Aki Kiti is a

semi-contact A contact sport is any sport where physical contact between competitors, or their environment, is an integral part of the game. For example, gridiron football. Contact may come about as the result of intentional or incidental actions by the playe ...

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...

involving

kicking A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of ...

and blocking with soles. It is a traditional sport originating from the

headhunting Headhunting is the practice of hunting a human and collecting the severed head after killing the victim. More portable body parts (such as ear, nose, or scalp) can be taken as trophies, instead. Headhunting was practiced in historic times ...

Sümi Naga The Sümis are a major Naga people, Naga ethnic group native to the Northeast India, northeast Indian state of Nagaland. They primarily inhabit the central and southern regions of Nagaland, with significant populations in the Zünheboto and D ...

tribe of

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

, India. Played inside a circular ring on ground, it is normally played between two fighters. The objective is to make the opponent fall on knee or touch ground with hands or step outside of playing zone.

History

Aki Kiti originated as a sport among the headhunter

tribe (now Christian converts) of

in the mountainous

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

. Originally, it was intended solely as a sporting event that served the purpose of righting wrongs, restoring honour, or "settling scores" between tribes and tribesmen without resorting to violence. It was practiced during tribal ceremonies. ''Aki Kiti'' is described in the book ''The Sema Nagas'' by anthropologist

John Henry Hutton John Henry Hutton Order of the Indian Empire, CIE Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI (27 June 1885 – 23 May 1968) was an English-born anthropologist and an administrator in the Indian Civil Service (ICS) during ...

, published in 1922. Aki Kiti means "kick fighting".

Sport

In Aki Kiti, only the sole of the feet can be used, to

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

and

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

the opponent. It is played inside a ring drawn on the ground. The objective of the

game is to either make the opponent fell in his knee or throw him out of the ring. Front kicks or leaping front kicks are directed to the waist, sides or chest of the opponent. No particular training syllabus exists for the sport, any exercises that can help gain stamina, strength, and flexibility for the fighters are part of the training regime. Usually it is a two-person game, but an expert can challenge two juniors if wanted. The rule forbids kicking the opponent after he is down. Game can also be lost by touching the ground even with a finger.

Modern-day practice

Aphuyemi Akikiti Association was formed in 2014 for promoting and with the intention of reviving the art. They categorised the game as athletics. Since then, Aki Kiti has been competed annually at the Thuwuni Akikiti Championship held at the annual Thuwuni Festival at Pughoboto in November. It is played for three to four minutes with three rounds. Using hand is a foul. In 2018, the association demonstrated Aki Kiti at the

Hornbill Festival Hornbill Festival is an annual festival celebrated from 1 to 10 of December in the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. The festival represents List of Naga tribes, all ethnic groups of Nagaland for which it is also called the ''Festival of F ...

in Kisama Heritage Village.

In the media

In 2008, it was featured in the fourth episode in Series 1 of

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

reality TV show '' Last Man Standing''. In the episode titled ''Sumi Kick Fighting'', six athletes from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

competed against tribal champions to become the last man standing.

References

{{Indian martial arts Indian martial arts Naga games Medieval tournament

History

Sport

Modern-day practice

In the media

See also

References