10 Ludicrous Sports You've Probably Never Heard Of

A Japanese variation on the classic western game of chicken fight, where (usually incredibly drunk) people on piggyback try to knock each other over, kibasen is a game traditionally played by large groups of school children on their annual sports day.

Translating roughly to ‘cavalry battle’, kibasen involves three kids hoisting the third into the air to ride on top of them. The fourth wears a hat or bandanna, which the other teams must try to remove to eliminate them - the last team in contention wins.

The kids acting as the ‘vehicle’ aren’t allowed to use their hands or feet to attack the opposing teams, only their general momentum, which usually means barging and charging their opponents - but not too hard, because teams can also be eliminated by being knocked down. The ‘rider’ with the headgear is both the target and the only player on each team allowed to grab and snatch.

Cheerfully chaotic, like a bizarre low-fi version of dodgems, falls, bumps and bruises are commonplace in games of kibasen. Following injuries heavily reported by the media, some schools have even been banned the game, forcing it underground as groups of outlaw kids gather in secret to play kibasen to the death. That last part might be made up for the purposes of this article, of course.