3 Strange Sports

1. Korfball

Korfball is a mixed team sport consisting of four men and four women on a team, with the game loosely resembling a mix in between basketball and netball. The team is split into two divisions, an attack division and a defense division, with each division having 2 of each sex in.

The object of the game is to score a korfball (a football sized ball) into a basket which is 11.5ft tall. One of the major differences inbetween korfball and its sister sports of basketball and netball is that you can only shoot if no opposition of the same sex is inbetween you and the post, and is not within arms reach. Men can only mark men, and women can only mark women, so this adds a large element of strategy by working off players of the opposite sex to gain an advantage over defenders.

You are not allowed to run with the ball, nor are you allowed to bounce it. Play is formulated by passing the korfball around the pitch within your division to gain a tactical advantage in attack so you can shoot and (hopefully) score. The divisions are swapped round after every two goals that are scored, meaning that players have to be both good in attack and defense.

2. Chess Boxing

Do you have brains and brawn? Can you push a pawn and take a punch? If so, you may want to check out the World Chess Boxing Organization, which is planning events for this year in Los Angeles; Paris; Prague, Czech Republic; Berlin; Zurich, Switzerland; and Moscow.

The rules of the game are pretty straightforward: A bout starts with a four-minute round of chess, with each competitor having 12 minutes on his chess clock for the game. When the bell rings, the chessboard is rolled off and the opponents come out punching for a two-minute round of boxing. Between rounds, there’s a one-minute pause, during which competitors change their gear. After that, the chessboard comes back in, the pieces in the same position as they were at the end of the previous round. The rotation continues for 11 rounds unless a checkmate or a knockout decides the contest first.

3. Sepak Takraw

Sepak is Malaysian for kick and a Takraw is a woven ball and so literally translated, Sepak Takraw is kick ball. Native to South East Asia, played in Thailand, Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia, the rules are similar to volleyball with one significant difference: hands are not allowed.

Two teams of three players play across a net on a court roughly the same size as a badminton court and use their heads, knees and feet to hit the ball back and forth. First team to 15 points wins.
There’re various incredible moves which players utilize to gain advantage, including scissor and bicycle kicks, the sunback spike (which involves standing with your back to the ball then jumping and kicking it past your shoulder) and the almost impossible roll spike (the same but over the opposite shoulder).

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