GUANGZHOU - Shouting "kabaddi, kabaddi" instead of their usual chants, a group of Japanese monks has now found itself compared to ancient Indian warriors at the Guangzhou Asiad.
The Japanese men's team, which includes three genuine monks and a bunch of Buddhism scholars, has given the ancient Indian sport, which evolved as a means of keeping soldiers fit between battles, a touch of "solemnity".
"I didn't see any contradiction between being a monk and playing kabaddi. Kabaddi makes my body stronger, while Buddhism guides me spiritually," said team captain Kokei Ito. "Remember, they both originated from India."
Popular in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, kabaddi is played between two seven-member teams on a court with a line drawn down the middle.
A "raider" from one team is sent to the opposing half, all the while chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" in one breath. Inhaling during a raid is against the rules. Raiders score by touching rivals and getting back into their own half without being caught or tackled to the ground.
If the catchers manage to prevent the raider from returning to his side of the court, their team gets the point.
Indian has dominated the sport, winning all five Asiad gold medals since 1990.
Ito, a 34-year-old monk from the Enman Temple in Yokohama, was introduced to the game by his older brother, Keijun, the team's manager and a monk too.
Keijun was studying Buddhism at the Tokyo-based Taisho University and played for the kabaddi club of Taisho, which has adopted the task of spreading the sport in Japan. He represented Japan at the 1990 Beijing Asiad, when kabaddi first joined the games' fold.
When Kokei was 18, he followed his brother and entered the same university and club. He represented Japan at the 2006 Doha Games where the team finished fifth.
While their rivals gather to encourage each others with yells of "go ahead", the Japanese clear their minds through meditation before a match.
"Zen isn't necessarily practiced in a quiet or static way. But when I calm down, it drives the chaos out of my mind and I concentrate more on the court," said Ito.
The polite, humble man insists his life off the court is no different from other monks - keeping the temple clean and tidy, chanting sutras and doing other Buddhism services.
However, he has to carefully organize his time to perform his duties and train.
"There are nine other monks in our temple. They and my family members, especially my parents, are all very supportive. They encouraged me and asked me to go all out for the games," said Ito.
He trained with his team four times a week and had an extra three sessions of strength training every week.
It is believed that less than 2,000 people play kabaddi in Japan, after it was introduced to that country through an exhibition match between two Indian teams in the 1980s.
However, Ito and his teammates are eyeing a medal in Guangzhou, which they believe will get more Japanese to know and love the sport.
"We must win a medal this time, so we can promote kabaddi in Japan," said Ito.
That dream is alive as the Japanese have scored one win and one loss in the preliminaries so far. They will enter the semifinals if they beat Malaysia on Wednesday.
Ito's sporting philosophy is: "Pray, and any flower of yours will come out". That may come true.
Asian Games exhibition held in Beijing
