Rio de Janeiro is the proud birthplace of futevôlei, that could be described as beach volleyball played with the feet (and eventually the head and the shoulders). You can frequently spot retired soccer players converted into futevolistas, jumping like acrobats in the hot sands of Copacabana beach.
The sport was born as a by-product of the famous “jeitinho brasileiro” -our hability of finding creative solutions for life’s vicissitudes. More than that, futevôlei is a symbol of resistance. In the mid-sixties, soccer was banished from Rio’s beaches and the police would apprehend your ball if you were caught in flagrant. Not a problem. Octávio de Moraes, known as Tatá, found a solution. Whenever asked by the cops, he would explain he was using the soccer ball in the volleyball field – which was OK with the law.
Watching a futevôlei match is a delicious experience. Now, is it really a Brazilian invention? Maybe not.
Thailand and Malaysia have been playing a very similar game, sepaktakraw, or simply takraw, for half a millennium. Futevôlei and takraw have many identical rules. But there are a few differences: takraw has an Asian spice, martial arts moves; its teams have three players (futevôlei has only two) and the players don’t rotate their positions during the game, unlike the carioca sport. Finally, the balls are completely different and tackraw is not a sand sport.
Check the video bellow, which shows what takraw is about (sorry, not brilliant quality). Also check this other great report on the Asian sport. Then, tell me: what came first, the Asian egg or the Brazilian chicken?
It is possible for similar thiongs to evolve separately and at different times and rates. This is true in nature and known as ‘Convergent evolution’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution) and why patents are problematic. #justsaying 😎
Your are, of course, right, Ben. This is the classic example of convergent evolution – just like beaks in birds and platypus. Even today, after all globalization process, Brazil and Malaysia or Thailand don’t have a very intense dialogue, imagine in the mid-sixties. Also, I think both Brazil and the Asian countries developed such sports thanks to their acrobatic abilities, capoeira in Brazil and all those amazing martial arts at the other side of the world.