Jachigi(자치기) is a South Korean

game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

where a long stick and two short sticks is hit and caught. First, a circular hole is dug on the ground, and a circle is drawn on the outside. After placing a short stick around the outside of the hole, it is hit with the long stick, and the rebounding stick (the short one that was just hit), is hit again with the long stick in mid-air, sending it flying far away.

History

Jachigi or ja chigi is said to have originated from the game called ''gyeokgu'', a popular sport in ancient

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

used for military purposes. It involved two teams holding sticks, which were used to shoot a ball in between two goal posts set up in the middle of a ''gyeokgu'' field. The game resembled the modern-day

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

sport especially as it was also played on horseback. It was, however, included in the military service examination and training in the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

period. The advent of modern warfare, particularly after Joseon's war with Japan, made the ''gyeokgu'' irrelevant in armed combat and from then on, it transformed into simpler forms and spread across Korea as popular children's games. It was the basis of the shuttlecock-kicking game and the jachigi. The jachigi game denotes measuring with a stick and hitting. ''Ja'' means wooden stick, while ''chigi'' means measuring distance. To play effectively, the stick should be about 30 centimeters long and the shorter stick must be 7 centimeters.

How to play Jachigi

The rules are to first divide two or more people into two teams, either the offensive area or the

defensive Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

area. The offensive side hits the stick and lets it fly; if the opposing team catches it, the offense and the defense switch sides. If there were only two people playing, the player who hit the stick would lose. In the case that it could not be caught, the opposing team picks up the short stick, and throws it toward the hole. Then, the offensive person hits it back. Where the short stick fell, they measure with the long stick. Right then, the long stick becomes one ruler. The name Jachigi is used because of the use of the long stick as a

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

to determine the winner. The longer the distance measured, the higher the score.

References

{{reflist Games of physical skill Korean games