Montréal enSanté V8N4 Automne/Fall 2016 | Page 112

EN FORME • FITNESS Sensations fortes To the Extreme ÉVEILLEZ LE CASSE-COU EN VOUS GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR INNER DAREDEVIL Par | By Jason Santerre Jeu d’âne Goat Games Bouzkachi, le nom du sport Buzkashi, the name of Afghan- national de l’Afghanistan, se traduit sommairement istan’s national sport, trans- par lates into something like goat grabbing. Laugh if you must, «  agrippe l’âne  ». Vous pou- but here is a sport with cen- vez rire, mais voici un sport qui turies’ worth of history played compte des siècles d’histoire by men who are more warrior et qui est pratiqué par des than athlete. The object of the hommes qui se rapprochent game is to do just as the name plus du guerrier que de l’athlète. implies: grab a goat. Don’t Le but du jeu est de faire exacte- worry, it’s very much dead. ment comme l’implique le nom : agripper un âne. Mais ne vous Now carry the goat carcass inquiétez pas, l’animal est bien mort. Maintenant, il faut apporter la across the goal line. Sounds easy enough. But sounds are deceiv- bien, détrompez-vous, car vous devez non seulement porter ladite your legs while riding horseback and with several other riders try- carcasse d’âne jusqu’au fil d’arrivée. Ça vous semble plutôt facile? Et chose sans vie, mais vous devez le faire avec vos jambes, en montant à cheval et avec d’autres joueurs qui essaient par plusieurs moyens de vous enlever votre âne. g ing. Not only must you carry said lifeless form you must do so with ing many tricks to get your goat. To outsiders, Buzkashi looks like something out of a historical film about the life and times of Genghis Khan. Makes sense. The sport’s roots run deep in warfare and cavalrytraining techniques. Riders must be in fine shape and horses must be of a certain breed to handle the close encounters and spirited melees. If you like horses as much as trying something taxing and new, this might be the sport for you. Punch Drunk Just when you thought you had heard and seen it all, along comes Zui Quan, otherwise known as drunken boxing. Practitioners actually stutter-step, waddle, sway to and fro, and fall down like a sailor stumbling out of the saloon after six weeks at sea. But these seemingly unsteady and un- focussed movements are Zui Quan’s secrets to success. A fighter must keep a clear mind in order to conceal combative strikes in a drunkard-like motion. Confusing the opponent is key to winning the upper hand. To witness a fine display of Zui Quan, watch the 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film, Drunken Master starring a very young and very sober Jackie Chan. 110 MONTRÉAL enSANTÉ ÉTÉ 2016