thumb|Two people playing jianzi

thumb|A traditional jianzi

thumb|A group playing jianzi in Beijing's Temple of Heaven park

Jianzi (),

The game has also gained a following around the globe. In English, both the sport and the object with which it is played are referred to as a "shuttlecock" or "featherball". In Malaysia, the game is known as capteh, or chapteh. It is considered a game played by children until they can master sepak raga.

Gameplay

The shuttlecock (called a jianzi in the Chinese game, or 'Chinese hacky sack' and 'kinja' in English) typically has four feathers fixed into a rubber sole or a plastic disc. Some handmade jianzis make use of a washer or a coin with a hole in the centre.

During play, any part of the body except for the hands can be used to keep the shuttlecock from touching the ground. It is primarily balanced and propelled upwards using parts of the leg, especially the feet. Skilled players may employ an overhead kick.

In China, the sport usually has two playing forms:

  • Circle kick among 5-10 people
  • Duel kick between two kickers or two sides.

The circle kick uses upward kicks only when keeping the shuttlecock from touching the ground. The duel kick has become popular among younger Chinese players, and uses "flat kick" techniques like goal shooting techniques in football. The "powerful flat kick" techniques are applied in Chinese games as a major attacking kill.

Competitive play

thumb|right|Freestyle Shuttlecock - [[Jan Weber - World Footbag Champion 2011-2013]]

Competitively, the government-run game is called "Hacky-Sack (jianqiu 毽球)" and is played on a rectangular court 6.10 by 11.88 meters, divided by a net (much like badminton) at a height of 1.60 meters (1.50 meters for women).

A new style of Ti Jian Zi called "Chinese JJJ" was introduced in 2009. "JJJ" stands for "Competitive Jianzi-kicking" in Chinese with the three Chinese characters "竞技毽" all starting with "J". This version uses a lower middle net at 90 cm, and the inner or outside lines of the standard badminton court.

Non-competitive play

There are several variations of the game, such as trying to keep the shuttlecock in the air until an agreed number of kicks (e.g. 100) is reached, either alone or in a pair. In circle play, the aim may be simply to keep play going. In all but the most competitive formats, a skillful display is a key component of play.

Freestyle

Freestyle is very similar to freestyle footbag, where players perform various kicks, delays, and other maneuvers without touching the shuttlecock with their hands. Many footbag tricks were initially inspired by jianzi, but now jianzi freestylers often look for inspiration from footbag.

History

thumb|left|Painting by Shen Qinglan (18th-19th century) of children playing jianzi

Jianzi has been played since the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), and was popular during the Six Dynasties period and the Sui and Tang dynasties. The game is believed to have evolved from cuju, a game similar to football that was used as military training. Several ancient books have record of it being played.

In 2013, a Hong Kong company released KickShuttle. It is a form of shuttlecock not made using feathers.

thumb|Shuttlecock sport Jianzi

Official jianzi for competitions

The official shuttlecock consists of four equal-length goose or duck feathers joined at a rubber or plastic base. It weighs approximately and is long. The feathers vary in color, usually dyed red, yellow, blue, or green. In competitions a pink shuttlecock is preferred.

The shuttlecock used in Chinese JJJ games weighs . The height from the bottom of rubber base to top of the shuttlecock is and the width between tops of two opposite feathers is also .

thumb|Vietnamese đá cầu players. Natives of Cochinchina, playing at Shuttlecock with their Feet, watercolour painting on [[wove paper by William Alexander, circa 1792.]]

  • Đá cầu - Vietnam's unofficial national sport.
  • Jegichagi - Traditional Korean game. The shuttlecock, made with paper wrapped around a few coins, is called a "jegi," and "chagi" means "kicking."
  • Kemari - Japan (Heian Period). Meaning to "strike the ball with the foot."
  • Sepak takraw - Thailand. Played using a light rattan ball about five inches in diameter. (Sepak means "kick" in Malay, and takraw means "ball" in Thai.)
  • Chinlone - Burma. Non-competitive game that uses a rattan ball and is played among people standing in a circle, not on a court.
  • Sipa - Traditional native sport of the Philippines, meaning "kick."
  • Pili or plumfoot - French variant of jiànzi.
  • Peteca - Brazil. The shuttlecock should be tossed above a net and land at the rival’s side to earn a point. The game is basically like Volleyball, but with a shuttlecock instead of a ball, and also basically like badminton, but without rackets.
  • Indiaca or featherball - Variant of the Brazilian game peteca popular in Europe. Played with the same shuttlecock as jianzi, but on a court similar to a badminton court, and played over the net using the hands.
  • Myachi
  • UKick
  • Ebon (game)
  • Kickit
  • Lyanga

See also

  • Basse
  • Beanbag
  • Bossaball
  • Footbag
  • Footbag net
  • Footvolley
  • Hacky Sack
  • Indiaca
  • Peteca

Notes

Citations

References

  • "Chinese JJJ Rules and Judgement", by John Du, Beijing, May 2010, by China Society Pressing House
  • Basic Rules of Shuttlecock Sport
  • The Official Jianzi for Competitions