Sepak Takraw Article

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Modern Sepak Takraw, or Takraw for short (also known as Kick Volleyball), began in Malaysia and is now their national sport . Earliest historical evidence shows the game was played in the 15th century's Malacca Sultanate, it is mentioned in the Malay historical text, "Sejarah Melayu" (Malay Annals). The Malay Annals described in details the incident of Raja Muhammad, a son of Sultan Mansur Shah who was accidentally hit with a rattan ball by Tun Besar, a son of Tun Perak, in a Sepak raga game. The ball hit Raja Muhammad's headgear and knocked it down to the ground. In anger, Raja Muhammad immediately stabbed and killed Tun Besar, whereupon some of Tun Besar's kinsmen retaliated and wanted to kill Raja Muhammad. However, Tun Perak managed to restrain them from such an act of treason by saying that he would no longer accept Raja Muhammad as the Sultan's heir. As a result of this incident, Sultan Mansur Shah ordered his son out of Malacca and had him installed as the ruler of Pahang. Modern Sepak Takraw combines elements of Soccer, Footbag, Volleyball, Baseball, Badminton, Gymnastics and the ancient sport of Sepak Raga. ”Sepak” is the Malay word for kick and “takraw” is the Thai word for a woven ball, therefore sepak takraw quite literally means to kick ball. The choosing of this name for the sport was essentially a compromise between Malaysia and Thailand, the two powerhouse countries of the sport. Sepak

takraw

is

a

sport played primarily in Southeast Asia especially in the

Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. It is similar to volleyball, only the player kick the ball instead of using hands. The ball, called the rattan, is woven out of plastic, sometimes straw.

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The game is played with two teams consisting of four players. This called a "regu." There are three people on the court and one standing sideline for reserve. There is the back, who stands at the back, the right inside and the left

inside, who stand on the right and left sides,

respectively. It is played on a court with a net about the size and height of a badminton net, with a circle drawn in the middle of both sides. A semi-circle is drawn on around the posts of the nets. The players use of mainly the head and legs and sometimes other parts of the body (except for both hands or arms) to return the ball to the opposing team and to maintain a ball. The header is probably most important skill to have, especially in the net game.

The header is

used to pop up a ball that comes higher than the waist. The best way to learn the header is like the inside kick. The player toss the ball hit it with their head and then catch it. The next step in this skill drill is to toss the ball higher and again control it with their head before catching the ball. It hurts a bit at first, but the player get use to it. The graduating step is to a header from a high inside kick or from a header to a controlling inside kick.

Recently, the International Sepak takraw Federation (ISTAF) has been endeavoring to bring this traditional game into the Olympic games by the year 2020 (Utusan Malaysia Online, 2009). The traditional takraw ball is manufactured by conventionally weaving split rattan strips into a spherical basket. Modern takraw balls are manufactured by forming strips of plastics materials into interwoven hoop. These interwoven hoops form 12 holes and 30 intersections which may reduce the players injured.

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2.0 THE CONTENTS

I have choose to do article review on the article of Estimation of Head Impact Power on Sepak Takraw Players using Photogrametrics Method a reserach by Zahari Taha from University Malaysia Pahang , Iskandar Hasanuddin , Tuan Mohammad Yusof Shah Tuan Ya , Norhafizan Ahmad and Raja Ariffin Raja Ghazila from Universiti Malaya .

This research focus on the Head Impact Power (HIP) of sepak takraw balls on the players are measured using Photogrametrics Method. In this study the researcher used the photogrametrics method to evaluate trauma brain injuries causes by impact of the sepak takraw ball on the head. Data was collected from the sepak takraw world cup championship level in Terengganu , Malaysia , in May 2009 where 12 countries participant with 16 teams and 49 matches of men only.

The researchers made this research after refer to others sport research such as soccer and America Football which conducted by Newman on 1999 a

study on the probability of a

concussion due to head clashes in American Football. Delaney on 2002 reported that more than 60% of college level soccer players reported symptoms of concussion during a single season. A concussion is a trauma-induced change in mental status , with or without unconsciousness causes by an impact to the head or upper body , or by non - contact severe motion , such as whiplash. Its symptoms range from a mild headache , nausea , dizziness , vertigo , and heightened sensitivity to light or sound , amnesia to prolonged unconsciousness.

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The researchers used Photogrametrics method because it is often used in occupational biomechanics. One camera can be used when a motion is performed in one plane , while for three -dimensional analysis two or more are used. In conducting the experiments , two cameras are used. One is used to capture the front view while another one is used to capture the side views. Both cameras are needed for three -dimensional analysis of movement. In this study , two 300 Hz high-speed video cameras are used to capture the head movements of the players. In this study , only linear impact is encountered.

