Polo, Elephant Polo, and Buzkashi

Polo. We're now going from water polo to regular polo. Regular polo, for those who don't know are played on horses. You have a large mallet and the object is to move the ball down the field and hit it into the goal.

This is how most, well me really, I'm not sure about everyone else, thinks of polo. On horses and hitting a ball along the field using a mallet until you score a goal.

Elephant Polo

 

Elephant polo is just a tad bit different. Just a tad. Just as it sounds, it is played on elephants. Elephants. No big deal.

 

The rules are similar to those of horse polo; however, there are some key differences, which should be noted. All elephants carry a player and a mahout, ladies are allowed to use both hands and mallets of around two meters in length are used.

 

Additionally there are some elephant specific rules:

•	Any team with 3 elephants in one half of the pitch is judged to have committed a foul.
•	No more than 2 elephants may be in the D at one time – one from the attacking team and one from the defending team.
•	There are no restrictions as to the height, weight or sex of the elephants.

http://anantaraelephantpolo.com/e_rules.php

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/1208371 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbKtqM0hq_I

From looking at the video it is evident that elephant polo may be just as rigorous equestrian polo. Even though there are two people, it is equally difficult for each person. One has to use their leg muscles to direct an elephant. An elephant. With only their legs. Wow. While that's going on, the other person has to use their leg muscles to stay on the elephant and lean over to try and hit the ball at the same time. Since the elephants are obviously higher up than horses it requires more strength, mostly from the wrists, to move the mallet. We should commend them for their strength and balance.

Buzkashi

This is the way polo is played in Afghanistan.

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/buzkashi

http://www.afghan-web.com/sports/buzkashi.html

Buzkashi, which literally translated means "goat grabbing" is the national sport of Afghanistan. There are two main types of Buzkashi, Tudabarai and Qarajai. In Buzkashi, a headless carcass is placed in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players of two opposing teams. The object of the game, is to get control of the carcass and bring it to the scoring area.  

In Tudabarai, in order to score, the rider must obtain possession of the carcass and then carry it away from the starting circle in any direction. The rider must stay free and clear of the other riders.

In Qarajai, the task is much more complex. The player must carry the calf around a marker, and then return the carcass to the team's designated scoring circle.






Just like in polo, Buzkashi requires the same amount of strength required, and possibly more. They still have to use their abdomen and leg strength in order to stay on the horse. Although in Buzkashi the players do not use mallets and so they do not rely on their muscles for that purpose. However, they may need even more strength in order to carry an entire headless goat carcass around a field while fending off other players. Not only are they carrying this carcass, they are fighting for it. Trying to pull it away from the other player while keeping themselves on top of the horse. We should commend them for their strength and balance.