Asia

The first evidence of kemari was found in the city of Nara (a former capital city) and dates from around 644 AD. It has been recorded in the Nihon Shoki, an ancient historical chronicle. (documents dating back to the Taika Reform). From 1192 till 1333 the game was a popular sport amongst samurai. The rules were standardized from the 13th century. The game was influenced by the Chinese sport of Cuju (the very earliest form of football). The characters for Kemari are the same as Cuju in Chinese. The sport was introduced to Japan about 600, during the Asuka period. Nowadays, it is played in Shinto shrines for festivals. It actually became a compulsory game for the court nobles during the Heian Period. By the Edo era (1603 – 1867), the game’s popularity had extended beyond the samurai to also include townspeople and wealthy landowners: Kemari had become a sport of mass appeal.

A work by Ritō Akizato from 1799 depicting a kemari game during Tanabata

Kendo is a martial sport derived from martial art – combat fencing called kenjitsu. Kenjitsu had been practiced in Japan since the introduction of a single-edged sword with a curved shape in the XI-th century. Many schools and various forms of Kenjitsu had been created before the swordsmanship lost its practical character in the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1868, civilians in Japan were banned to carry swords by an imperial edict, and in consequence swords stopped to be used for armed combat and duels. The origins and historical development of real fencing art are described in detail on the pages entitled kenjutsu and iaido.
The para-sport form of combat fencing was born in the early XVII century. Devices allowing infliction of blows were gradually introduced to the practice of fencing. This allowed a practice of contact technique and bloodless fights. The sharp steel swords used before only allowed repeating formalized routines called “kata”, in which blows were stopped in the final phase of the attack. The use of training swords, first wooden, later flexible bamboo structures, and solid protectors inspired by Samurai armor, allowed a more dynamic practice and fight sparring.
Chuta Nakanishi, creator and teacher of the well-known Tokyo fencing school- Nakanishi Itto-ryu, made the greatest contribution to the construction of safe equipment and its popularization among the practitioners. Master Nakanishi is also considered the creator of the name "kendo", where “ken” means "sword", while “do” indicates "way, procedure". Both Japanese characters should, therefore, be understood as "the way of the sword".
Over time, regulations were introduced to the practice, which gradually evolved towards limiting the acceptable area of cutting, as well as eliminating techniques that might cause risk for the fencers.
When the imperial act forbidding the swords and eliminating the social class of bushi warriors was introduced it seemed that the art of sword fighting would completely lose its practical value. It resulted in a decline of kendo popularity for a short period of time. After 250 years of voluntary isolation, the country was forced to open its borders and to confront foreign powers. Japanese society, having recovered from the initial amusement with the technical achievements of the world of that time, felt the danger threatening it and quickly returned to the traditional values. One of them was kendo, not in a military sense, but as a way of education through hard training and self-discipline. The kendo practice was first introduced in police forces, then gradually expanded.
Dai Nippon Butokukai - an organization aimed at reconstructing and taking care of traditional martial arts was established in 1895. A unification of very diverse forms and development of universal practice was required. Kendo was unified in 1912 which allowed its introduction to the curricula as a part of physical education class. Within a short time kendo training and tournaments spread throughout the country. These years are considered to be the birth time of the modern sport of kendo.
The samurai sword - katana - had been used much longer as a military symbol. Until the first decades on 20th century it was still considered an adornment and privilege of the officer's status, similarly as it was in many other armies of the world. However, only the Japanese made real use of their swords. The fact that swords were used not only for seppuku (ritual suicide) but also for the execution of prisoners of war, has earned the Japanese fencing a very negative opinion worldwide.
During the American occupation the Japanese were banned from practicing any of the traditional martial art since they were perceived as a source of Japanese chauvinism. Only after a dozen of years it was possible to convince the world’s public oppinion that modern sport version of Japanese martial arts had features allowing versatile physical development as well as outstanding moral and educational qualities. In 1952 kendo exercises were reintroduced in the school program, first in a pure sports version of shinai kyogi, later enriched with elements of traditional fencing. In the 1950s and 1960s, kendo appeared in the USA, Canada and Brazil thanks to Japanese emigrants. In the mid-1960s it came to Europe, firstly to France, Germany and Great Britain.
The first major international tournament took place in Tokyo in 1967. Two years later the European Kendo Federation was founded. The International Kendo Federation, a union of 15 organizations from all over the world, was founded in 1970. Kendo was brought to Poland in 1973 by a Japanese student, Takao Mizushima. In the Millennium Year 2000, IKF (the International Kendo Federation) brought together nearly 40 countries. The world championships (every 3 years) and the European championships are held. Nowadays kendo is considered a modern international sport discipline.
(Source: Polish Kendo Association: www.kedno.pl)

Kho Kho is a traditional sport from the Indian subcontinent. This sport appeared long ago in Pune Gymkhana the state Maharashtra. Together with kabbadi, it’s one of the two most popular traditional sports in South Asia.

