination is repeated, until the player who remains at the end is declared the winner.
The preamble to this chapter refers to "Foot Shuttlecock" and "Asia" as though it were one synchronised game common to all Asian countries, but this is not the case. The rules and method of play may be the same for all but the name given to the game differs from country to country. Then again although some kicking shuttlecocks can be bought in shops, most are home made. Methods of construction and materials used also vary considerably. For this reason I propose to deal with each country individually, in alphabetical order, describing what I know. If a country is not included it is because I do not have any information which indicates the the game has ever been played there.
has two versions of game played with the kicking shuttlecock. The original one, called KAI MO IN in Canton, is still played by children and young people who can, and do, make their own shuttlecocks. But for those who do not wish to go to that trouble there is more than one version of kicking shuttlecock on sale in the shops.
Then there is a modern version called simply "SHUTTLECOCK", a game which utilises a net to separate opposing teams and is essentially a sport for the super fit athlete.
The sport has a governing body which lays down stringent rules for playing the game, including the use of yellow and red cards to indicate infringment of the rules..
From enquiries made prior to the handing back of the former British colony to China on 30th June, 1997, it appeared that the game had died out. Now that Hong Kong forms part of China it could be said that the game is alive again, but whether it is revived in the actual area of Hong Kong, time alone will tell.
The only known reference to foot shuttlecock ever being played in Japan appears in a book, published in 1975, entitled "Games of the World" by Frederic V. Grunfeld. The following is an extract: " The game of shuttlecock, in which a small feathered ball or disc is kicked from player to player, has been played in China, Japan and Korea for more than 2000 years. In ancient Japan, the game was used to train the militia: It was believed that a soldier's physical abilities would be sharpened by this sort of play. Officers formed clubs where the game rules were standardized."
where the game is known as Jaegi-chagi and it's history goes back a long way to the time when it was a game for men. Today Jaegi-chagi is a children's game and even though a declining number of them play it, it has not entirely died out. Evidence for this can be found in many modern photographs of children dressed in their colourful national dress enthusistically kicking their shuttlecocks.
The SHUTTLECOCKS of yesteryear were made of a strong white paper wrapped around a coin at the base to give it weight in the appropriate area. The paper above the coin would then be cut into strips to serve the same purpose as feathers in a convential shuttlecock.
Modern day, commercially made, shuttlecocks comprise numerous coloured narrow plastic strips inserted into a plastic plug at the base to give it weight..
From enquiries made, it seems that the practice of kicking the "Chiquia" has now disappeared from this Portuguese colony, but Macau is due to be handed back to Mainland China in 1999 so maybe, in the fullness of time, the game could well be revived at some time in the future.
Pictorially the game has not been forgotten, because on 31st July, 1989 Macau issued a postage stamp showing a "chiquia" in the foreground and in the background a circle of four men playing the game.
My enquiries into the status of the "chap-teh", as the kicking shuttlecock is known in Malaysia, lead me to believe that the game is no longer played there. Yet this has happened only in the past 30 years.
My own son-in-law, who is Penang bred and born, used to play the game as a child with home made shuttlecocks. He recalls that, in season, they also used to the flowers of the Frangipani tree for the same purpose. They used to bunch together about a dozen florets and secure them with an elastic band, which also acted as a weight. I also understand that Hibiscus flowers were used for the same purpose, but they were not as good because they were too sticky.
used to be part of Malaysia so it should come as no surprise to learn the kicking shuttlecock is called the "chap-teh" there as well.
The game is still played by children in Singapore and the chap-teh can still be bought in shops there. On the 21st February, 1997 Singapore Post Office issued a set of four stamps depicting Traditional Games. The upper half of the 22 cents value stamp pictures a boy kicking a shuttlecock and the bottom half, a close up of a chap-teh.
Until recently I had thought that Jiann Ji (foot shuttlecock) was no long practised in Taiwan. Then I discovered, on the internet, an article dated 15th August, 1996, by a New Zealand newspaper. It reported on a visit to Christchurch by a team of Taiwanese children ranging in age from eleven to thirteen years.
Wearing colourful costumes, they were highly skilled in the demonstration of several of their countries ancient traditional games, including kicking the shuttlecock. Such exhibitions serve a twofold purpose for not only do they keep ancient traditions alive in their homeland, but the children also act as delightful cultural ambassadors for their country.
where foot shuttlecock is known as Da Cau. Although the origins of the game go back a long way it has experienced a chequered career with ups and downs of popularity. Currently it is on a high and is very popular in Hanoi.
If you would like to know more about the game, see a picture of the shuttlecocks used and the shoes specially made for kicking them, I suggest you take a look at Dr. Barbara Cohen's web page.
http://www.destinationvietnam.com:80/dvindx.htm