Ever heard of them?

How, where, and why is Fierljeppen played? 10 sports names, decoded

Image: Chino Rocha

As names go, "football," "handball, and "table tennis" are straightforward enough. But would you be able to explain how fierljeppen is played? Or what really goes on in a "toe wrestling" match? Some sports names were directly imported from their original nations, some others are combinations of traditional games that evolved when crossing frontiers. Let’s explore the meanings and backstories behind games like qianball, hantis, and eukonkanto, and find out which one you’d be interesting in watching –or playing!

Image: JillWellington

Here’s the concept: You spring and jump off the edge of a canal, grab onto a flexible pole sticking in the middle of it, climb as high as you can, and then propel yourself to the other side of the water. Of course, the wider the canal and the higher the pole, the harder the feat gets, right? The longest pole climbed in fierljeppen to record was over 72 ft tall.

This Dutch sport originated in Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. Its name comes from the combination of Frisian words fier (far) and ljeppen (leaping/jumping). It has been practiced for centuries, derived from the pole vault technique for crossing the abundant waterways in the Netherlands.

Image: PDPics

Qianball might remind us of tennis or squash. Except in this sport, the ball is tethered to a weight with a rubber band. Players (two or four, typically) stand on the same side of the net and strike the ball taking turns. The amazing thing about Qianball is never having to jog far after a missed ball.

The sport derives from the Chinese Qianlongball. It originated as an indoor alternative to tennis, although nowadays it can also be played outdoors. It became popular after Denmark adopted it and started organizing tournaments to promote it.

Image: Teo Zac

Can you imagine playing tennis without rackets? That’s not very far from what hantis is. In this sport, named after the combination of "hand" and "table tennis," four standard tables are placed between the four players, who strike the ball with their bare hands. The goal, similarly to ping-pong, is to get the ball to bounce on and off the tables without the other team returning it.

The game originated in a classroom, and its creators have been promoting it ever since, developing the official rules and standard measurements for tables. Eventually, it caught on and was spread across U.S. schools through physical education programs and the help of the internet.

Image: Mary Taylor

This is an obstacle course where participants carry teammates over hurdles, water hazards, and sandy stretchers. The traditional version of it is a man carrying his own wife while competing, with techniques such as piggyback or fireman’s carry.

Eukonkanto really translates to "wife carrying" in Finnish. The sport originated in Finland inspired by 19th-century folklore. In it, a legend spoke of a bandit leader who allegedly made his recruits carry women to demonstrate their stamina. Modern rules of the game suggest that the person carried should weigh no less than 108 pounds.

Image: Chris Liverani

Bandy is a lot like hockey on ice, but it is played with a ball instead of a puck. Played on a large ice rink roughly the size of a soccer field, it still involves teams using curved sticks to hit the ball into the other team’s net.

The sport mixes the rules of ice hockey and soccer. It is debated whether the sport originated in Russia or England, but the name we use derives from the Middle English word bandy, which means "curved stick."

Image: Polina Tankilevitch

The name straightforwardly describes the action —wrestling with toes. Yes, the sport consists of two participants interlocking their toes. The goal is to pin the other person’s foot to the ground for three seconds. As you can imagine, this requires strength, balance, dexterity, and a willingness to be barefoot in public.

This was created by a group of friends who lamented that England didn’t have any championships in unconventional sports, or so goes the legend. Today they must be proud, because a World Toe Wrestling Championships is held annually, and has been for at least 50 years.

Image: Chris Geirman

We’ve all seen pogo sticks, those spring-loaded, bouncing toys for children. Xpogo takes child play to the extreme in competitions where participants achieve impressive heights in circuits or challenging terrains. It could be compared with parkour, skateboarding, or BMX.

The name is a shortening of "extreme pogo." Athletes do use specially designed pogo sticks for their high jumps, backflips, and such tricks. In fact, these modern devices allow jumps exceeding 10 feet. Tournaments are held internationally, such as the "Pogopalooza," the sport’s World Championship.

Image: Samuel Ryde

Picigin is a recreational game played in shallow water with a peeled tennis ball, known as the "balun," or alternatively, rubber balls. Players aim to keep the ball in the air using only their hands, performing dramatic dives and acrobatic moves to prevent it from touching the water.

Unlike competitive sports, picigin has no scoring system or strict rules. It just focuses on coordination, teamwork, and not losing the ball to the water currents. The term picigin is derived from Croatian. It originated in Split when local students adapted water polo to the shallow, sandy waters of Bačvice Beach.

Image: Leticia Pelissari

If you’ve ever seen someone walk or run on jumping stilts, you have surely fantasized about trying them on. Those spring-loaded stilts are usually worn by acrobats or entertainers, but the devices gave way to a new sport called "powerbocking."

The jumping stilts called "PowerSkips" were developed by Alexander Böck, a German engineer, and in his honor powerbocking was named. Not unlike xpogo, powerbocking involves running, jumping, and performing acrobatics to access heights and speeds that bare feet could never achieve. A milder variation also gained popularity as aerobic exercise, since the sticks reduce the impact on joints compared to traditional sports.

Image: Nathan Poncet

All in all, slalom isn’t a strange sport compared with eukonkanto or toe wrestling. But it might be difficult to pinpoint the meaning of its name. The term comes from the Norwegian words sla (meaning "slope") and låm (meaning "track").

Slalom is a type of skiing race, one of the key disciplines of alpine skiing. In it, skiers slide through a downhill course marked with alternating gates (pairs of poles), making tight turns and quick, precise maneuvers. The winner is the athlete who completes it in the shortest combined time.

BUSHCRAFT WISDOM PUT TO EVERYDAY USE

10 Survivalism Tips That Could Save Your Life

Image: Denise Jans

Survivalism tips aren’t useful only in life-or-death situations. Granted, water purification might not be the kind of skill that you will be using in an everyday situation, but knowing how to start a fire might come in handy if you need to start your barbecue fire and no matches are available. And you can benefit from knowing how to tie a sturdy knot that won’t come undone until required.

Many of these bushcraft skills have daily applications that can make life easier and they resolve in a matter of seconds situations that otherwise would require a trip to the store or the help of a handyman. Stay with us and take a look at these 10 tips. We guarantee you will be adding at least one to your skill set.

Image: Sebastian Pociecha

Imagine you are on a camping trip and you forgot the matches. What do you do? There are several methods you can try to start a fire without matches or a lighter. One of the most simple ones is friction.

Get together some dry grass, or dried leaves. Cut a straight groove along a dry piece of wood and place the dry grass and leaves at the end of the groove. Move a stick up and down the groove, pressing down. When heat builds up, the dry grass and leaves will catch on fire.

Image: Miguel A Amutio

Say you went on a walk with your dog and remembered that you need something from the store. But the store doesn’t allow pets inside so you must tie your furry friend with its leash somewhere outside. How do you do it safely, without creating something impossible to untie?

The Siberian Hitch is a good option for this kind of event. Pass the rope over your hand, around the tree, and back across your hand. Then pass the rope under your hand, over both ropes, and back under both ropes. Tuck a bight between your fingers and pull this bight through the loop. Tighten the resulting slipped knot. Finally pull the knot tight against the tree or pole, or knob you are using.

Image: David Ballew

You don’t need to be McGyver to appreciate the value of a properly sharpened knife. And, let’s face it: how many of us have a sharpening stone at home? To those who do, we commend you on your foresight; and to the rest of us who don’t, we say: do not worry, for there are simple solutions.

This one might surprise you but it is quite effective: place a hand towel over a table. Over the towel, put a ceramic coffee mug face down, exposing the underside. Slide the knife on each side over the exposed ceramic, just as it is done with a sharpening stone.

Image: Jamie Street

The GPS in your phone can prevent you from getting lost. But what if your phone runs out of battery? When going for a hike on an unfamiliar terrain, it is always a good idea to bring along a compass and a map of the area, just in case. You don’t know how to use those relics? No problem!

Set your compass in a flat position and move until the rotating arrow coincides with the N. Then spread your map and place it in such a way that the North on the map coincides with the North on your compass. Once you have done this, you can orient yourself on the map, knowing that it is facing in the right direction.

Image: Mohan Murugesan

As we said when we started, this one might seem a bit far-fetched but it is the kind of thing that if needed, can determine the difference between life and death. Making drinkable water is extremely important if you don’t have access to pure water sources. Lucky for us, it is not that difficult to achieve.

You will need some container made of glass, steel, or any other material that can handle high temperatures. Place the water in it and cover it with a transparent piece of plastic, make a hole in the middle of the plastic, and set a tube that goes into another receptacle. Place the contraption under direct sunlight. The water in the first receptacle will evaporate, steam will flow through the tube, condense, and become pure water, that will drip into the second receptacle.

Image: Alejandro Piñero Amerio

This one might seem a bit obvious but we guarantee that if you do carry one of these things around, you will find yourself using it at least once a day. Having a knife, scissors, a bottle opener, screwdrivers, a corkscrew, and quite a few more things in your pocket is extremely useful not only in a survival situation but in everyday life as well.

And, aside from having infinite applications, it is a cool object to have.

Image: Julia Zyablova

As the saying goes, bad things never happen to those who are prepared. While that is not entirely true because bad things happen, no matter who you are, it is true that, when you are prepared to face a situation, the consequences of it are much less significant than if you are not.

You don’t need a whole medic kit or anything fancy. Yes, that would be ideal but, let’s face it: it’s probably not going to happen. Just keep a few bandaids, pills for the most common pains, like headache, and stomach pain, and something to lower the fever, a thermometer and you’re covered for the most part.

Image: Jason Mavrommatis

This is an interesting little trick to know how many hours of daylight you still have ahead. It can be used anywhere, as long as the sun and the horizon are both visible.

Hold your four fingers out horizontally to the horizon, aligning the top of your index finger with the bottom of the sun. Your pinkie should be closest to the horizon. Each finger represents 15 minutes. So, if you have your pinkie resting at the horizon and your index finger is right below the sun, you have roughly an hour left.

Image: feey

A big part of staying healthy involves not subjecting your body to uncomfortable temperatures for long periods. Whether you are on a camping trip or at home, it is important to stay warm when the weather is cold.

You can ramp up your body temperature by moving and eating. To stay warm, make sure to wear the right amount of layers. But, try to avoid sweating, since being damp can cause you to lose body temperature. Try to stay dry as much as possible.

Image: Atlas Green

Whether you’re planning a short hike or a long trip, always inform a friend or family member of your itinerary. At the very least, this includes where you plan on hiking and when you plan to return.

This very simple act of informing someone can save your life if you become lost in the wilderness and rescuers come to look for you.