Takraw Shoes

Now that you know the sport, what kind of equipment do you need to play takraw? The essentials are as follow, a badminton/takraw court, a takraw ball, a takraw net and shoes together with 6 players.

"What kind of shoes do I need for takraw?", you might ask. The most important part of shoes in regards to any sport activities is that it is comfortable to you, for takraw this also applies. Any shoe you feel comfortable wearing can be used for takraw. But what shoes are the norm for takraw?

Usually two brands of shoes are the most commonly used in takraw.

Nanyang shoes

or Warrior shoes

With the above two pictures you might now be wondering, "But those are typical school shoes", and you are right. What makes them special is the inside of the shoe. Compare a typical running shoe.

See how deep the inside of the shoe's cutting is as compared to the two brands above, this does not exclude running shoes as takraw shoes but it might be a little difficult to control the ball with those shoes. Of course for those who are comfortable with using running shoes, they may do so, some professionals prefer using running shoes even in tournaments, why do they choose running shoes over the normal takraw shoes? I myself am not too sure.

If you ask me, just go with any shoes that you are comfortable with, be it a typical Nike shoe or even a plain canvas shoe. Try experimenting with different shoes and find your perfect shoe, if you truly love the sport, why not invest a few dollars for it?

Feeders

Feeders are the glue and adhesive to a takraw team, they set the ball to the preference of their strikers. Feeders must be agile and quick to respond. Among the three positions, feeders are usually the ones with the best ball control, many do not realise it but the feeder is the backbone of a takraw team. They make the gameflow more smooth and usually determine whether the striker can spike the ball "cleanly".

Feeders must be agile and have perfect ball control as takraw only allows 3 touches, if the initial serve is directed to the tekong (server) the feeder must set the ball regardless of how far or how difficult it is and also making it perfect for the striker to spike.

If the need arises the feeder too must spike the ball, the feeder in short can be considered a utility player in takraw. Below are pics of feeders roll-spiking

The Serve

Essentially the basic of starting a takraw game, the serve. In takraw, a serve happens when the player in the quarter circle on their side of the court throws the ball to the server, who stands in the circle on their side of the court. He kicks the ball up and over the net while his non-kicking foot remains in the circle. During the service, as soon as the Tekong kicks the ball, all the players are allowed to move about freely in their respective courts. The service is valid if the ball passes over the net, whether it touches the net or not, and inside the boundary of the two net tapes and boundary lines of the opponent’s court.


In takraw, a serve can mean a good or bad start to a game


Usually, beginners will find it difficult to serve like professionals, kicking the ball above their heads. With that, beginners usually serve by kicking the ball at a much lower height, around their waist level.

As they progress, beginners will be taught to kick the ball at a higher height, the advantage of kicking the ball at a higher height is so that the direction of the ball will be going downwards and also it is easier to apply power to the kick.

Players must keep in mind, that during the serve, power is not the only method, the serve can be used to surprise the opposing team by giving a drop ball that might catch the opposing team off guard. As with spiking, the serve too needs a certain degree skill, mainly in flexibility.

Probably the most deadliest serve technique, the horse kick serve, created by Thailand players, has reached speeds of up to 80km/h, but the horse kick serve requires  a lot of practice and especially flexibility. The horse kick serve is different to the normal serve as the horse kick is executed by kicking the ball with the instep as compared to the standard serve technique with uses the inside of the foot, giving the horse kick serve nearly double the power and pace as compared to a normal serve.

Each serve technique has a different method of tossing to the server (tekong), in terms of how high the ball is toss and how near or far it is to the server, in all of the techniques, the horse kick serve is the hardest for a player to toss to the server as the ball has to be quite high and right above the head of the server, making it quite a hassle for the tosser.

Strikers and Spiking

The most memorable part for anyone who watches a takraw game is the spike. There is no proper way of spiking, but the most lethal of all spikes, known as the roll spike, requires a certain degree of agility combined with athleticism. In short, takraw strikers are agile and are quick to react.

There are many forms of spiking, thus a player must find a suitable style that is comfortable to him/her. The most common spike among beginner would be known as the sunback spike or what some may call the scissors spike

 A sunback spike is a shot when the player jumps with his back to the net and kicks the ball over the same shoulder as his/her kicking foot. The sunback is similar to the bicycle kick in soccer. The sunback is usually taught to beginners as the basic spike, but once mastered, the sunback can be devastating, till today, the sunback spike is still used even in tournaments.


A roll spike  is when a player jumps his back to the net rotate in the air kicks the ball over his shoulder opposite his kicking foot making him to flip over. It’s the most dramatic move in any game. The roll spike is what catches most peoples attention the first time they witness a takraw game. Some of the shots can be at off speed pitches as that will mess up the defence. The roll spike is considered to be the most powerful and difficult spike in takraw, due to acrobatic moves, the roll spike allows a players full body weight to be put behind the power of the ball, causing it to reach speeds of up to a blistering 130 km/h.

With great technique and power there is bound to be a defence against such spikes. Like volleyball takraw players too block spikes. With that in mind there will always be a 50/50 chance of the spike being successful, thus a striker must choose whether he/she will opt for power or placement with each having its owns set of pros and cons.

Takraw Introduction

Just a takraw enthusiast, not a professional, sharing what I know and experienced.

Sepak takraw is a sport that is a mixture of volleyball and soccer, there are many variations of takraw but the most common would be the 3 a side game

In takraw, each position has their own set of roles and responsibilities, the three positions are, Tekong (Server), Feeder and striker. Perhaps the most breathtaking part in takraw is when the striker executes the spike, defying gravity while maintaining perfect posture.

 The rules of takraw are simple, each team is allowed a maximum of three touches of the ball to get it back over the net to the other side without letting it touch the ground. The first team to score either 15 or 21 points, depending on the rules in play, wins the set. The team that prevails in two sets wins the match.

Play starts when the server is tossed the grapefruit-sized ball by a teammate while keeping one foot in a small 'serving circle'. He then must kick the ball over the net with the other foot. 

After that, volleyball rules pretty much apply, except for the fact that the ball can't be touched by the hands or arms. Top takraw players have to combine great foot-eye coordination with quickness, anticipation, power, flexibility, and acrobatic skills.