What is Kite Running?

Andrew Bertrand
Professor Allen
ENC1101 15
November, 2007

What is Kite Running?

When you think of sports in this day and age what comes to mind? It may be the hard hitting excitement of football or maybe even baseball, America’s sport. Whatever your sport may be I’m confident to say that it isn’t kite running. Kite running is the sport of the Middle East and has become a part of tradition in Afghanistan. Kite running usually takes place in the winter time because of the strong winds and school is out due to the cold weather (www.kitelife.com). Kite running has been a shot of life into the souls of the Afghan people for hundreds of years. “Kite flying is more than a pastime in Afghanistan -- it is a national obsession” (www.kitelife.org). The basics of kite running are rather simple but to master the skills of kite running could take a life time.
The kites range in size from about 10-12 inches to the size of a human (www.afghana.com). The kites are brightly colored and wear designs that show pride in with in the Afghan society. The string is made up mainly of broken and grinded glass particles. The particles are then combined with a thick adhesive or paste to make the structure of the string or better known in the Afghan world as “tar” (www.afghana.com). To ensure that your string is in tip top shape it is the carefully laid out to dry and harden. Once dry you would wrap the string around a drum or “charkha” where is stored for use.
The main drive for the entertainment of kite running is the fight. The way a fight must begin is with two kites flying parallel with each other. Then once the two become intertwined the fight begins. The reason for the glass and paste is to have the ability to cut your opponent’s string before he cuts yours. “The fight would last from a split second to up to 1/2 hour, depending on wind, the difference in quality of tar between the two parties and other undetermined factors” (www.afghana.com). The winner of the fight usually wins due to have more experience and patience. This hobby of many has blessed a Country of war and violence with a small shed of light. Every winter the people of Afghanistan gather against all odds to cherish a piece of their culture and wipe away the tears of war.

“Kite Culture, How kites are helping to rebuild Afghanistan”. Kite Life. <http://www.kitelife.com/archives/issue29/afghankites2003/>. Sahar, David. “The Art of Gudiparan bazi” Afghana. 15 Jan. 2001. Afghan Kite Discussion Forum. <http://www.afghana.com/Entertainment/Gudiparanbazi.htm>

Kite Fighting Around the World

Examples of a Korean (left), Indian (middle), and Japanese (right) traditional fighting kite.

Andrew Hager


Kite fighting takes palace in many different forms all around the world from America to Thailand and almost everywhere in between. Kite fighting can be seen in large number in Germany, Korea, Japan, Brazil, America, Canada, Thailand, Cuba, Chile, India, and Afghanistan. In Korea kite fighting is still around in part due to Yu-sang in Chang-yon or the “master kite maker” he is know for organizing some of the first government sponsored contest. In Japan it is thought that the kite fighting art was brought by early English and Dutch traders from India, however, kite fighting is still an obsession in the city of Nagasaki where the entire month of March is dedicated to kite fighting.(csu) “The fighting kites of Japan are normally rectangular or hexagonal and can be big enough to require teams of up to 50 men to control them. It has been suggested that fighting kites developed in Japan as a method of solving disputes between neighboring villages, as a sort of aerial trial by combat.” (aka) “Thailand's sport of Kite fighting has been played and favored by the Kings of Thailand for centuries. These Kites have been enjoyed since the 13th and 14th-century Sukhothai period, and the sport was probably most popular during the reign of King Rama IV (1851-1868), when people were granted royal permission to fly kites at Bangkok's Phra Men Ground next to the Grand Palace.” (csun)

India is the largest place for kite fighting where “the largest, and oldest, kite festival in the world takes place in Ahmedabad on the 14th of January of every year. This festival is a free-for-all, with perhaps 100,000 kites in the sky at once, all trying to cut each other down. The festival has been celebrated for centuries, at the time that the winter solstice has passed and the sun has again climbed above the constellation of Capricorn.” (aka) “North America is developing its own kite fighting traditions, in which combatants maneuver to touch rather than cut each other's lines.” (drachen) The art of kite fighting is an ever growing sport which the Kite Runner book and movie have help to fuel around the world and in North America, where the sport is still not as developed as in many other countries.



http://www.csun.edu/~ghsiung/fighters4.html#Brazilian%20Fighters

http://www.drachen.org/

http://www.aka.org.au/kites_in_the_classroom/history.htm

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Kite!

Brandon Booker

How Kites Originated

Kite flying dates back thousand of years to the ancient days. It is not certain as to where the first kites came from, but it is believed that the people of the South Sea Islands first founded kites. They used the kites to fish by attaching bait to the tail of the kite with a net to catch the fish. Even today, some natives of the Soloman Islands in the Pacific Ocean use kites to catch fish as well. In the Polynesian Islands, kites were associated with the gods.

