Kuandi Yavi

From PavHaki Wiki

Kuandi Yavi (literally "towards the foot, away from oneself", alternatively Kuandi Yavi Baṅú, Kuandi, Kuandia or several other names) is the national and most popular sport of the Meó Empire. It is played in teams of three to five people, and the goal of the game is to attain as many points as possible. It is similar to sepak takraw or volleyball, except that it takes much influence from martial arts as it evolved from them. Unlike sepak takraw/volleyball, Kuandi Yavi does not feature a net.

Etymology

Kuandi Yavi

kuan-di foot-ALLATIVE

ya-vi oneself-ABLATIVE

baṅú - refers to the ball used to play, typically made from the dried and woven leaves of the Ahko Tree, though in modern times synthetic baŋú are becoming more common.

History

Kuandi Yavi originally evolved from training practices within the Meó martial art of Yaṇzei, it was a way to develop kicks and strategy.

Rules

The main rule of Kuandi Yavi is that one may never hold the ball, and they may never let it hit the floor. Any body part may be used to contact the ball, though use of the foot predominates, with many elaborate kicks unique to the sport. The predominance of the use of the foot/kicks is due to both the fact the sport originates from kick-focused Yasei training, and that it is only with the foot that one may score points (though the definition of "foot" has widely expanded, now any body part except for the hands or the head may be used to score points). Points may be scored through a variety of sources, such as kicking the baṅú through the goal (usually only counts if it is kicked from the opposing half of the court) or when the other team makes a fault (drops the baṅú, holds the baṅú, etc.). Some codes maintain that using the head/hands to put the ball through the goal is a fault, though in the national code this is not a rule.

Court

The court is roughly between the size of a volleyball court and a basketball court. The two ends at either end feature wide goals, which often take up the whole width of the court and are demarcated solely by lines, with physical structures being very rare.