The Playing Method^[1]

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1. The team that wins the toss has the choice to take the role of raiders or defenders. 
2. One of the raiders charges into the defender’s boundary to tag any of the defenders. This move is called a ‘raid’. The defenders must catch the raider and prevent him or her from returning to the raider’s court. This is usually done by wrestling the raider to the ground till he or she loses breath.
3. If the raider is contained inside the defender’s court then the raider is out and the defenders get a point.
4. If the raider succeeds in escaping the defender’s hold, by touching the centreline or the boundary line, then he or she stays alive and one or more defenders touched by the raider during the raid is declared out.
5. Defenders who are sitting outside the court after they have been tagged out will be revived once a member of their team raids the other side and tags out the opponent team members.
6. Raiders try to touch as many defenders as they can during their raid.
7. If there is a tie after five raids, a tiebreaker match is played as follows:
   1. Each team fields five players on the court.
   2. Both teams are given three chances for different raiders to raid alternately.
   3. The team that had raided first at the start of the match gets the chance to raid first in the tiebreaker.

Rules

1. The raiders wait inside their designated court for their turn to raid. If any players come out of this area during the raid, then the raid is declared over. The defenders earn one technical point.
2. The raid continues till the raiders can hold their breath by reciting the word kabaddi repeatedly and continuously. If the raiders stay in the defenders’ area and lose breath, then the defenders get one point.
3. No raider can take two consecutive raids. There must be a gap of at least one raid between two raids of the same raider.
4. Application of any greasy or oil-based substance on the body or limbs is not allowed.
5. Players who are out are revived once the raiders or the defenders succeed in tagging out one or more opponents. 
6. A raider is declared safe if a defender touches the boundary line while holding the raider. Raiders get one point for each defender who has crossed the boundary while preventing the raider from returning.
7. If any player crosses the boundary line, the opposing team gets one point for each instance of crossing.
8. A team should send their raider within 10 seconds after the opposing team completes their raid. Thus, each side sends their raider alternatively until the end of the game.
9. A violent attack to hurt a raider is a foul. The attacker may be suspended, and the raiders get one point.
10. The teams switch their courts at half-time, and the total number of raids must be equal for both the teams in each innings.

Scoring

1. 1. Touch point: Raiders get one point for each opponent they touch before returning successfully.

• Tackle point: If the raider tries to touch a defender but is stopped by the defenders and cannot cross the midline, the defender team earns a tackle point.
• Defenders get one point if they catch and hold the raider inside their area before the breath runs out.

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Positions, Tasks and Techniques

Two sets of fundamental techniques are involved in the game.

1. Raiding techniques: These techniques are used by the raiders to touch the opponents and return safely.
   1. Leading foot raid, turning hand touch: Great acceleration and stretching is required from the raider to touch defenders before they have a chance to react, and get back home equally fast to avoid being tackled.
   2. Toe touch: Toe touch involves the raider ducking low to escape the defender’s hands and attack using feet to touch the defender. This is one of the most effective surprise attacks.
   3. Side kick: Touch the opponent with a side kick.
   4. Scorpion kick: The raider turns away from the defenders to face the midline. The raider curls his or her leg up backwards to touch the crouching defender, like a scorpion’s sting. In addition to speed, this move requires balance, flexibility and surprise.
   5. Front kick: The raider kicks from the front, in a swift and deceiving action.
   6. Mule kick: It is a deceiving kick where the raider quickly turns their back and kicks to quickly touch the defenders.
   7. Frog jump: Raiders launch themselves above incoming defenders and, while in the air, use their hands to propel themselves off the defenders towards safety, thus tagging out the opponents.

1. Defensive techniques: These defensive techniques are used by the defenders to seize the raiders.
   1. Knee catch: In this, the defender grabs the raider’s knee to restrict his or her movement towards the midline.
   2. Ankle catch: A defender catches the raider’s ankle and pulls him or her away from the midline, making the raider fall.
   3. Thigh catch: The defender holds the raider’s thighs, either a single thigh or both thighs.
   4. Crocodile catch:  The defender holds the raider’s arm from a distance first and then pulls it closer.
   5. Wrist catch: The defender grabs the raider’s wrist and pulls him or her away from the midline.

