"Shuttlecock's not a sport; it's a just a game for children." In one town in Chia-yi County though, people have a different opinion, and if you give them the opportunity to demonstrate, they'll show you why. Maybe you'll join them.

Many adults in Taiwan still remember playing shuttlecock as children. All that was needed was a ball of cloth, a coin, or a ball of string, and one was set for a day filled with exercise and enjoyment. Children would spend hours perfecting old techniques and inventing new ones, all designed to prevent the shuttlecock from hitting the ground and meeting an ignominious "death."

This pastime originated in North China, where young and old alike played shuttlecock in the winter as a means of warding off the ferocious cold. In tropical Taiwan, however, shuttlecock lost its purpose and popularity and gradually became relegated to the status of a children's game. Today, as television and video games replace the great outdoors as the favorite recreation of children, shuttlecock sadly seems to be a losing game.

In the Hsi-k'ou district of Chia-yi County though, people still haven't forgotten the pleasures of this old pastime. Hsi-k'ou elementary school gym instructor Ts'ai Po-ch'i teaches all of his pupils shuttlecock. Student response has always been enthusiastic. Even in mid-May, when the houses of central and south Taiwan seem to droop under the oppressive heat, children can be found playing shuttlecock non-stop, practicing as if the Olympic tryouts were being held the next day. Ten years ago, parents in Hsi-k'ou grew tired of watching their sons and daughters have all the fun, and soon whole families could be seen playing the sport, with fathers kicking to sons passing to their sisters who. . . Later, informal contests began to be held at local sports events and district fairs, until shuttlecock developed into a district institution.

Shuttlecock is not learned in one afternoon. The shuttlecock itself is small and light, and the action fast and furious. Control of the object is gained only after long hours of practice and concentration. To make the sport more accessible, Li Ming-hsiu, a Taipei teacher, invented the shuttlecock ball. She started with a cotton core, covered it with leather and then attached a long feather, to make it aerodynamically sound. She also invented a game to accompany her invention, which closely resembles volleyball, even using a net. There are a host of techniques for passing the ball, involving kicks with the instep, the inside and outside of the foot, the knee, the head, the shoulders, as well as the soccer-style over-the-head reverse kick.

One look at shuttlecock, with its players jumping and twisting, using all parts of their body to kick, pass and catch the object, and one can see that it takes a considerable amount of ability. Records are few, but one day in the fifties, a Shanghai native in Hsin Chu is reported to have played shuttlecock for twelve hours, from seven in the morning until seven at night. He kicked the object over 36,000 times, as well as drinking four cups of water and eating eight steamed buns and plenty of fruit for sustenance, while the shuttlecock never touched earth.

Yet to the experts, style and technique are far more impressive than sheer quantity. Shuttlecock involves three sets of techniques. The first is relatively simple, using only one foot to kick and catch the object, while the other foot stays on the ground. In the second, the player jumps in the air to manipulate the object and uses all parts of the body. This type naturally is far more difficult than the first. For the final set of techniques, all parts of the body "kick" and catch the shuttlecock, but the player does not jump.

To be more specific, let's look at one current series of moves, which belongs to the third set, and is called "Number Ten", for the number of places that the shuttlecock is caught. The object moves in rapid sequence from palm to back of hand to fist (held vertically, thumb on top) to index finger and middle finger back to fist (held sideways). Then it makes a brief trip to the shoulder and cheek, from which it plunges through the hands to be rescued on the instep of the foot, from where it's kicked back onto the top of the head. True experts can perform this feat without a trace of effort, and make it look like. . . a child's game.

While several of these techniques were developed by current players, many come from old manuals, some of which date from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), which produced what is said to be the definitive work on the subject, "The Book of Shuttlecock". Although this volume is difficult to find on Taiwan, there are several comparable manuals, which explain a plethora of tricks and techniques and present shuttlecock as a highly sophisticated and complex art. Needless to say, these volumes are eagerly perused by players today.

