Traditional Sports
The Blang people are located in the mountainous areas with rough terrain. The upland and deep valleys make a large disparity in altitude. Due to the constraints of the natural environment, the Blang’ social productivity is low and in order to subsistence, it is necessary to acquire certain skills in hunting and picking. As a result, the ethnic groups living in these areas have accumulated the more effective movements for productive labor and have consciously trained themselves, gradually creating sports such as archery and crossbow-shooting. In the process ofhunting, they not only fought the beasts with their bare hands by punching, kicking and dodging, but also fought them with rocks and cudgels, from which some martial arts skills have been accumulated, such as kicking, punching, wrestling,holding, cutting, chopping and thrusting.
(1) Martial Arts
Martial arts is a favourite sporting activity of the Blang people. It has a wide variety of forms, mostly evolving from productive work, animal movements and human self-defence actions. The martial arts are sharp, robust and powerful, and fully reflect the brave spirit of the Blang people. The main types are as follows:
Monkey style boxing: It is a style of Imitation Boxing of complex content. Monkey style boxing lays stress on short and repeating attacks. Its common characteristics are light,ingenious and vivid postures and movements like monkeys.
Double broadsword techniques: It is performed by a bare-chested person, with a broadsword in each hand. The main moves are hacking, thrusting and parrying.
Pointed broadsword techniques: It is performed by three men with a pointed broadsword in hand. They leap into the air then make a circle in the air, pretending to fight with each other.
Staff techniques: It consists of two people each fighting against each other, either attacking or defending, with the wooden staff being swung up and down and left and right.You must be quick, ingenious and methodical in your movements.
Meteor hammer: It is a weapon made ofa piece ofrope or wire about 70 cm long with a bowl-sized lead bar tied to one end. You should pull rope or wire by hand and throw away the end with the lead bar in attack.
Chain techniques: A chain of about 1.6 meters in length was used as a weapon and wrapped around the neck ofthe opponent.
Toad style boxing: a style of Imitation Boxing with the imitation of toad posture and movement.
(2) Crossbow-Shooting
Originally crossbow-shooting is a form of the Blang’ hunting activity, which is divided into individual hunting and round-up group hunting. Hunting tools include muskets,crossbows, bows and arrows. Group hunting is a village-wide hunting activity for men,which takes place once or twice a year, mostly in the spring and winter. The Blang men have been experienced during their long hunting life, thus mastering a variety of hunting methods. Different hunting methods are used for different animals, such as using hidden arrows, setting traps, setting bamboo-tipped stakes, gunpowder shooting, etc. Nowadays,crossbow-shooting is mainly for recreational purposes. There is no limitation on fields and the number ofparticipants. The targets are mainly made of straw, and the distance between the targets and the people is within a certain range (15 meters away).
(3) Blang Ball
The Blang ball is also called “bamboo ball”. It is a popular sport for the young Blang people in Xishuangbanna. The ball is a hollow bamboo ball made of slender slips of bamboo or rattan, about 15 centimeters in diameter, with a bit of grass placed inside. There are four basic ways to play the Blang ball:
Single-player mode.
The game is played individually and is divided into two types. One is a height competition. Based on the height of the local houses, the good work should make the ball above the roof of the house. The other is a skill competition, which is a combination of various Blang ball techniques.
General mode.
This mode has been around for the longest time among the Blang people, which requires people pass the ball back and forth in a circle. There is not care about winning or losing.During the game, the people who miss the ball should be penalized, and the direct top-down smash is not allowed on the serve.
Competition mode.
Compared to other fields, competition sports have a special way of expression and a unique way of competition. This game mode is closely related to the unique culture of the Blang ethnic group: It is played between Blang men, who often use it to fight for the girl they love. Before the match, each ofthe participants will invite their friends to form a team,agree on the time and place ofthe match, and ask the elders of the village to be the judges of the match. The game is usually played on a two out of three or three out of five, but in order to save time, the outcomes can be decided in one round by mutual agreement, with 11, 15 or 21 points per round. The game is played in a circle with one player from each side standing in a cross position, and each side uses its own skills to defeat the other.
Petal mode.
This mode is primarily for entertainment purposes. Firstly, the participants form a circle that depends on the number of participants and the size of the field, then a Blang Ball master stands in the centre ofthe circle. During the pass, if someone in the circle misses the ball, the master is responsible for catching the ball, and if he fails, he will be punished, so will the passer who misses the ball.
The rules of Blang Ball require that the balls used are flexible, resilient and durable, with a smooth and intact surface, and the balls which do not meet the demands should be replaced in time. The field to be used is open, even and free from obstructions. The participants should wear clean and tidy clothing with no sharp accessories that could harm others and the aids are not allowed. When serving the ball, whether low-handed or high-handed serve, you must not smash the ball directly from the top downwards, not to mention on the face or crotch of the opponent. You may join and leave at any time after the activity has started, but you may not run around the field and deliberately disrupt the activity. You may use any part ofyour body to pass and catch the ball. During the pass, you may not hold the ball, swear, abuse or hit other participants. Women are not allowed to participate directly.
(4) The Moqiu Swing
The Moqiu swing, a sport enjoyed by young Blang women, is similar to the “seesaw”of today. The method is to insert a solid stake in the courtyard as a central pillar, and then chisel a hole in the middle ofa 6m-7m dendrocalamus giganteus or log and insert it into the stake, so that it can rotate and lift freely. At the beginning, participants can rides or pounces the each end of swing to spin up and down. The winner is the one who spins quickly and can hold on for a longer time. This activity is restricted to young women only, while other people can watch for fun.
(5) Whipping Tops
Whipping tops is an ancient sport. Tops are usually made of hardwood that is cut into a cylindrical shape with 14cm long and 10-12cm in diameter. One end is flat and the other end is cut into a conical shape with 8-10cm long. It can be considered as a qualified top,until the surface becomes smooth. Once the top is ready, they prepare a 1-3cm wide and 50cm long bamboo stick for the handle, then take a 1.5m long twine and tie it to one end of the stick. To start, drag the handle on the ground, hold the top in your left hand and pinch the other end of the twine with your right hand. Tighten the twine around 1-2 cm below the flat top. Then switch to hold the top with the right hand, bring the handle along the right wrist to the elbow, squeeze the end ofthe handle with the left hand and throw the top towards the target with all your strength, then pull the twine back with the right hand, the top spins under centrifugal force and the one who can hit the target wins.
(6) Dage
Dage, a sports dance performed by the Blang people, is the oldest and most common form of entertainment among the Blang people, and usually performed with musical instruments. Dage of the Blang ethnic group around Baoshan are mainly in the form of broad sword dances and circle dances. It is a kind of sports dance of the Di Qiang tribe[23],and it is also a traditional sports activity of the ancient minorities which integrates sports,music and dance. In the circle dance, the Blang people gather around a fire to perform Dage, but the dance steps are different, with men and women dancing in different styles,men dancing with strength and women dancing with grace and rhythm.