The findings that stated by researched that 12 samples are selected for HIP calculation which regions the velocity range of the sepak takraw serve. It can be seen that when the velocity increases , the HIP also increase. After the studies it can be seen that the HIP of sepak takraw players are found to be in the region of moderate neurological injuries. It can be calculated that 80% of the impacts on head of sepak takraw balls have a 95% probability of causing head injuries. To reduce the probability of causing head injuries the researchers suggested that the players should wear head pad for protection.

Based on the finding above , I explored for new way to overcome this problem I found that a research conducted by Zahari Taha , 2008 , about a new type of ball was introduced which is still made of plastic but impregnated with rubber. The reason for this is to reduce the impact of the ball on the head. However it was found that the new ball was actually causing more headaches to players. Preliminary study found that the new ball travels at higher speeds than the older plain plastic balls.

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From CFD studies, it was found that the new ball travels at a higher speed because of its smaller diameter. In addition the new ball generates negative lift which will cause the ball to descent at a steeper angle. The effect of the rubber is only to slightly increase the drag forces and slightly reduce the lift.

The design of a solid-ball in various sports equipment, such as for soccer ball, softball, golf, and also takraw ball, is a complicated phenomenon and in the literature there have been attempts to analyze this complicated phenomenon due to several reasons. For example, due to safety reasons, the design of a soccer ball should be soft enough to avoid injuries caused by contact between ball and head (CPSC, 1995-2002). However the ball should not be too soft in order to maintain the performance of the game. A study (Taha, Iskandar & Hilma, 2008) found that a takraw ball made of plastic impregnated with rubber to soften the surface of the ball has a higher probability .of head concussion compared to a ball made without impregnated rubber. This higher probability of concussion is because the rubber impregnated ball travels at higher velocity than the normal one.

This study became interesting because sepak takraw is one of the sport activity in most of the primary and secondary school in Malaysia. There are competition in district level and national for this sport. All this days , I teach my students the basic skills in sepak takraw and heading is one of the main skill. Unfortunately , we never realize the impact of using this skill to our students. Even thought , my students using plastic ball but the impact still there. After read the finding , I started to look other article that may have the solution for this problem.

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3.0 THE IMPORTANT OF THE ARTICLE.

Sepak” is Malay for “kick” and “Takraw” is Thai for “hand-woven ball”. As a net game, this sport was first developed in Malaysia, then spread quickly throughout the rest of South East Asia and in fact is now Malaysia’s national sport. Sepak Takraw is a cross between soccer and volleyball played on a doubles badminton court, as 3 players on each side of a 5-foot high net get three chances to kick, knee, shoulder, or head a hand-woven ball back to the opposing team. The strategy, like volleyball, is to make the best use of your three hits to pass, set and spike the ball as the opposing team attempts to block but all without the use of hands or arms.

Benefits of Sepak Takraw are that it can be played as a solo activity, group recreation, or team sport, can be played indoor or outdoor. It also develops excellent eye-foot co-ordination, leg strength, and flexibility; enhances the skills required for playing soccer

and is very

inexpensive to play because the equipment is minimal and inter-club traveling can be done in one vehicle since there are only 3 or 4 players on a team perfect for smaller schools.

from the article I able to realize that this sport give an negative impact to the player when they regularly using heading technique. Some of the research recommended to use headband as protection which I think it is a good idea. Maybe in short term we did not see the consequences but it may effect the player for long term . From the research I also suggest more study about this matter should done because this sport became one of our National sport and most school train their students to involve in Sepak takraw as one of the coocuriculum activities.

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4.0 THE APPLICATION AT THE SCHOOL.

Sepak takraw is one of the most popular sports in South East Asia and in other countries in the world. In order to be a successful team, athletes need to perform at a high level and free from injury. As a physical education teacher , I need to know and master the basic skill in sepak takraw before I expose my student to this sport. Sepak Takraw is a game that included other game skills such as football , badminton and volleyball . This game easy for our student to master but as a coach I need to know how to prevent injuries, epidemiological information related to injuries is essential to establish preventive strategies. However, there are very few reports that are related to injuries in Sepak takraw.

The highest severe injury was neck strain, which caused 18 player-hours to be lost. The majority of injuries were at the ankle, knee, hip and thigh , because the activities of this sport usually use the lower extremities to play. Moreover, the aggressive impact movements would cause many injuries, particularly when landing. False landing also produced injuries to the shoulder, head and neck.