China is another place believed as the origin of kites. One story is of a Chinese general, Huan Theng who, in the year 202 BCE, got the idea for a particular military strategy watching the way his hat flew from his head. He used thin pieces of bamboo that created humming noises in the wind and flew hundreds of them over an enemy's military camp one night. The enemy believed that they were being plagued by evils spirits sent that were to destroy them so they ran away. Both the Chinese and the Japanese used kites to send up soldiers to spy on snipers along with other uses of warfare. As time went on, kites were brought into local customs in Asia. In Korea, it is a tradition to write the names and birth dates of male children on the kites and then fly them for all to see.

How Kites Have Evolved

Today, kites are generally used for fighting which is very popular in countries such as Afghanistan, Thailand or Korea. Freestyle flying is vastly growing in the 21st Century. With the technology of today, people are now using advance materials and aerodynamic designs creating kites that are capable of unbelievable precision, control and accuracy. Trick kites evolved from the original kite design during the 1990's, making kites with incredible, string twisting and mind-boggling tricks. Freestyle kites are becoming more and more advanced every day as we learn to control them better and learn new tricks and slicing maneuvers.

In May 1998, the first Freestyle Knockout competition was ran at Bath Kite Festival in the UK. It has evolved and grown over the past 2 years and involves different rules and variations in the UK. It has also evolved into several other countries along with other variations and similar competitions.

How Kites have been Used

Kites have been used for many different purposes:

Communicating with spirits and gods - Thailand and other countries

Fishing aid - Solomon Islands

Announce the birth of a child - Korea

Shrieking kites during battles - China

Carrying a person into the air - China and Japan

Fighting kites (kites that fight other kites) - India and Japan

They are also used by many to put on special shows and displays

How the Game is Played

The object of the game is to cut down every kite until yours is the last on flying. It involves technique and maneuvering the kite to cut the other's string before they cut yours. Once the kite is cut down the chase for the kite begins. The final kite that is cut down is the main kite because the one who retrieves this kite is declared the winner.

Web Sites Used

<Http://freestyle.kites.org.uk/>

<Http://www.fi.edu/wright/again/wings.avkids.com/wings.avkids.com/Book/Vehicles/advanced/Kites-01.html>

<Http://www.skratch-pad.com/kites/where.html>

Kites and Kite Running

McKenzie 1

Ben McKen
12 November,2007

Kite running has been a passion as well as a tradition for people of all ages all over the world. Particularly in Korea, Japan, and Afghanistan. But why? Why is kite running done all over the world and what point does it serve?

In Korean history, kite flying is traced back to 637 A.D., during the first year of the reign of General Kim Yu-Sin. He used a kite to calm the agitated population. He launched a kite in the night sky over Kyongju, where most of the population was gathered at that time. The kite had a large cotton ball attached that was burning, causing the superstitious people to think it was a falling star soaring up in the sky, and that their misfortunes would soon come to a close. Another general in Korean history, General Ch'oe Yong, of the 14th-century utilized kites for shooting fire arms. Admiral Yi Sun-sin used kites in the 16th century as a fast way to inform the naval troops of his strategic instructions, flying kites having different pictures signaling tactics to use, while fighting the Japanese invaders.

In Japan not much is known about why or how kite running is done or its origin. But we do know that it was most likely done for religious purposes. Whatever the origin, kite flying remains an obsession in Japan even today, with the whole month of March being appropriated for kite flying festivals.

Kite flying in Afghanistan was a traditional sport for decades until it became banned in the mid-1990s under Taliban rule. But since the end of 2001 it has made a comeback; sales in shops along Kabul’s “Kite Street” are booming (Martinez). The New York Times called kite running a violent tradition in Afghanistan, but the people say it is no such thing. They say that it is not only a cultural tradition but it is a symbol of their freedoms restored. Children flying kites in Afghanistan is compared to children playing baseball in America.

People can be found running kites all over the world. Whether it be for traditional or cultural purposes or just to have fun. One thing is for sure a single kite can be very significant, it can serve for recreational purposes but it can also bring together entire nations.

"Afghan Fighters." 02 Febuary 2005.2007 <http://www.csun.edu/~hfoao033/fighters3.html>.

Hsiung, Gina. June 2002. 12 Nov 2007 <http://www.csun.edu/~ghsiung/fighters4.html>.

Martinez, Elena. "Flying High." Voices. 2005. New York Folklore Society. 12 Nov 2007 <http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic31-1-2/kites.html>.