Rajkaran Sangha, Nitharsan Niranjan

Lesson: Sepak Takraw

Introduction (Rajkaran):

It involves players standing in a circle keeping the ball in the air

for as long as possible without using their hands.
The modern synthetic ball is similar to the ball we will be using
today.
It combines elements of Soccer, Foot bag, Volleyball, Baseball,
Badminton, Gymnastics and the ancient sport of Sepak Raga.
The MYTH is that only super flexible, fast; athletes can play this
game, which is not true.
Anyone of any age or ability level can play Sepak Takraw, it can
be simply modified for beginners and as you increase the
challenge, their eye-foot skills will improve.
Now, I will speak about some areas of strength, which will give
you great strategy to enhance your performance throughout the
game.
The knee is used when the ball comes fast towards the area
between your knees and your waist. This skill is used to "bump"
or deflect the ball up enough to use an inside kick to control the
ball.
The header is probably the second most important skill to have,
especially in the net game; the header is used to pop up a ball
that comes higher than the waist.
The toe kick is a defensive kick, great for saving a ball that has
gotten out in front of you and it is not, however, a good control
kick.

Game description and rules (Nitharsan):

1. Flip a coin. The teams captains call it, and whomever calls
correctly gets to choose to go first or choose the side they wish
to be on.
2. Start the set. The designated team serves first. To serve, one
player stands in the right semi-circle on their side of the court.
He throws the ball to the server, who stands in the circle on their
side of the court. He kicks the ball up and over the net.
3. Pass the ball to the other team using only your feet and head.
Play continues until a team makes a fault, which is when the ball
is not kicked before it hits the ground or the net stops it from
going to the other side of the court. If a fault is made, the other
team scores and serves. The set is over when a team scores 21

Rajkaran Sangha, Nitharsan Niranjan

points. If the game is tied at 20 points, the set continues until 25
points are scored.
4. Start the next set after the designated amounts of points are
scored. The teams change sides of the court, and the team that
lost the previous set serves.

Most of the same rules apply as for volleyball, with the following
main exceptions:
Players are prohibited from using their hands & arms (except
for when the tosser throws the ball to server).
A player can touch the ball up to 3 times consecutively (but
ball has to return to opponents side by 3rd hit).
The players positions on the court need not be rotated prior
to serving throughout the match.
Served balls hitting the net (and falling within the opponent's
boundary) are accepted.

Country of origin (Rajkaran):

The royal family of Malaysia created Sepak Takraw about 500

years ago.
Modern Sepak Takraw, or Takraw for short (also known as Kick
Volleyball), began in Malaysia and is now their national sport.
The name itself comes from two languages (Sepak is "kick" in
Malay, and Takraw is the "ball" in Thai)
It is believed that many variations of the game evolved from an
ancient military exercise.
Soldiers would try to keep a feathered shuttlecock airborne by
kicking it back and forth between two or more people.
The first versions of Sepak Takraw were not so much of a
competition, but rather cooperative displays of skill designed to
exercise the body, improve dexterity and loosen the limbs after
long periods of sitting, standing or working.

Life-long participation (Nitharsan):

Takraw is a popular participation sport that builds up your health

and fitness levels through regular training and matches.
Takraw helps to build lower body strength, leg muscles and the
cardiovascular system, amongst other benefits.
Builds up leg muscle strength and stamina due to its mixture of
brief bursts of leg kicking motions, which firms the buttocks.

Rajkaran Sangha, Nitharsan Niranjan

Develops the bodys cardiovascular system, with the heart and

lungs able to deliver more oxygen to fuel the muscles.
Improves the bodys flexibility and nimbleness, as it requires
quick changes of direction and speed.
This game puts considerable pressure on the body, with players
having to make short sprints, hard stops, and twists and turns
during the course of the match.

References
About Sepak Takraw. (n.d.). NetPro. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from
http://www.netprosports.com/store/index.php?
route=information/information&information_id=8
Basic Skills For You. (n.d.). Basic Skills. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://takraw.webark.org/basic_skills.html
How to Play Sepak Takraw. (n.d.). wikiHow. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from
http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Sepak-Takraw