Ancient Sports and Games: Mexico, Native America, Rome, and the East
Ancient Games and Sports in Mexico
Games of great violence were played, such as Tlachtli, or ball, which later turned into a ritual. They began playing in 500 BC.
Tlachtli
The game was a party where two men dressed as an eagle and a jaguar, respectively. There was a platform with a stake in the center. The leg of an enemy warrior was tied to it, and he was given a shield and a blunt sword. Both beat him until he was killed, and the winner was the one who killed him.
Hunting
When the morning dawned, they began to move very slowly, awaiting the appearance of an animal. At sunset the last day, if they had killed a deer or coyote, they were rewarded by the emperor himself.
Birds Flying
This consisted of a large 15-meter pole provided at its highest point with a circular platform from which hung long cords ending in loops. On the platform was a musician who set the pace for all actions.
The Tlachtli in Ancient Mexico
Tlachtli was played on a rectangular field with two vertical stone walls where a ring was placed for the ball to pass through. The game was a source of recreation and happiness, though often very big bets were made, including betting on themselves to become slaves or sacrificial victims. The ball was made of rubber and could only be hit with elbows, feet, and hips. Players tried to get the ball into the ring, although striking it in this way was very difficult. Pushing or tripping was allowed. In exceptional cases, losers could be victims and culled. It had religious and mythical significance. Since it was very difficult to pass the ball through the rings, there was another way to score: getting the ball past the center line and hitting the opposite wall.
Significance and Characteristics of American Indian Games
Almost all Indian tribes had a great variety of games. Some were simple, and only two or three players took part. Many games had a sacred character, and the reasons to play them did not consist precisely in fun. They were used to heal the sick, bring rain, and increase the fertility of animals and plants.
The Indians had a lot of fun and games very similar to ours, such as paddle wheel and shuffleboard. Each player built his own team.
Lacrosse and the Snow Snake
Lacrosse was the best-known of Indian games and was played in various forms in almost all tribes. It owes its name to the word “crosse” because of the shape of the bat or racket used by the players (like a long hockey stick but ending in a kind of small net to carry and pass the ball). This game has been adopted by us and is one of the most popular sports in schools (widely practiced in Canada). It is the fastest and most ancient of all games we know.
The game offered excellent teaching for warriors. It developed the habit of playing in teams, and practice in the race was fast and guarded against the blows of an opponent. The skillful player knew how to use his stick, to run quickly, to pass the ball to another when opponents surrounded him, to stop a player from the other side who was in possession of the ball, and to prevent the opposing team from getting it when it was in his power. The game was rough, and all tactics were allowed. Sticks were sometimes used as clubs, and players often rushed to deliver punches.
The game took place in a field that was from one hundred fifty yards to a mile long. At each end was a goal that usually consisted of two poles apart from each other by a distance similar to the width of the goals of “hockey.” The aim was to put a ball of wood or leather between the posts of the opposing team and it could be thrown or carried on the racket, but could not be touched by hand.
The current rules have made the game less dangerous to the players than in the days when the Indians played it.
Snow Snake was one of the best winter sports. It was played with specially shaped nozzles, which were slid over the snow, making straight, smooth, and shallow notches, made by dragging a log through the snow. Players tried to reach as far as possible, and the snake that went further earned a point for its owner. When playing in teams, each threw six snakes. Indian snow snakes used to have a length of three meters, and all five fingers were used to hold and shoot them with a long stroke, parallel to the ground.
The Circus and its Activities in Ancient Rome
The Circus was rectangular; the sand was divided lengthwise by a wall. One side was the starting line and the other the goal. Horse and foot races were conducted.
Horse Racing
It consisted of seven laps. The cars were small and light and could be pulled by two horses (teams) or four (chariots). The driver stood with the reins wrapped around his waist. These races took place in the Hellenic Games.
Foot Races
The participants were trained in lectures. The race was practiced more quickly.
Physical Activities Performed by Children in Rome
They practiced various games and activities:
- Game of the Rim
- Ball games were common; the ball was made from hair, wool, or leather and came in different sizes. Practiced by all ages and classes.
- Dance
- Swimming was very popular in Rome, and children were taught to swim from a young age.
- Jacks, a game based on bones that were thrown, was widely practiced.
- Javelin Throw
- Plays were secular in nature and were the most noble of all games. In the early works that were represented, they were translations or adaptations of Greek plays. They had a director who checked the work and contracted the actors, all men, even in the roles of women. They wore masks.
Physical Activities in the East
In the East, from ancient times, forms of physical activity have arisen that understand the unity of body and mind and seek harmonious development through dance, yoga, or martial arts.
Dances of Indonesia
Traditional Indonesian dance is spiritual. The movement is muscular, with lateral changes of body weight, but kept strong, the arms outstretched and knees delicately framed by gentle movements of the neck, wrists, and fingers. The dances are: Java, Bali, and dance in the courts.
What is Hatha Yoga?
In yoga, there are various trends or practices. Hatha yoga is the most “physical,” consisting of a series of postures for physical and mental improvement, using concentration. The most popular in India is the more spiritual Bhakti yoga. We can also find Jnana yoga, or intellect.
What are Martial Arts?
There are various methods of unarmed combat, used in wars in the Far East. Currently, they are used as a method of self-defense, competitive sports, and fitness exercises.
What is Aikido?
Aikido is a martial art that allows one to defend oneself barehanded against one or more armed or unarmed opponents. Its name, derived from the particles ai = union, ki = energy, and do = way, expresses the mental and physical coordination of energy. Aikido, with respect to other traditional combat arts, constantly seeks to deter the opponent physically.
Most of the techniques are derived from the arts of the sword, stick, or spear. The practitioner of Aikido uses projection and immobilization techniques, either to unbalance or dominate an opponent, techniques that may be accompanied by blows to the body’s vital points. This is a technique that seeks total defense; before damaging the opponent, it seeks to convince and demonstrate the futility of the attack.
What is Karate?
Karate is an unarmed self-defense system based on knowledge of certain laws of balance and certain anatomical parts, based on the effective and systematic use of all parts of the body before any type of aggression. Composed of diverse techniques of locking arms and legs, it has the purpose of defense.
In 1936, Funakoshi left the island of Okinawa and established the first karate institute in Japan.
Karate is practiced in the dojo and on any surface: Japanese tatami, wood flooring, etc. The karate uniform is called a karategi and consists of a jacket, trousers, and belt.
What is Judo?
In 1882, Jigoro Kano founded judo. This sport is based on harnessing the power of the hand to project the opponent to the ground and immobilize them. Every practitioner has to go barefoot and wear, according to the rules, an open jacket, pants, and belt. This last element, depending on its color, indicates the level of knowledge possessed by the judoka. The black belt represents the level of dan or teacher.
In judo, you can distinguish different projection techniques, control, restraint, and body attack techniques that are performed with the hands or feet and are prohibited in competition. Balance is of utmost importance, being a good fundamental base of support, and a low position of the center of gravity.