Variations of the game

1. Variation in any or all the following areas are permissible: size of the playfield, the duration of play, weight and height of the players and substitutions.
2. Additional rules may be framed to make the game more strategic. For example, if a team has two empty raids in a row, the next raider must score a point on their next raid or else they will be out. This is called a do-or-die raid.
3. Additionally, when a defending team has less than four players left on the field, tackles are worth two points (super tackle)

Forms of Kabaddi

In different parts of India, various forms of this game evolved, and today’s kabaddi is a synthesis of these variations. In India, four types of kabaddis are played, as described next.

Amar

Amar means undying. In this form of kabaddi, whenever any player is tagged, he or she is not eliminated but stays in the court, and the play goes on. For every player tagged, the opposing team earns a point. This game is also played for a fixed time duration. This Amar form of kabaddi is also used by the World Kabaddi Federation (WKF) in its national, beach and circle kabaddi competitions.

Sanjeevani

In this form, one player is revived against one player of the opposing team who is out: one out, one in.  This form of kabaddi is the closest to the present game. The team that eliminates all the opponent’s sides gets four extra points.

Gaminee or Gemini

In this format, an eliminated player stays out permanently. After all the players are tagged out, the team is revived, and the next round continues with all the players included. This format has no fixed time. The disadvantage is that players get no chance to redeem themselves or perform better as they are out till everyone is eliminated.

Punjabi Kabaddi or Circle Kabaddi

Punjabi kabaddi or circle-style kabaddi, which originated in the Punjab region, is also known as Dayare wali kabaddi meaning played inside a physical demarcation. This form is followed in major international tournaments like the Kabaddi World Cup and the World Kabaddi League.

The raider does not recite kabaddi during the raid, and there is a time of 30 seconds for each raid.

Key Skills Required

Kabaddi requires and develops physical strength and agility in young men and women. During its inception, it was played to boost self-defence skills and develop quick responsiveness to attacks. There are no restrictions on age, gender or weight to play. However, it would be good to have all the players of similar attributes to allow a balanced and enjoyable game.

Cautions

 To eliminate the threat of causing abrasions, nails must be clipped, and players are not allowed to wear any accessories. Players with long hair should tie or clip the hair to prevent it getting caught. Kabaddi is a physical game. Therefore, all players must restrict their moves to the legally allowed and safe moves.

Skills Developed

Playing kabaddi develops agility, good muscular coordination, presence of mind, daring, quick reflexes, good lung capacity and an ability to anticipate the opponent’s moves. The players learn to think logically and strategically improve their cognitive skills.

Life Lessons

The game inculcates the right spirit to combat with opponents. The participants learn to defend themselves and their team members as well as to fight for them.

Kabaddi requires the team to plan a strategy, think logically and act accordingly. The play also involves running, kicking and dodging past the opponents. It requires one to move and think at the same time and very quickly. Impromptu team configurations and cooperation help develop such skills in real life as well.

Current State

Kabaddi was first introduced during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where it was demonstrated by the Shree Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal from Amravati in Maharashtra. The same group introduced Kabaddi in the Indian Olympic Games at Calcutta, India, in 1938.

In 1950, the All-India Kabaddi Federation was founded and compiled, and standard rules were structured. The Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) was founded in 1972, affiliated with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), to spread the game in Asian countries. After the formation of the AKFI, the first men’s national games were held in Chennai. India won the Kabaddi World Cup in 2007, beating Iran.

Kabaddi was included as a category in the 11th Asian Games in 1990. India won the gold medal in all the seven Asian Games except in 2018 when Iran won.

India is also the host to the world’s first kabaddi league.

Origin

Kabaddi was popular in ancient India. An abhanga (a part of a poem) by Tukaram, a famous 17th-century Hindu saint, mentions that Krishna played kabbadi when he was young. Meanwhile, in the Mahabharata, Arjuna was able to intrude into the enemy labyrinth and kill enemies without being touched. Some relate this to strategies of kabaddi.