As reported by Sport Authority of Thailand , (1997 ) Twenty of the 53 injuries were a strain, followed by spasm (8 injuries) and sprain (7 injuries). The incidence of Sepak takraw was higher than soccer , although soccer is a more aggressive sport. Moreover, the higher frequency of training and competition produce the higher risk in Sepak takraw.

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Neilsen, B.A., & Yde, J. (1989) stated in their research that many injuries were found in Sepak takraw study. That would be one of causes to lose or win a game, although the injuries were not severe. Those injuries usually are produced at lower extremities. Activities of Sepak takraw produced many strains. The activity, which was most aggressive and produced many injuries, was summersault activity.

However, many overuse injuries are also found. Incomplete healing process induces many overuse injuries. For prevention of these sport injuries, it is necessary to find appropriate stretching techniques, proper injury management and instruments such as weight absorber in sole of the shoe to reduce injuries in this team. Teacher need to look this matter properly and take safety management before and during the game.

As we know our country is one of the strong team in Asia for this sport. We should take this opportunity by producing future sepak takraw player from early age. Sepak Takraw should became one of compulsory sport in teacher training college syllabus so it helps new teacher to learn and implement it when they start teaching. It is one of the advantage when a teacher who really master the game able to reduce the injury among the players because they able to teach the right technique and take early prevention.

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5.0 CONCLUSIONS

Sepak takraw is a skill ball game, which requires the use of the feet and head to keep the ball in the air in a targeted direction. Traditionally, villagers stand in a circle and display keen understanding and teamwork to help one another keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. It provided villagers of all ages with fun, recreation and a sense of shared community. This was the traditional circle game, evolved from many forms of kicking game. Today, the circle game is still popular throughout South-East Asia and has taken a hold as a form of recreational "sport for all". In a new variation introduced by the International Sepak takraw Federation in 1996, players stand in a circle and receive different level of points for each passing kick.

Sepak takraw was dominated by Malaysians and Thais, but we seem to have fallen behind. In Malaysia, you can see youngsters playing this sport in residential areas and impressing people with their array of skills.

Sepak Takraw (also known as kick volleyball) is a sport that is unique to this region. Sepak takraw differs from volleyball as players use a rattan ball and are only allowed to use their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball. Sepak” is the Malay word for kick and “takraw” is the Thai word for a woven ball, therefore sepak takraw to kick ball. The name was given for the sport after an agreement between Malaysia and Thailand, the two major forces of the sport.

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Sepak takraw has also become a regular event in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games. In the 70s, we used to be a force to be reckoned with only Malaysia and Thailand dominating the sepak takraw circuit whereas the other Southeast Asia nations were crushed by these two nations. During that time players like Azlan Mubin, Rommi Suhendra and Zabidi Shariff were the key players and were known for their intense matches with the Thais.

By the start of the new millennium, more teams were in the fray and teams like Indonesia, Myanmmar and Vietnam were beginning to challenge the two powerhorses. However, Malaysia’s performances dipped and Thailand were beginning to stamp themselves as the indomitable force of sepak takraw.

Nowadays, we are losing tamely against Thailand and even against other nations like Myanmar, South Korea and Indonesia. What has happened to the sport we once dominated? We have young talented players from all over Malaysia. The right programs will surely help the development of youths. The ministry of sport should look this matter seriously , there should a link or a wide opportunity that primary and secondary students to take part in the sport until national level. Physical education teacher should expose about this game and get training from expert or veteran player which they able to use the knowledge to train the students at school level.

As stated in this article the injuries of the player able to reduce if the player get training in correct technique and skills. The competition should not stop at district level but the student given chance to participate in many other competition not only organize by ministry of education but also other NGO.

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After searching on the internet so far only one organization which called Bolarotan.com who is active organizing competition to look for young talent in sepak takraw. Nowadays , there are many programmes looking for young football talent , unfortunately only few for sepak takraw.

There should be more research about sepak takraw which touch all aspects. All level of people should take this matter seriously and absolutely all problem like lack of skills among players , less choice of future player and how to prevent injuries before , during and after the game can be solve in proper and effective way.

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REFERENCES

Neilsen, B.A., & Yde, J. (1989). Epidemiology and truamatology of injuries in soccer. American Journal of Sport Medicine, 17,803-7.

Ahmad, N. Taha, Z. Ujihashi, S. & Tanaka, K. (2009). An experimental study of the impact of a sepak takraw ball on flat surface, 4th Asia-Pacific Congress on Sports Technology, Hawaii, USA

Zahari Taha, et al: (2008 ) Effect of Diameter on the Aerodynamics of Sepaktakraw Balls, A Computational Study

Retrieved from http://www.takraw- association.org.uk/information/history-sepaktakraw

Retrieved from http://www.bolarotan.com/

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