Russian folk entertainment: Epic battle 600 vs 600 people

Hello ATS!

Today I want to introduce you to an old Russian tradition. In Russia, always on big holidays, fairs and just on weekends, young men were divided into teams, mainly from different villages and regions, and staged fist fights. They fought honestly, several people did not attack one, they did not kick or hit those who fell from behind. Specific contractions occurred before the first blood.



In the video there is a huge fist fight 600 vs 600, which was organized by the Orthodox monarchical society "Two-Headed Eagle" - this is real, not deceptive traditionalism. In traditional societies, the aggressive energy of young men was channeled into such events - war games, festivals, horse races. Young people were evicted for some time outside the settlements. There, the most active ones splashed out aggression and thus reduced conflict in society as a whole. The fact is that among young people there is definitely a percentage of extremely aggressive guys and they need to be given the opportunity to show themselves among the same ones. Please note that in the video only a few are fighting at full strength, it is for them that such institutions were invented.
P.S. The fan movement performed a similar function. It wasn't about football, of course.

And here is a video of the same battle, filmed from the inside by a Western tourist.



It's quite funny.

Thank you.

Well, that just made me think of this, which I'm sure you are familiar with...

It also made me think of the huge illegal immigration problem which is a powder keg just waiting for someone/something to light the fuse, not just in UK, but EU wide. Clock is ticking down on that one.
But yes, the videos you posted are entertaining.
Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: angelchemuel

Yes, it's cool)))

a reply to: RussianTroll

Local folk games.....

That reminds me of 'Shrovetide' football, as in large numbers of people getting involved.. Not the punch ups..



Shrovetide Football History

The rules
There are very few rules in existence. The main ones are

Committing murder or manslaughter is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack, etc.
Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
To score a goal the ball must be tapped three times in the area of the goal.

a reply to: RussianTroll

That reminds me of 'Shrovetide' football, as in large numbers of people getting involved.. Not the punch ups.. The Royal Shrovetide Football game in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, is traditionally played on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday and has been held nearly every year since at least 1667.



Shrovetide Football History

The rules
There are very few rules in existence. The main ones are

Committing murder or manslaughter is prohibited. Unnecessary violence is frowned upon.
The ball may not be carried in a motorised vehicle.
The ball may not be hidden in a bag, coat or rucksack, etc.
Cemeteries, churchyards and the town memorial gardens are strictly out of bounds.
Playing after 10 pm is forbidden.
To score a goal the ball must be tapped three times in the area of the goal.

a reply to: McUrnsalso

A thread I did on the subject a few years ago....like most of my threads it didn't get much traffic! 🤣🤣🤣

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: RussianTroll

..another folk game is Cheese rolling....

Cheese Rolling History

This ceremony originally took place each Whit Monday, but was later moved to the Spring Bank Holiday. The first written evidence of cheese rolling is found in a message written to the Gloucester town crier in 1826;[2] even then it was apparent that the event was an old tradition, and it is believed to be at least six hundred years old.

A female winner in 2023, won whilst unconscious....

a reply to: Freeborn

It's a crazy game.... I'd be curious to see other local folk games from across the world. They are so curious. They do 'Barbie car racing' in the US, flying down a hill on a kids pedal car. m

a reply to: McUrnsalso

...if one of the esteemed mods could remove one of them posts about shrovetide football. I've double posted by accident. Cheers in advance

a reply to: RussianTroll





The warrior spirit is strong. But when it's all over someone still has to cut the wood, tend the garden and milk the cow.

..The youtube algorithm has just served this up....


From Florence in Italy.....

Calcio Storico Fiorentino

a reply to: McUrnsalso

Ha! The cheese rolling happened just a few weeks ago and RT's post reminded me of it..... but it's not exactly a team sport
Loved your post about Shrovetide, I have a vague recolection about that one.
Likewise with Freeborn's Sedgefields 'football'.
Got to give it to us Brits.... we have some very odd games..... thinking about the Highland Games now...... Oh dear..... then there was It's a Knockout! Showing my age now!
Here's the episode (if you want to risk watching it), with the Royal family and their rather famous teams. Of course *spoiler alert* Princess Anne stole the show! May she have a speedy and full recovery from her injury.

Rainbows
Jane

a reply to: RussianTroll

Football sprang out of a game we called the uppies and the downies RT it was a bunch of rags tied in a ball and you got it by any means possible from the top to the bottom of the village and was known to go on all day sometimes .

We have a trades fortnight in the UK and a large marquee is erected that can hold 5 - 10.000 and all the small villages go to their area and near the end of the night all hell breaks loose .

Much like the video you posted everyone runs into the middle and knocks hell out of each other but with no gloves or head gear just fists and it gets to a stage where it doesn't matter who you are boxing you just keep going .

It is a thing of pride to tell people how much you spent on drink in that 2 weeks and how many fights you had , which is something I never figured out or wanted to but the maddest night I ever witnessed in my life was 3000 nut jobs going at it and beer bottles were flying like arrows in a medieval battle in place called Dornoch in the 90s .

It is better RT that I smoke a joint and watch all the fun because I realised as a kid I do not play nice or toy fight , it is all or nothing with me .

a reply to: RussianTroll

That's the London Underground stations every morning and night of the week