Bo-taoshi explained

, is a capture-the-flag-like game, played on sports days at schools in Japan. The game, traditionally played by cadets at the National Defense Academy (NDA) of Japan on its anniversary, is famous for its size, wherein two teams, totaling 150 individuals, each vie for control of the opposition's pole.[1] Each team is split into two groups of 75 attackers and 75 defenders. The defenders begin in a defensive orientation respective to their pole, while the attackers assume position some measure away from the other team's pole. When the defending team has their pole brought lower than 30° to the horizontal (beginning perpendicular, or 90°, to the horizontal), they lose. Until a rule change in 1973, the pole had only to be brought lower than 45° to the horizontal.

Rules and player positions

The National Defense Academy of Japan explains the rules and positions as follows:[2] [3]

Rules

Defense positions

Offense positions

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Furbush . James . Bo-Taoshi: Super Happy Pole Pulldown Sport Time . 14 July 2011 . 18 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723021842/http://hypervocal.com/vids/2011/bo-taoshi-super-happy-pole-pulldown-sport-time/ . 23 July 2011 . dead.
  2. Web site: 防衛大の棒倒しとは ("What is Bō-taoshi at the Academy?") . National Defense Academy of Japan . 19 July 2020 .
  3. Web site: ルール説明 ("Rule description") . National Defense Academy of Japan . 19 July 2020 . 18 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210318205813/http://www.nda.ac.jp/Festival/img/illust.jpg . dead .