Chapter

1
Basic Skills and Str oking Practice

To control the ballis to adjust the

path of the ball and the distance it travels and is the most important skill
when playing gateball. Accuracy is
greatly influenced by your stance (the
position of both feet).
It is
called the Square Stance because a
square is formed when a line is drawn
between your ball and the tip of your
left foot, the tips of your left and right feet
(shoulder distance), the direction that
your right foot is facing in and the
direction of the stroke.

Diagram 1 Square Stance

Left foot

Right foot

Form a square with your feet and the stroking line

10

However, the square

is the basis of all three stances.
If, because of the player
s physique,
both feet can
t be positioned in a way
that results in a Square Stance, the
player can apply the stance in
Inverted V-shape. In this
stance, both knees are squeezed
together to stabilize the body before
the stroke.
You should first choose the stance that
best allows you to control the ball.

Diagram 2 Open Stance

The right foot is drawn back and the body opened in the
direction of the stroke, making it easier to see the target and
the course of the ball.

Diagram 3 Closed Stance

The right foot is drawn back and the body closed in the
direction of the stroke, making it easier to focus on the
ball.

Diagram 4 Inverted V-shaped Stance

Both knees are squeezed together, stabilizing

the body to prevent the player from raising
his/her head.

If the ball tends to swerve to the right or

position of the ball so that it is in front of

left, you should first check your stance.

your left foot.

The following explanation applies to a

right-handed player.

As shown in

stance is relatively closed with your left

As shown in

if your stance

foot slightly in front, the ball can serve to

is relatively open with your left foot

the right. Moving your left foot back a lit-

slightly back, the ball can swerve to

tle will make it easier to swing and as a

the left. Moving your left foot forward a

result the ball should move straight

little will make it harder to swing and

ahead. If the position of the ball is a lit-

as a result the ball should move in a

tle too far to the left, as in

straight line. If the position of the ball is

this will also result in the ball swerving to

a little too far to the right, as shown in

the right. Adjust the position of the ball

, this will also result in the

ball swerving to the left.

12

if your

so that it is in front of your left foot.

Adjust the

Diagram 1

Diagram 3

An Open Stance makes it easier for the

ball to swerve to the left.

A Closed Stance makes it easier for the

ball to swerve to the right.

Diagram 2

Diagram 4

If the ball is too far to the right, the ball

will tend to swerve to the left.

If the ball is too far to the left, the ball will

tend to swerve to the right.

The Swing

Learning the four basic swings

There are four basic swings depending
on how the swing is carried out and

less than 2m and when sparking.

Cutting

the position of the head at the moment

A slightly diagonal swing, the head

of impact.

stopped at the moment it strokes

Basic swing

ball or is quickly pulled back. At

The most commonly used swing, the

moment of impact the ball doesnt

stick is moved like a pendulum in front of

rotate, but then immediately starts

the player.

rotate away from the player.

The basic swing is used

for strokes over short and long dis-

swing is mainly used for strokes over

tances and when sparking.

grass court or artificial grass court.

Horizontal swing

Jumping

With the head aligned to the ball, the

A right-handed player would position

head is drawn back so that it remains on

the ball in front of his/her right foot

the ground and the ball stroked so that

swing the stick in a diagonal motion,

the movement of the head remains

aiming at the upper right section

parallel with the ground. The horizontal

ball. This swing is used in jumping

swing is mainly used over distances

the ball and in the Jumping Touch.

Diagram 1 Basic swing

Diagram 2

Horizontal swing

Diagram 3 Cutting

Diagram 4 Jumping

Basic Skill 2 Swing

Basic Skill

ess
There are five stages in the movement
of the swing.

The motion of the swing stopping naturally

The position of the ball is checked and

the stick placed behind the ball

What is important in the address is

that when the stick is positioned

The stick is drawn back

behind your ball, as shown in

The stick is swung

ball, your own ball and the face of the

the three centers of the target

stick are aligned in the direction of the
The moment the head strokes the ball

stroke.

Diagram 1

14

Put the target ball 1m in front of you,

straight towards the target ball 1m in

as shown in

front of you.

. Place a 5

cent coin 20cm from your ball in the

Once you are able to stroke the ball in a

direction of the ball you are about to

straight line over a 1 meter distance,

touch. Stroke the ball so that it passes

then repeat the same action over a 2

over the top of the coin.

