A brief about my favourite sport since childhood - yeah it's nothing but Kabaddi............................................

Kabaddi (Kabbadi or Kabadi) is a team sport originally from Tamil Nadu, India - Team Sport

Two teams occupy opposite halves of a field and take turns sending a "raider" into the other half, in order to win points by tagging or wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half, holding his breath during the whole raid.

Origin

The origin of Kabaddi can be traced to pre-historic times when man learned how to defend in groups against animals or attack weaker animals individually or in groups for survival and food. Though Kabaddi is primarily an South Asian game, not much is known about its origins. There is, however, concrete evidence, that the game is 4,000 years old.

* In Mahabharata, Arjuna had a unique talent in the game of kabaddi. He could effortlessly sneak into the 'wall' of enemies, destroy them all and come back unscathed.
* As per the Buddhist literature, Gautam Buddha played kabaddi for recreational purposes.
* played by the British Army, to keep fit and as an enticement to recruit soldiers from the British Asian community

Different Names in Tamil for Kabaddi: Sadugudu, Gudugudu, Palinjadugudu and Sadugoodatthi

The word 'Kabaddi' could have originated from the Tamil words 'kai' (hand) and 'pidi' (catch).

Forms of Kabaddi

Amar
In the 'Amar' form of Kabaddi, whenever any player is touched (out), he does not go out of the court, but stays inside, and one point is awarded to the team that touched him. This game is also played on a time basis, i.e the time is fixed.
Played in Punjab, Canada, England, New Zealand, USA, Pakistan and Australia.

Surjeevani
In Surjeevani Kabaddi, one player is revived against one player of the opposite team who is out, one out, one in. The duration, the number of players, dimensions of the court, etc. have been fixed
This form of Kabaddi is the present game

Gaminee
This is played with nine players on either side, in a field of no specific measurements. A player put out has to remain out until all his team members are out. The team that is successful in putting out all the players of the opponent's side secures a point.

Game-Play

*Two teams of seven members each occupy opposite halves of a field of 12.5m × 10m (roughly half the size of a basketball court, Each has five supplementary players held in reserve

*Teams take turns sending a "raider" to the opposite team's half, where the goal is to tag or wrestle ("confine") members of the opposite team before returning to the home half. Tagged members are "out" and sent off the field.

*Defenders must form a chain, for example, by linking hands; if the chain is broken, a member of the defending team is sent off. The goal of the defenders is to stop the raider returning to the home side before taking a breath. If the raider takes a breath before returning, the raider is sent off the field.

*Player can also get out by going over a boundary line or part of the body touches the ground outside the boundary

*Each time a player is out the opposing team earns a point. A team scores a bonus of two points, called a lona, if the entire opposing team is declared out. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

*Matches are staged on age and weight. Six officials supervise a match: one referee, two umpires and a scorer.

Kabaddi Skills
* Holding breath
* Raid
* Dodging
* Movement of hand and foot
* Formation
* Safe Raid
* Holding
* Kick
* Offensive Skills
* Starting a Raid
* Body Position during Raid
* Movements during Raid
* Penetration
* Touching with the hand
* Defensive Skills

In Kabaddi every player is an warrior, I just love the game...............................