Recreation of Traditional Games & Sports in Philippines

Amritsar/ Philippines, Mar. 2 (Punjab Post Bureau) – Government of Philippines along with Mr. Hari Osais Banaag member Advisory Committee traditional sports and games, UNESCO and Mr. Shammi Rana Rapporteur Advisory Committee traditional sports and games, UNESCO  to advocate concept of UNESCO on traditional sports and games. Both hon’ble members welcomed By Phillipine Global Sikaran federation and Phillipine traditional sports community at Manilla airport.

Mr. Shammi Rana and Mr. Hari Banaag honored by World City College Antipolo city. The guests were awarded in the recognition of the support and commitment towards the advancement of the traditional sports and games. In their brief discussions traditional sports and games have been included in the upcoming festival of Hane festival at Tanay city, Maytime festival at Antipolo City. Taguig City Festival at Taguig City of Philippine and members were assured by Mayors of City council for all kind of possible support the promotion of Traditional Sports and Games in region. Mayor of Antipolo City Hon. Casimiro Jun Ynares III shows interest to host event of UNESCO TSG in the Rizal province. Cainta vice Mayor Pia Shuck Velasco also met TSG delegation and shows commitment for the promotion of TSG in region.

The UNITED NATIONS Educational, scientific and cultural organization is a member of the United Nations Development group. As this group aims to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development, and intercultural dialogue through education, culture, sports etc.. Their intention is also to safe guarding and promoting traditional sports and games as well as to enhance intercultural dialogue and peace, reinforce youth empowerment, promote ethical sports practices and provide opportunities for traditional sports.

Filipinos are known to be lovers of sports and many have carved their names in the international sports scene. Think of Manny Pacquio, one of the world’s greatest boxer, and chess grandmaster Wesley So. But aside from boxing, basketball, chess, swimming, and others, Filipinos are also fond of their homegrown sports. Some of them are as under:

Arnis (Eskrima) – The Philippine version of martial arts is Arnis. Dubbed the country’s national sport, arnis is a weapon-based form of combat used for fighting since 1610. Due to the country’s diverse local dialects, is it also known as Eskrima among other names.

Sikaran -This martial arts sport, which has been around since the 16^th century in Rizal, Philippines, uses feet rather than the hands. One distinct technique in sikaran is the “Biakid kick” move which aims to hit the back of the opponent’s head. Sikaran a Filipino Traditional Martial Arts and Sikaran will be part of 2021 World UNESCO TSG Games in Astana Kazakhstan and 2020 Nomad games Turkey.

Sipa, or “to kick” is a native sport which is closely related to Sepak Takraw of Indonesia. The game is undertaken with two teams opposing each other, with a net in the middle of a court. The goal is to kick a rattan ball back and forth until it land on the floor of the opponent’s side.

Dumog – Traditional wrestling in the Philippines is called dumog. Combining Filipino martial arts techniques, the aim in dumog is to pin an opponent to the ground. Strategies include pulling, grabbing, pushing and pinning the opponent down through targeting their body parts they use for control.

Palo-sebo, is a common sport played by locals. It features greasy poles, usually made up of bamboo, with a bag of prizes pinned on top of it. The aim is to climb the greasy pole and whoever gets the prize in the quickest time is the winner of the game.

Sungka – is a game for two, played using a wooden block with 16 holes that can hold pieces of pebbles, marbles, or seeds. Two of the holes (called ‘heads’) remain empty, each player protects their own ‘head’. The goal is to gather as many pebbles etc in their ‘head’ as the player can in order to win the game.