Pityaw is a game where player uses two sticks of rattan, 12 and 6 inches (300 and 150 mm) of length.

According to an interview with a Physical Education teacher, the history of pikyaw is come from a rural
area where peasant and folks in that area came to play this kind of indigenous stick game.

This game is usually played by two or more players, one flat stick (usually 3 inches) and one short flat
piece of wood (4 inches usually a piece cut from the flat stick). Player 1 hitter and Player 2 as the
catcher. Played outside on the ground where you dig a small square slanted hole where you put the
small wood so it sticks out. Player 1 hits the wood with the stick so it catches air enough to be hit by the
stick. The further the wood gets hit the more points you get, usually counted by the number of stick
length Player 2 on the other hand has to anticipate and catch the small piece of wood to nullify the
points and become his turn or look forward to Player 1 to miss hitting the wood.

Playing this game can improve interaction, communication and bond with your playmate and playing
these games can benefit a lot to the children; first they know how to follow rule of the game, second
this game taught us sportsmanship, where they can easily accept whether they lose or win the game,
third is its physically enjoying because it’s a good exercise to both limbs and lungs and fourth it also
improves your counting skill.

Rattan Ball Version – Sipa is also a simple ball game where the ball for sipa is made of rattan strips
interwoven to form a ball. The two teams play against each other until a set number of penalty points
(such as the ball bouncing twice on the ground) is reached by one of the teams.
Sipa is a traditional sport of the Philippines. It is a difficult sport to play, where players are required to
have high skills of ball control, speed and agility.

The sport can be played both indoors and outdoors, using a

soft ball. The court used is similar in dimensions to that of a
tennis court, with a net in the middle. A match can be played
in singles, doubles or a team of four format. The objective of
the sport is to kick the ball to the other side of the net on to
the opponent’s side.

The game is started with a coin toss to determine which team

will serve first and which side each team will be on.

Serve to the other team

One team member tosses the ball to the server, who must kick the ball out of the area and over the net
to the other team.

Volley the ball back and forth without using hands

Once the ball has been served, the teams try to volley the ball back to the opposite team's side of the
net using only their feet, legs, knees, chest and head. The ball can be touched up to three times per side,
and if the ball hits the ground on a team's side of the net, then the other team gets a point. Sets are
played up to 21 points.
Two people will hold the end of the rope.

While the rest of the people will fall in a single line.

One person must go first then all of the people must followed what the first person did.

They should keep jumping until the song end

LUKSONG LUBID

This game is similar to the Western skip-rope or jump-rope game, played mostly by girls. The objective
is for an individual or teams to score highest in skipping or jumping over the rope while it is being
turned continuously over the head and under the feet of players. The two ends of the rope are held and
turned over by two people. This game is basically a challenge to the players' physical coordination and
stamina. Lukso is Tagalog for "jump" and lubid means "rope

Luksong Tinik literally means “jumping over thorns” in English. It’s a group game of two teams. Each
team is composed of an equal number of players. The players choose their respective nanay (mother).
While the rest of the team members call themselves anak (children).
The objective of the game is for all players in a team to jump over the height of the piled hands of the
opposing team. A player must avoid hitting the piled hands with any part of his body or clothing. The
two mothers are expected to be high jumpers. The first to jump is decided by the mothers by tossing a
slipper. The mother whose team wins the toss will have the first jump. The other team serves as the tayâ
(on base) and forms the tinik (thorns) with their feet and hands.

luksong tinik

Pinoy Kids Were Jumping Before the Mario Brothers Did

Long before the age of internet and electronic games, Filipino kids were playing with toys they
themselves devised. They invented playthings from scratch. Sometimes, they used their own limbs to
play with. like what they did in Luksong Tinik. What’s important for them was fun.

We didn’t know any internet games like what you know of today. We never heard about the Mario
Brothers, Game Boy, or Tetris. What we were familiar with, however, were local household materials.
We made use of scraps in our surroundings to make our toys. Oftentimes, we made balls and “jewelry”
out of coconut leaves, toy guns from bamboo, and money from any plant Our porches were turned into
a playhouse, a kitchen, or a store.

