Chinlone - Awesome Sport + Mystic Ball The Movie (VIDEO)

This summer I attended the world premiere for Mystic Ball, a (now) award winning documentary about Chinlone, the national sport of Myanmar.  Chinlone is an awe-inspiring non-competitive team sport (ie. watch this video!!!).  Teams of six pass the ball between each other using moves that will put your grade 8 hacky sack skills to shame. 

The goal of Chinlone is to push yourself and your team to attempt extremely difficult moves that keep the small wicker ball in orbit.  In the middle of a game, players enter a trance-like state and move in ways that make the experience spiritual.

Mystic Ball the movie chronicals the 8 year journey of Toronto based Greg Hamilton into the world of Chinlone.  After his first visit to Myanmar, Greg fell in love with the sport and knew it would become a core part of his life.  He then practiced hours each day in Toronto until he could save enough money to return.  I won’t ruin any more of the plot, but I highly recommend the movie.

As a side note, it was also very cool to listen to Greg Hamilton speak.  He is extremely passionate about Chinlone and has a goal to share it with the world.

More about the rules (from Wikipedia):
Chinlone is the traditional sport of Myanmar (Burma). Chinlone is a combination of sport and dance, a team sport with no opposing team. In essence chinlone is non-competitive, yet it’s as demanding as the most competitive ball games. The focus is not on winning or losing, but how beautifully one plays the game.

A team of six players pass the ball back and forth with their feet and knees as they walk around a circle. One player goes into the center to solo, creating a dance of various moves strung together. The soloist is supported by the other players who try to pass the ball back with one kick. When the ball drops to the ground it’s dead, and the play starts again.