Korean Foot Volleyball

I was walking down this road today near a stream and some rice paddies, quite picturesque (see picture below). I ended up near a high school and discovered a sport completely new to me.

I walked near this high school's athletic field, and there were groups of 40 year old men standing around nets which were about waist high. They were also holding a ball which looked a lot like a volleyball. The game finally started, and it was incredibly interesting to watch.

I would call it a cross between volleyball and soccer, because it's like volleyball but you can't use your hands. The players have to use their feet, thighs, chests, and heads to keep the ball in the air, though it can bounce once, and send it back to the other side of the net.

These guys weren't the best to ever play the sport, each volley seemed to be at most two times over the net. I didn't watch for long, though, I felt like a voyeur because I was watching them and taking pictures from behind a tree outside of the field.

Some research tells me that this sport is called Sepak Takraw and originates in South East Asia. Traditionally, this ball is used:

So I'm guessing that the version I saw was a bit modernized. This sport looks super fun to me though because volleyball and soccer are two of my favorite sports to play, outside of baseball. I'm going to keep my eyes open for an opportunity to play.

Here's a video of some people playing that looks a lot like what I saw: