Some friends of mine and I got up early last Saturday morning to go see Kabaddi. It was totally worth it. Here is a brief description of this little-known Asian Games sport, stolen from a Japanese kabaddi website.

"Kabaddi is a team sport. Two teams compete with each other for higher scores by touching or capturing the players of the opponent team. A team is composed of 7 players. The two teams fight for higher scores, alternating defense and offense. The court is as large as that for dodge ball. The game consists of two 20 minute halves.

"The radar, a member of the offensive team, enters the opponents court to touch seven opponents one by one with hands or feet and returns to his original position, thus scoring points. The radar [raider] must [hold his breath and] keep calling, "kabaddi, kabaddi" during the offense. If the defensive team captures the radar [raider] and interrupts his call, the radar must leave the court, and the offense finishes. Defending players try to stop the radar by tackling and holding. If this is successfully done, they win a point."

So there you have it. Right here at Pusanweb.com are several video clips and photos to check out.

We saw the second half of a match in which Pakistan destroyed a team from, um, I'm gonna go with Sri Lanka. The next match, which we had come to see, was India vs. Bangladesh.

Barely minutes before the start, one member of our group, Ben, decided to go get some refreshments. He couldn't have gone at a worse time because moments after he left, Bangladesh charged into the stadium like world champions. They ran a lap around the court and threw confetti at the throngs of screaming fans while chanting their fight song. I thought, "What a waste of ... Oooh pretty colors!! Oh pilseung Bangladesh!!!"

The Bangladesh team and players were introduced to loud cheering, and I swear that #7 for Bangladesh was introduced as "Lightning" Kaleed, who is well-known for his "fast-break offense". Or maybe Ben made that up afterwards. I'm not sure.

India was introduced but who cared? They didn't make a grand entrance! They didn't stay up all night cutting up pretty colored paper to throw at the spectators! They weren't The People's Team!

However, from the opening kick-off/face-off/coin-toss/tip-off it was clear that they were the better team.

Bangladesh used the standard 2-2-1-2 defense. India mixed it up a bit using the 2-2-3 or 2-2-2 floating 1. The Bangers hung tight for awhile.

Ben came back with snacks with the score tied at 4.

"What did I miss?", he asked.

Someone grunted back, "I don't know".

He gave me an opened bottle of water and explained that it was open for security reasons. Apparently, there is a lot of water bottle-throwing at Kabaddi. Security guards had confiscated the bottle cap. Then he opened a can of cider he'd also purchased. A tip for hooligans; water bottles are forbidden, but unopened soda is ok!

The game quickly turned into a rout with India leading 17 to 6 with a minute before the half. Ben's return and India's routing: Coincidence?

The group of us had collectively figured most of the scoring rules and basic strategies, in essence becoming instant experts. Following is just a sampling of our witty repartee.

Nakyoung: I think Bangladesh should have slept last night instead of cutting up paper. But it is pretty.

Tim: Bangladesh has great energy but India has composure.

Ben: Were you aware that in tournaments taking place in October of even years, Bangladesh has come back from 10 points or more down only 3 times in 45 opportunities? However, of those matches that took place on cloudy Tuesday afternoons, they are a remarkable 3 for 3!

Patrick: Ben, today is Saturday.

Renee: Morning.

Pixie: Very sunny, too.

Ben: [silence]

Patrick: Bangladesh is all Desh and no Bang!

The game was surprisingly aggressive. There was plenty of trash-talking and taunting. Even when it was clear that India would win, neither team let up at all. They were both fighting for points until the bitter end. I was a little sad that it had to end.

Pre-game predictions:

Ben Ind 16, Ban 17

Tim Ind 24, Ban 15

Patrick Ind 19, Ban 7

Final score Ind 36, Ban 12, or 17- I didn't write it down

One final note: On our way out, the guards helpfully returned my bottle cap.

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