Board shoe racing originally came from China which traditional sports of the Zhuang people. A simple game but requires high discipline when three people sharing the same “shoes”. They need perfect and accurate movement also concentration to move forward without any problems.
Back in the Ming Dynasty, elders told that famous heroin of the Xhuang people used it as a way to train soldiers against invading Japanese pirates. Mrs. Wa the legendary, used long pieces of wood to teach the men to march together in such perfect synchronization. The training can improve their combat qualities and also boosted their fighting spirit and helping them repel those invaders. The combat technique has been passed on from generation to generation and now we can see it as a sport in China.
The unique sport consists of three team members running on the same pair of shoes when there are two wooden boards and some leather straps to fasten their feet. The boards are only one-meter-long, 9cm-wide, and 3cm-thick. Use them as shoes for all of the three-members, need a lot of expert coordination. If one pushes too hard or too slow, they all can topple over each other.
A Board shoe racing project has been approved by the National Civil Affairs Commission. The approval made board shoe racing is an official event at the annual National Minority Traditional Sports Games. Practiced by both men and women, mostly from the Zhuang people itself.
Liu Jianxin, head coach of the Henan board shoe racing team said “Board shoe racing is a true team sport, and coordination is the most important requirement”
“In addition to improving physical fitness and speed training, it is more about enhancing the team members’ tacit cooperation to the highest it can be” he added.
Source: Oddity Central
