Sepak is a Malay word for kick and takraw is a Thai word for a woven ball, so sepak takraw literally means kick ball. Variations on the game have been played throughout South East Asia for hundreds of years. Some people believe it was brought into the region by the famous Venitian explorer Marco Polo, who may have seen a similar sport in China.

The traditional form of the game is a lot like hacky sack (aka footbag), with a group of players standing in a circle and trying to keep the ball in the air without using their hands. The modern form developed during the 1930s after the introduction of the net.

Almost every nation that played the game knew it by a different name: sepak raga (Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei), takraw (Thailand), sipa (Philippines), ching loong (Myanmar), rago (Indonesia) or kator (Laos). Representatives of several nations met at the South East Asian Peninsula Games in 1965 and after a heated debate the sport of a thousand names was officially called sepak takraw.

Sepak takraw is played between two regus (teams) of three players, the left inside, right inside and back. The court is about the same size as a badminton court and the net is 1.52 metres high. Traditionally balls were hand-woven from bamboo or rattan but most modern ones are synthetic.

Play begins with a serve. One of the inside players lobs the ball to the back, who must keep one foot planted in the serving circle and kick it over with the other. Each team is allowed three touches before returning the ball and can use their head, knees or feet. The first team to score 15 points wins the set and a match is the best of three sets.

A spike is much more difficult in sepak takraw than volleyball because slamming the ball down hard means getting your feet above the net (unless you have an extremely powerful header). The movement required is a bit like a bicycle kick in football, jumping and flipping in the air to kick the ball.

When a player jumps and kicks the ball over the same shoulder as their kicking foot it's called a sunback spike. A kick over the opposite shoulder is called a roll spike and is considered one of the most difficult moves in the game.

After a bicycle kick a footballer usually lands on their back. But professional sepak takraw players are athletic enough to execute a spike and land on their feet. No wonder a good spiker or spike is called a killer!