(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-14 19:04

GUANGZHOU - Shuttlecock game, a medal event in the ongoing Chinese Ethnic Games, is a thrill to watch.

Kicks, often performed mid-air at shoulder height, form the basis of the game. Shuttlecock players, who are not allowed to use their hands, use the feet, legs, shoulders and head to keep the "ball" in play.

Shanxi's Li Ming (Right) kicks the Shuttlecock against Guangdong players at the Chinese Ethnic Games in Guangzhou of South China November 13, 2007. [Xinhua]

Players routinely spike the "ball", turning acrobatic somersault movements or bicycle kicks in mid-air to keep the "ball" in play.

"They are so agile and skillful," exclaimed Luo Fan, a 60-year-old shuttlecock fan who watched the shuttlecock tournament in the Guangzhou University Stadium.

Luo, who kicks shuttlecock in a Guangzhou park every morning, said he had seen himself a master of shuttlecock since he was able to keep the shuttlecock airborne for over 20 minutes, but now he had doubts.

"I look like an apprentice compared with those shuttlecock specialists in the ethnic games," he said.

Shuttlecock is a remarkable way of exercising, a training for developing quick reflexives, of agility and of concentration.

There are endless variations in terms of styles and methods of kicking -- just as long as the shuttlecock remains in the air. With one leg fixed on the ground, the shuttlecock is kicked by the inner ankle of the other.

Some other styles include kicking the shuttlecock back and forth between two people. Those who advance to a high level of mastery can perform some truly impressive moves.

The shuttlecock game is divided in two basic types: The artistic and the team play.

The scoring game is similar to the volleyball, but the ball is different and by no means touched by the hands. The artistic game is completely different. It has to do with the skill of the athlete and the choreography. The winner is the one who does the most difficult moves with the feather ball.

Shuttlecock came to Europe before the 2nd World War, when a Chinese athlete from the Jiangsu Province performed a demonstration in the Olympic Games of Berlin in 1936.

Germany and other countries were so impressed, that they began to learn and play the demonstrated sport. The World Shuttlecock Championships are an annual event since the founding of the International Shuttlecock Federation (ISF) in 1999.