Bo-taoshi – real Japanese madness (6 photos + 1 video)

Do you think American football is the toughest sport? You haven’t seen bo-taoshi (botaoshi, botaoshi) yet, especially when Japanese schoolchildren do it. Here is someone who has no pity, no mercy, only violence!





What is botaoshi?

This is a sport that cadets from the Japan Military Defense Academy are usually allowed to play. Because these are athletic people who are trained to fall correctly and have excellent physical fitness.



It’s good that they were at least given helmets. But some are barefoot

To make it look more epic, but a weakling won’t win here. Because here they are fighting on the field at the same time...

150 people! Two teams of 75 people against each other. Not weak, right? Each team has its own long wooden pole, which is placed on the field.

Some team members try to protect the pole from the enemy, and the other part tries to tilt someone else’s pole and hold it in this position until victory is declared. That's it, no more rules.





Look how dedicated he is, he puts his all into it

I mean, there are REALLY no rules. You can climb on people, step on their necks, push them from heights. This is not exhibition wrestling, where all the throws are staged. The Japanese fight to the end and seriously.

By the way, you know that following the Second World War it was prohibited to keep the Japanese army. However, Japan simply made the Self-Defense Forces. And what's the difference? They also have academies and training in military science, and so many students that they are enough to carry out botaoshi. No one cares about world decisions.



For some reason, one team decided to perform naked, and the second dressed. The rules don't limit anything

How did this game come about

It is believed that it was invented in 1954. First, according to the rules, it was necessary to tilt the pole 45 degrees in 2 minutes.

But 20 years later they looked at the rules, now the pole needs to be pressed to the ground at 30 degrees. And this is much more difficult, but the game has become more spectacular.

If in two minutes the attackers failed to break the defense and tilt the pole, then the point goes to the defenders. And the teams then switch places.



Translated from Japanese, bata-osi literally means “knock down a pole.”

The Japanese really love to watch botaoshi - strong guys fight like it’s the last time in their lives, climbing up a ladder made of living bodies to grab the edge of a pole. Lots of brutality.

Botaoshi is not held that often, because you have to recruit very large teams. They are most often conducted by universities. But I am with both hands for this culture to live and become more popular.



Do you remember I also wrote about kumitaiso - pyramids of people? Also a unique Japanese thing