Shuttlecock was popular from the Ming-Ching period up until the start of the Second World War. Shanghai natives in particular enjoyed the pastime, and more than one player made his living from the sport. One old practitioner from Shantung, his hair and beard completely white, had an especially impressive opening number. A shuttlecock would be thrown in from the wings, destined apparently to hit an empty stage, whereupon the old master would rush in from behind the rear curtain and save the 'life' of the shuttlecock on the instep of one of his lightning-quick feet.

Can today's players match the skills of yesteryear? Ts'ai Yi-lang, a Taipei physical education instructor, has been working for years at combining shuttlecock with gymnastics, dance, and even music. Shuttlecocks themselves in general are round pieces of metal with a feather attached for slower and truer flight. Different styles and weights abound, but the best kind of feather, it is said, is plucked from the wing of a live chicken.

Shuttlecock, then, is a well established part of Chinese culture. According to a song once popular in Shanghai, a child and an old man, playing under a willow tree, kicked a shuttlecock into the heavens, raising the ire of the gods of thunder and lightning, who came down to see what was the fuss. However, so taken were they with the sport that they returned to heaven and showed the Jade Emperor the new game they had found. Before long he too became addicted to the sport and forgot about governing the universe, caring only how he could keep the shuttlecock "alive". If shuttlecock could do this to the Jade Emperor, think what it might do to you.

(Mark Halperin)

[Picture Caption]

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Below. Shuttlecock is played not only with the feet, but with the whole body as well. Hair flying under a blue sky, youngsters from Hsi-k'ou Junior High School show off their mid-air techniques.

Elementary techniques

1. A Ming dynasty painting shows a game of kickball, the predecessor of shuttlecock. The subjects are the Sung emperor Chao K'uang-yin and his court, who were avid players. 2. "The old man of Chinese shuttlecock," Li Yuan-chung, demonstrates some time-honored moves. The cord saves time and effort spent in chasing mistimed kicks. 3. Shuttlecock can also be played with the hands, under the legs. . . any way you want.

1. A good shuttlecock has a pretty feather and a round and steady disk for stable flight. 2. Shuttlecocks come in many different varieties. Some are for playing, while others are for looking. 3. An expert practices his flying scissors kick, one of the most difficult techniques.

Mid-air techniques

Left. Girls here pass the shuttlecock up and down, in one of the game's more unusual techniques.

Right. Shuttlecock ball is already a hit in Taipei high schools. Here students from Wan Hua Junior High School watch a teammate display his over-the-head soccer kick.

1,2. Spectators and participants at a Hsi-k'ou district sports contest, featuring a father-son team event. The action is tense, but it often leaves the mothers on the sideline in laughter. 3. Children in Hsi-k'ou district chase a rooster for a feather to make their own shuttlecock.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

Above. A youth demonstrates the "Number Ten" technique.

1. A Ming dynasty painting shows a game of kickball, the predecessor of shuttlecock. The subjects are the Sung emperor Chao K'uang-yin and his court, who were avid players.

2. "The old man of Chinese shuttlecock," Li Yuan-chung, demonstrates some time-honored moves. The cord saves time and effort spent in chasing mistimed kicks.

Elementary techniques.

3. Shuttlecock can also be played with the hands, under the legs. . . any way you want.

1. A good shuttlecock has a pretty feather and a round and steady disk for stable flight.

2. Shuttlecocks come in many different varieties. Some are for playing, while others are for looking.

3. An expert practices his flying scissors kick, one of the most difficult techniques.

Mid-air techniques.

Left. Girls here pass the shuttlecock up and down, in one of the game's more unusual techniques.

Right. Shuttlecock ball is already a hit in Taipei high schools. Here students from Wan Hua Junior High School watch a teammate display his over-the-head soccer kick.

2. Spectators and participants at a Hsi-k'ou district sports contest, featuring a father-son team event. The action is tense, but it often leaves the mothers on the sideline in laughter.

2. Spectators and participants at a Hsi-k'ou district sports contest, featuring a father-son team event. The action is tense, but it often leaves the mothers on the sideline in laughter.

3. Children in Hsi-k'ou district chase a rooster for a feather to make their own shuttlecock.