It was played on chariots called Rath. In its ancient form, the game was known as Rathera.
It was a very popular sport, and for many years practiced in an informal way. In order to popularize the game club, Deccan Gymkhana from Pune tried to formalize its rules.
The present appearance of the game was an adoption about the time of World War I in 1914. But at that time, there were neither any dimensions of the playground nor the poles which demarcate the central lane.

Kho Kho is a tag game, it could also be called Game of hunting. Kho Kho is a traditional game played in India. Its origins are ancient, with strategies and tactics likely derived from the epic ‘Mahabharata’. On the 13th day of the war, the Kaurava General Guru Dronacharya created the ‘Chakravyuha’ a special military defensive circle which was eventually penetrated by the renowned warrior Abhimanyu. He was killed eventually by having to fight alone against 7 other warriors but he inflicted heavy casualties in return. His style of fighting reflects the concept of ‘ring play’ – a defensive tactic in Kho Kho. There are many other similarities. It has gradually become a favorite game of children and for many centuries served as entertainment.

Deccan Gymkhana Pune, a club created by the Indian leader Lokmanya Tilak, formalized the rules of the game for the first time. This initial stage marked the limitation of the playground and yet sadly lacked the poles demarking the central lane in the field. Instead, less experienced players were posted squatting at the ends of the latter and chasers ran around them to return to the midfield. In 1919, the Kho Kho game area was limited to 44 yards of the central lane length and 17 yards of the ellipse width.

The years 1923-24 saw the foundation of the Inter School Sports Organization and Kho Kho was introduced to develop at the grassroots and consequently popularize the sport.
Those efforts can be compared to those of Deccan Gymkhana and Hind Vijay Gmykhan. Other popular games like Langdi and Atya-Patya, allowed to practice similar skills as Kho Kho. Especially the latter game requires special mention, because it was well known, and important for Kho Kho, because it developed defense skills.

Akhil Maharashtra Sharirik Shikshan Mandal (Institute of Physical Education) was founded in 1928 when Dr. Abasahib Natu Pune, Mahabal Guruji from Nasik, Karmarkar Vaidya from Miraj and Dr. Mirajkar Bombaju, in cooperation with Kho-Kho experts, formulated the rules and regulations of the game, which differed somewhat from the Federation regulations of nowadays.

Hind Vijay Gymkhana, Baroda and Deccan Gymkhana, Pune had their own rules that differed too. In 1933, experts from around sixty Gymkhanas gathered and developed a code of principles called Akhil Maharashtra Sharirik Shikshan Mandal which was acknowledged in 1935.

Over the years the rules have changed. Firstly, in 1914, 10 points were scored for each opponent and the round lasted nine minutes. In 1919, the score was reduced to 5 and the match lasted eight minutes. In the following years, points were also given as an early ending bonus. Further changes concerned the playing field, which was changed into a rectangle instead of an ellipse. The distance between the two ends was shortened to 27 yards, a free zone was created beyond the ends of the game rectangle 27 yards x 5 yards, also known as zone "D". In this zone, the hunter could move in any direction, regardless of the direction change.

Kho Kho was first presented in Berlin during the Olympic Games in 1936. The first national championship of India Kho-Kho was played in Vijay Wada, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, in 1959/60 under the auspices of the Federation of India Kho-Kho. The team lead from Bombay area won the competition. Rajabhau Jeste who led it was a champion of this game, an expert and commentator. First women’s championships were held in 1960/61.

In 1982, Kho-Kho was incorporated into the Indian Olympic Association and a few years later, in 1989 a show was held during the 'Asian Games' Festival. At that time, several changes were made to the game, accepted and included by the Asian Federation. The pillars were moved to a distance of 23.50 meters, and the square of the game was increased in width to 16 meters. The duration of the rounds was set at nine minutes.
First International Championships were organized in Kolkata in 1982.

Kho-Kho can develop many desirable traits – sports competition, teamwork, loyalty, self-confidence, speed, agility, strategical thinking. Kho Kho is not only a sport with a lot of running and crouching, but it's also a great school of teamwork. Players must watch each other closely, cooperate, recognize situations and take decisions quickly. This sport has also a strategic dimension. Not only it shapes the body but also sharpens the mind