Hold Your Breath – Here Comes Kabaddi
An exciting all action invasion game, that can easily be applied to rugby.
Kabaddi is the national game of Bangladesh. Here is a version you can use with your rugby team. It can be used as a warm up game, or something completely different to finish off an intense session.
What is Kabaddi?
It is played by two teams in a 12.5m x 10m court split in two. A player from one side enters the other team's court, tries to touch an opposition player and then get back to his court, all while holding his breath. If successful he scores a point, if not the other team scores a point.
Chanting kabaddi (car-bad-ee) and capture
When a player (the "raider") enters the other team's zone, he must chant "kabaddi-kabaddi" without a break and without drawing breath. If he stops, then he has failed. He also fails if he cannot return to his zone. He can be prevented by being pushed out of the box, or simply tackled and held.
Other rules
- Team sizes should be no more than 7. The actual game has 12 in a team, but with no more than 7 on the court at any one time.
- Teams take it in turns to send in a raider. The raider should be rotated.
- A touch by a raider can be anywhere on the body, but I suggest that it must be made by the hand (in the actual game, a foot is often used).
- The type of tackle can be adjusted according to the players being used. A normal tackle could be employed, or a two-handed touch, or even two-handed touch by two different players.
- The game can be timed or finished when one side reaches a certain number of points.
Variations and ideas
- The raider has a ball, which they must use to touch a defender. Once a touch has been made, the raider must attempt to "score a try" by touching the ball down in the home zone.
- If a defender is touched and the raider gets back, then the defender sits out. Likewise a raider who fails can also sit out. The game is won when the other team has no one left.
- Further to variation 2, you can play "one out, one in". If you force a player out of the opposition, you can revive one of your players.
A raider
- On his turn, dashes into the opposition zone.
- Holds his breadth and chants "kabaddi-kabaddi" until he has have left their zone.
- Tries to touch any of the opposition players with one hand (or a ball) and then make it home.
- Gains a point for touching one of the opposition and returning home.
- Loses a point if he cannot make it back, stops chanting, gets tackled, or goes out of bounds.
- A raider can return home without making a touch, but that is the end of that team's go.
The defenders (the "stoppers")
- Entice a raider to touch one of them.
- Once a player has been touched, the team prevent the raider getting back home by pushing them out or tackling them.