Giovanni Francois 
There are a lot of sports around the world that we just don’t know about. We have our common sports in America like football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, and boxing. Those are only a few examples of sports that people tend to know about. There are other sports that are not as common: bull riding, cricket table, tennis and, Rugby. Although less popular, these sports are familiar. However, some sports are generally unheard of in American culture.
The first sport we have on our list is Kenjutsu. Kenjutsu is the Japanese art of the sword, which is a one-on-one endeavor. Two people face each other in this type of martial art. The sword is already outside of its saya (sheath). The equipment for practicing Kenjutsu is usually wood swords or even tree branches. Schools practice with dulled metal swords; for body protection they use basic thin leather gloves to some very thick protection that doubles as a target when practicing. Kenjustu is similar to Kendo, but Kendo is the way of the sword while Kenjutsu is the technique of the sword.
The next sport is called Kabaddi, a popular sport in Southern Asia that was first started in India. It’s the national sport in Bangladesh, and is taught in state schools in Nepal. The main objective of the game is to score more points than the opposing team with a time limit. Each team sends across a raider into the other team’s half who must touch one or more of the players on the other team to score a point. When defending, the objective is to capture the raider by wrestling them to the ground without being tagged. Kabaddi is played by two teams of twelve players each, but only seven are allowed on the court at a time. There is no special equipment for Kabaddi, just team uniforms. The duration of the game is in two halves of 20 minutes with a break consisting of 5 minutes for break time. Before a raider goes into the opposition side, they must hold their breath while being on the other side. At the end of the match, the team with the most points wins. If both teams have the same amount of points the game will be called a draw.
Third on our list is called Yukigassen. Yukigassen is a festival in Norway where they have a big snowball fight and celebrate with the Yuki King and Queen. This tradition originated in Japan but was introduced to Norway in 1996. The game is played between two teams each with 90-machine made snowballs. The main objective is to capture the other team’s flag or eliminate all the players.Players wear protective gear and must be 16 years old to participate. Qualifying games are played on Saturday, before the final match and prize ceremony on Sunday.
The last sport on our list is Bo-taoshi which translates to “bring the pole down”. It is played in Japan by cadets of Japan’s National Defense Academy during its anniversary. Teams are divided into two groups where 75 players are the attackers and the other 75 are the defenders. The defenders start to defend their pole while the team gets ready to attack. The defenders hold the pole in a vertical position while someone goes on top of the pole and the rest of the team makes a barrier to stop anyone coming. The offensive team has springboards so they can attempt to jump toward the pole and past the barrier. This sport can be dangerous because defense and attack is simply kicking and punching. To win a game Bo-taoshi, the offensive team must be able to lower the pole at a 30-degree angle. The offensive team will attempt to pull the person on top off the pole to get that pole at a 30-degree angle.
There are a lot of unusual sports, many of which are pretty cool. But for many countries, these sports are just as commonplace as American football is in the United States. Everyone has different traditions and it’s nice to learn about other cultures and sports around the world