If the ball

passes over the coin lying 20cm in

meter distance and then increase this

distance to 3m and then 4m.

front of you, then it should proceed

Diagram 2

Forward swing

]]a

Impact

Follow through

15

sur
In a take back, make sure that the face

rally following a straight line would

remains close to the court surface.

result in a very uncomfortable form.

Slowly draw the stick back in the opposite direction to the target.

Drawing

the stick back too quickly and with too

much force will affect the direction of
the head.

The stick isnt literally

drawn straight back as this is physically

When moving

impossible, but will be facing slightly

the ball over a medium range, the

inwards, as shownin

arms should be relatively extended.

. Lite-

Diagram 1

Find something in the home that has a

arms are fully extended, try swinging

straight line, such as the edge of a car-

the head following that line.

pet, a wooden stick or a ruler, as

this action every day as part of your

shown in

practice.

. Use this as an

indicator for the direction of your

stroke, and pretending that a ball is
positioned on this line, position yourself in the correct stance. Then, place
the head on the line and slowly pull the
head back along that line. Once both

16

Repeat

Diagram 2

The forward swing should be carried

only your left hand, the swing will tend to

out slowly over short distances and

be unsteady and you wont be able to

relatively quickly over long distances.

accurately stroke the ball.

If the player is right-handed, the left

wrist is fixed with the right hand holding
the stick lightly until just before the
impact, as shown in

. The

Diagram 1
The right hand lightly
holds the stick.

force should be directed into the swing

at the moment of impact. If you try to
apply the same force to both hands, or if
you attempt the swing using the force of

Draw a straight, vertical line from a

stick.

point 30cm behind the ball and draw a

changing the position where the stick

similar vertical line every 10cm, as

is drawn back to 50cm, 60cm, 70cm

shown in

and 80cm.

Take a stance so

Carry out the same action,

that the ball is in front of the left foot

Never use too much force when

and stroke the ball.

First draw the

stroking the ball. Practice so that your

head back to the line at the 40 cen-

body learns how far the ball will roll

timeter point and then slowly swing the

depending on how far back you draw

be unsteady and you wont be able to

the head.

Diagram 2

17

There is little impact over short dis-

and the right palm are parallel and fa-

tances but the further the distance, the

cing in the direction of the stroke, the

stronger the impact.

ball will roll in a straight line.

Grip the stick

Make

firmly in order to resist the shock of the

sure that the left wrist is firm at the

impact. There should be little force in

moment of impact.

either arm during the actual swing, and

in the case of right-handed players,

At the moment of impact, make sure

the middle finger, index finger and the lit-

that your eyes remain on the ball and

tle finger on the left hand should be

that you stroke the center of the ball

strongly gripping the stick at the

with the center of the face.

moment of impact.
The way you grip the stick is also
important for the ball to move in the
correct direction.

As shown in

, in the case of a right-handed

player, if both the surface of the left fist

Position the ball and then place another

stances by confirming that the two sur-

ball to be touched at a point 1m in

faces are parallel and facing in the

front of your ball.

direction of the stroke.

First take a Square Stance and touch

the ball in front, as shown in
The swing should be slow, with the
two surfaces (for right-handed players,
this is the left fist and the right palm)
parallel and facing in the direction of
the stroke.

18

Diagram 1
Regardless of the
stance, both hands
are parallel and
facing in the direction of the stroke.

Practice this with other

Diagram 2
1m

A follow through is carried out straight at

stopped naturally (Diagram 1).

the target, with little swing.

For longer distances, the swing and

Use a small swing for strokes over a

the follow through are increased rela-

distance of less than 1m, using the

tive to the distance, with the swing

weight of the head to stroke the ball.

should always end without adding any

After stroking the ball, use just enough

force.

force to stop the movement of the

Diagram 1

stick.
For distances of around 4m, the head
should be stopped just in front of the

In the case of right-handed

players, make sure the
head stops in front of the
left foot.

left foot, in the case of a right-handed

player, and the movement of the stick

As a general guide, for distances

draw a white line at distances of 50cm,

under 1m, the swing is stopped the

1m, 4m and 8m from the ball.

moment you stroke the ball without

First stroke the ball aiming for the

any follow through.

50cm point. Once you have stroked

distance, the swing is stopped in front of

all five balls, alter the distance and

the left foot (the right foot for left-handed

repeat the same action over 1m, 4m

players).

and then 8m.

dont add any force and just let the

swing end naturally.

