Sipa a traditional Filipino sport
Sipa is a traditional sport of the Philippines. It is a difficult sport to play, where players are required to have high skills of ball control, speed and agility. The sport is related to Sepak Takraw and has some similarities in game play to that of Footbag Net and Footvolley.
The sport can be played both indoors and outdoors, using a soft ball. The court used is similar in dimensions to that of a tennis court, with a net in the middle. A match can be played in singles, doubles or a team of four format. The objective of the sport is to kick the ball to the other side of the net onto the opponent’s side.
The three variations of sipa that are commonly practiced are:
- Rattan ball: Played with a larger ball that is made with woven rattan strips.
- Washer: Played with a lead washer that is covered by a cloth. The objective is to keep kicking the ball without allowing it to touch the ground. If a team drops the ball onto the ground the opposing team scores a point.
- Simplified: Played with equal number of players on each team between 1 to 4. Game play involves keeping the ball above the ground.
Similar Sports
- Sepak Takraw — an Asian sport like volleyball but using the feet to kick a ball over a net, which also uses a rattan ball.
- Footbag — a group of sports that is named after the ball ("Footbag") that is used to play the sport. Sports include Freestyle and Footbag Net.
- Footbag Net — players have to kick a footbag over a 5ft high net.
- Footvolley — beach volleyball played with the feet
- Basse — a bag ball game from Norway in which the ball is kept from landing in the player's area, using any part of the body except the hands.
Other Filipino Sports
- Arnis — the national martial art sport of the Philippines which emphasizes weapon-based fighting.
- Dumog — a Filipino style of wrestling while standing upright.
- Sikaran — a form of kickboxing from the Philippines, which utilizes only the feet, the hands are only used for blocking.
Related Pages
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports
- About sport in Philippines
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