Interesting Eskimo kicking games

[John Lindsey]

Found this on the net:



Some jumping games are combined with a kick. In the Holman Island game of Aratsiaq, a target (such as a piece of bone or fur) is suspended at a given height. According to the Northern Games Association, a player may not be more than 10 feet from the target when the jump starts. From a standing start with both feet together on the ground, a player jumps up to kick the hanging target with one foot - as illustrated in this National Film Board of Canada photograph. The target must be clearly struck by one foot and the landing must be on the foot which kicked the target. Balance must be maintained on landing. Games are played in rounds. The order of play is determined by a draw which is maintained throughout a game. The target is raised a few inches in each round, and players are eliminated when they fail to kick the target. Any player may "decline" to jump when the target is raised. In Akratcheak, a player jumps and attempts to kick the target with both feet and land back on the ground in a standing position.

[John Lindsey]

On Holman Island the Inuit there call a similar type of wrestling Una Tar Tuq. The intent of this type of wrestling is for two opponents to stand face-to-face with their arms around one another and their feet flat on the floor (or ground). The object is then for one opponent to lift the other!

Additional Inuit wrestling contests include a type of Leg Twist Wrestling. In this contest, two players lie on their sides, facing each other with their feet touching. One foot of each contestant is braced heel to toe against the opponents opposite foot, while the other foot is hooked around the opponents opposite foot. Hands are clasped under knees, and only using the hooked foot, one opponent attempts to turn the other opponent over!

[John Lindsey]

If you want to see the rules for these games and others, get the pdf here:

http://www.kativik.qc.ca/downloads/Inuit_games.pdf

Some of these might be interesting to add to a children's martial arts class!

[John Lindsey]

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[John Lindsey]

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[Joseph Svinth]

It's called the one-foot high kick, and the folks can kick the ceiling while wearing boots.

For reading, try http://www.adn.com/front/story/747133p-799643c.html . A sample passage follows

[Michael] Blanks showed up in a yellow Spandex suit that reminded Frankson of Bruce Lee in the movie "Game of Death." He used a maneuver seen in videotapes made by his brother [Billy], who invented the tae-bo exercise program, which combines elements of martial arts and boxing.

Frankson showed up in shorts and a T-shirt.

Frankson said that when he succeeded at 9-6, organizers wanted to call it a day. But Frankson insisted they keep going because he wanted to better Randazzo's mark of 9-6 -- even though his effort can't go into the Native sports record book because it didn't happen at a Native sports championship event.

"They wanted me to stop at 9-6, and I told them no. That's the record back home and I had to try it," Frankson said. "They made me stop at 9-8 for future competitions' sake."