Deep Rope

There was a minute or two in that increasingly amazing movie Mystic Ball (increasingly amazing just in the memory of what you've witnessed: the love, the play, the skill), when you get a glimpse of a few girls playing rope. Take a look. Click on the image if you want to see it bigger.

Looks like they're playing Double Dutch, right? Except, as Greg Hamilton, director of Mystic Ball notes: "The girl in the center (Su Su Hlaing's younger sister) is jumping 3 ropes - her rope she is turning and the two DD ropes. The girls are all kicking the ball lightly to keep it going up and down a few inches above the foot. There are six points of contact with the ball: top of the toes (the one they are using here), inside edge of foot, outside edge of foot, sole, heel, and knee. Chibya, or top of the toes - is the foundation of Chinlone playing and considered the most important technique. These girls are keeping the ball below knee height as they kick it to keep it up. It's very difficult to do in such a controlled and precise way. If they were just balancing the ball on their feet it would be much easier - they could actually take their eyes off their own ball to look at the girl in the center skipping. Whenever you are doing this type of chibya exercise, you have to watch every single kick - no looking away at all. Adjustments in aim and timing have to be made non-stop as long as the ball is up. As you can imagine, this kind of control takes years of practice for hours a day. They can also do some tricks in the center of the ropes - crossing their own rope, turning around, skipping backwards etc. This style of play is also something only women do, you may recall that Su Su says in the film that "men are not patient enough" to do the solo performance style."

OK. Now look at this picture from the same game? Things any clearer?

This is the kind of stuff that gives me chills, that makes me just about want to pray to the spirit of play, if you know what I mean, if there is such a thing. Double Dutch, from 4 corners, while balancing a ball on one foot. And, o, wait. Isn't the girl in the middle also jumping her own rope while she's jumping the two crossed ropes while keeping a ball balanced on her foot? How utterly accomplished is that? How fun, how lovely, how spiritual, how miraculous how the spirit of play has moved these girls to such profound and practiced depth!

Play. Do not doubt its powers. Even when no one wins, everyone wins.




from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith