Chanting for competition: Japanese monks embrace Kabaddi

When the mantra they chant all the time replaced by "Kabaddi, Kabaddi", a group of Japanese monks have found themselves akin to the ancient Indian warriors at battlefield, only except they are at the Kabaddi court of Guangzhou Asiad.

The Japanese men's team, including three genuine monks and a bunch of buddhism scholars, have given the ancient Indian sport, which evolved as a means of keeping soldiers fit between battles, a touch of "solemnity".

"I didn't see any contradiction between being a monk and playing Kabaddi. Kabaddi makes my body stronger, while Buddhism guides me spiritually," said the team captain Kokei Ito. "Remember, they're both originated from India."

Mostly seen in south Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Kabaddi is played between two seven-member teams on a court with a line drawn down the middle.

A "raider" from one team is sent to the opposing half, all the while chanting "kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi" on one breath, inhaling during a raid is against the rules. Raiders score by touching rivals and getting back into his own half without being caught or tackled to the ground.

If the catchers manage to prevent the raider from returning to his side of the court, their team gets the point.

Indians is dominant of the sport by winning all five Asiad gold medals since 1990.

Kokei Ito, a 34-year-old monk from the Enman Temple of Yokohama, was introduced to the game by his elder brother Keijun Ito, the team manager and a monk too.

Keijun was studying Buddhism at the Tokyo-based Taisho University and played for a Kabaddi club of Taisho, which takes spreading the sport in Japan as its natural job. He represents Japan to compete at the 1990 Beijing Asiad, when Kabaddi was recruited as an Asian Games regular.

Later when Kokei was 18, he followed his brother to enter the same university and club. He was in the national team of Japan at the 2006 Doha Games when the team was ranked the 5th.

Buddhism has given the Japanese players some specialities: when their rivals gather to make a circle and encourage each others with unanimous yell of "go ahead", they may clear their mind through meditation before a match.

"Zen isn't necessarily practised in the quiet or static way. But when I calm down and drives the chaos out of my mind, I will be more concentrated at the court," said Kokei.

The polite humble man insists his non-sportsman life is no different from other monks -- keeping the temple clean and tidy, chanting sutras and doing other buddhism services.
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