And most of all, we had friends from the neighborhood. Together, we designed and create our
playthings, and laid down the rules of the games, too. You could rarely see any child playing alone back
in our childhood days.

Social Games

Unlike many modern children, Filipino kids in the 1960s, 1970s, and earlier were not used to playing
alone in any corner of our home. We went outside to play with the neighborhood children. Our
playground? Anywhere! It could be

A neighbor’s backyard

any family’s porch

on the road

by the beach

at the farm

or any open space in the community.

We did not have mobile phones to call our friends. Instead, we walked up to one another’s houses and
personally invite them to play. It was easy to assemble friends. Everyone was a call away. And once we
were gathered together, we decide which game to play.

How We Organized our Games

In our time, we chose how we played our games. When there were many participants, we divided our
group into teams. There were also instances when we played one against everyone else, making each
participant an opponent. But, no matter how we played, we always upheld camaraderie and fun.

Moreover, it didn’t matter for us if our clothes get soiled, or we smelled bad from perspiration. We also
never cared if we acquired germs in the process. (Did I know what germ meant back then?). All I can
remember was, rarely did it happen that any of us got sick from germs. Was it perhaps we were good at
making friends with germs, too? Anyway, whatever “mess” we made was fun!

And when we got tired of the active and rough games, we rested, and just talked about anything we
could imagine. That was our definition of chat in our days!

Luksong Tinik: Using Our Limbs as “Props”

Now, let me introduce one of the traditional Filipino games we played. This is a game that uses no toys.
Instead, we used only our arms and legs to execute this activity. We called this game Luksong Tinik.
According to our old folks, this activity originated from Cabanatuan City, in the province of Nueva Ecija,
Philippines.

luksong tinik
(Photo credit to the owner)

Traditional Filipino Games Series #01

Luksong Tinik

Luksong Tinik literally means “jumping over thorns” in English. It’s a group game of two teams. Each
team is composed of an equal number of players. The players choose their respective nanay (mother).
While the rest of the team members call themselves anak (children).

The Mechanics of Luksong Tinik

The objective of the game is for all players in a team to jump over the height of the piled hands of the
opposing team. A player must avoid hitting the piled hands with any part of his body or clothing. The
two mothers are expected to be high jumpers. The first to jump is decided by the mothers by tossing a
slipper. The mother whose team wins the toss will have the first jump. The other team serves as the tayâ
(on base) and forms the tinik (thorns) with their feet and hands.

Two players on the base sit facing each other, putting a foot forward and touching the other player’s
foot.

Then, each member of the other team starts jumping over the feet.

When all members are done jumping over the feet, the players on the base add a hand at a time. The
palm and fingers are open wide above their feet. The same process is repeated until all the base players
have piled their hands over.

When all the jumpers have successfully jumped over without hitting the hands of the base players, the
game is repeated with the jumpers leaping over again.

If the mother’s children hit the hands of the base players, it’s considered a “fault” (an error). The mother
then jumps for the erring child.

If the mother fails in making a successful jump, it’s time for the base players to take the jump.
Culliot The Filipino version of tug-of war wherein the objective of the game is to pull the rival team over
a borderline. A rope is used and tied on their waist for both teams to pull to show which squad has more
strength

How Culliot Is PlayedA team is composed of two or more players. The purpose of this team is to pull the
other team over the borderline. The equipment needed is a 15-meter long rope with a diameter of 3. 81
centimeters. Each team must have an equal number of players. The teams are placed five meters away
from each other. Both ends of the rope should be tied on the waist of the last player while the others
hold on to the rope. A piece of ribbon or handkerchief is tied onto the centerline of the rope. Upon the
signal to start, each team pulls the other, attempting to pull the opposing team over the borderline, thus
becoming the winner.