What do chess and boxing have in common? When is it legal to kick someone in the shin? We'll give you the answers and more with these five absurd sports.
Shin-kicking
Where: England
Rules: We didn't know how to translate 'shin kick' so it wouldn't sound very silly. But the name speaks for itself. The 400-year-old sport consists of making your opponent fall to his knees by kicking him in the shin. It's best played in three rounds and you have to hold your opponent by the collar until the round is over. If you dig into the history books, you'll find that some athletes raised their pain threshold by hitting themselves in the shin with a hammer and also wore steel-toed shoes to competitions. Today, shin amateurs must wear relatively padded shoes and stuff their trousers with straw. Everything fades with age (sigh?).
Bossaball
Where: Spain, Brazil and several other countries
The rules: Bossaball combines the best of volleyball, football, trampoline jumping and capoeira (YES!). The bossaball court is an inflatable volleyball court on which two teams compete against each other. However, each half of the court has a trampoline next to the net. Both teams have a maximum of five touches. Here it is a question of the other team attacking with the attacker standing at the trampoline. He can then do scissors, karate or a crazy shot at the ball over the net. It's very similar to volleyball, only it's MUCH cooler to watch.
Chess boxing
Where: Mostly in England, Germany, India and Russia.
Rules: Sounds crazy and bizarre, but brilliant nonetheless. Because how do you make a spectacularly boring sport interesting? Well, you just mix it with one of the most masculine sports and suddenly you have something very, very interesting. Chess boxing is exactly what the name suggests. There are 11 rounds. Each round consists of four minutes of chess and four minutes of furious boxing. Either you win by mating your opponent or by knocking him out. The idea is taken from a 1992 sci-fi cartoon where men box on a chess board in the near future.
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Hornussen
Where: Switzerland
Rules: Hornussen goes back to the 17th century. Two teams, a home team and a guest team, with 18 players each, compete against each other on a course of at least 500 meters. The home team shoots a rubber puck with a very large stick. The puck is called a hornussen and means wasp. The rhinoceros bird can easily reach speeds of more than 300 km/h, which makes it buzz (hence the name). The visiting team players then stand at the other end of the pitch with their shields. Here they have to try and make sure that the very small but lightning-fast Hornus doesn't hit the ground. If they can't, the home team wins the round. The most important thing, however, is not to get hit by the horn, as if you do, you could actually get seriously hurt.
Royal Shrovetide Football
Where: Ashbourne in England
Rules: There's almost one rule in Royal Shrovetide Football; you must not kill anyone. There are two matches a year - both around Mardi Gras. At 2 pm a football ball is thrown into a crowd of people consisting of two teams. On either side of the English village of Ashbourne, which is a distance of five kilometers, two goal posts are set up, which are effectively two walls. The whole town acts as a course and everyone can take part. But be prepared that the match usually lasts eight hours. You don't have to worry about the ball breaking, as it is specially designed and floats on the surface of the water. The match is only over when the player hits the ball against the wall three times. If you're a real man, you probably know what to do next year when everyone else is knocking the cat around.
We hope our selection has shown you something new and lifted your spirits. And if you're feeling anxious and tired, then 5 tips to lift your spirits and find the energy of success for you.