Use five balls. As shown in

Over a 4 meter

Over an 8 meter distance,

Diagram 2

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When you touch your teams ball, that

inside line).

ball can be sparked to a position that is

stroke your ball once more, the Touch is

advantageous to your team.

very important in the overall develop-

touch the other teams

If you

ball, the

And, as you can also

ment of your teams game.

touched ball can be moved to a location

If you are going for a Touch, only think

that is disadvantageous to the other

about touching the ball and to focus on

team (for example, by making it an

your ball. Dont think of anything else,

out-ball by stroking the ball beyond the

such as what you should do after the

Diagram 1 A Touch with your teams ball

Diagram 3 A Touch with the other teams

inside the court

ball inside the court

2
2

4
2

No more than 1m apart

More than 3m apart

Use little force so that the touched ball doesnt

move more than 1m. There will be a greater
chance of a Touch if the stroke aims for both balls to
be aligned.

If enough force is used to move the touched ball

over 3m away, there is less chance that it will
touch your ball in its next turn.

Diagram 2 A Touch with your teams ball

Diagram 4 A Touch with the other teams

along the line

4 Front Touch using

2little force

If you carry out a Front Touch using little force,

there is a greater chance that
2both balls will
remain inside the court.

Front Touch using

little force

ball along the line

20

32

Frontal Touch using

considerable force

If you carry out a Front Touch with considerable

force, there is a greater chance that the other
teams ball will be sent beyond the inside line and
your ball will remain inside the court.

Touch or what will happen if you miss

of force if you are carrying out a Touch

the Touch.

with the opposing teams ball. Even if

You must also alter the force of the

you miss the touch, your ball will move

stroke depending on whether you are

far away from the missed ball which

touching your teams ball or the other

means that there is less chance for it to

teams ball.

touch your ball in its next turn.

Dont use much force when carrying

out a Touch with your teams ball.
Even if you miss the Touch, the ball
will stop near the missed ball if you
havent used much force. It can send
your ball to an effective position in its
next turn.
On the other hand, use some degree

Use the line of the court and position

Diagram 5

ten balls as shown in Diagram 5.

Stroke the ball along the edge of the
line so that it touches the ball 50cm in
front. Start with a very short distance to
get the feel of this move, stroking five
balls each time. If you can carry out a
Touch with all five balls, repeat the
same move, increasing the distance
by 50cm each time.

Initially, the

longest distance should be no more

than 2m.
Once you can carry out a Touch over a
distance of 2m, practice carrying out a
Touch in the opposite direction, that is,
towards the edge of the line. However,
if your ball goes beyond the line, the
move is not recognized as a Touch.

21

Make sure that the backswing is in a

perfectly aligned, the sparked ball will

straight line towards the target during

not move straight towards the center

a Spark. Players tend to be more con-

of the target.

cerned with how the sparked ball contact his/her ball or whether there is a
gap between the two balls, instead of
focusing on lining up the center of
his/her own ball and the ball to be
sparked on the line of your stroke.
As shown in

when sparking,

set up the line of the stroke and the

stance so that the center of the face,
your ball, the ball to be sparked and
the target (the gate, the goal-pole, the
other ball, a certain point on the court,
etc.) are aligned.
In particular, if the two centers of your
ball and the ball to be sparked arent
Diagram 1 Position your feet so that the four centers are aligned

When sparking, position

the line of the stroke and
your feet so that the center
of the face, the center of
your ball, the center of the
ball to be sparked and the
center of the target are
aligned.

22

The advantage of the following two

will move away from your foot more

methods of stepping on the ball is that

easily while your ball remains firmly

your ball and the ball to be sparked

under your foot.

are more visible and the sparked ball

Diagram 2
To prevent the ball from moving away from
under the foot as a result of the impact of the
Spark, the ball is normally held down with the
joint of the big toe at a right angle from the line of
the stroke. Here, lightly press the ball using
your toes, with your toes positioned slightly
diagonally. However, be very careful here as
pressing down too firmly with your toes might
result in your missing your ball completely!

Diagram 3

Make sure that the center of the ball to be

sparked is correctly aligned to the center of
your ball along the line of the stroke. Press
lightly down on the ball to be sparked with the
outside of your small toe.

23

Touches include the Front Touch in

which the front of the target ball is
touched and the Slide Touch in which
either the right or left section of the tar-

This is

get ball is touched. A successful Slide

because the other team tends to

Touch means that your ball will pro-

underestimate or not to realize the

ceed in the direction of the Touch.

power of the Slide Touch so that it will

Using this Slide Touch enables you to

tend not to consider effective counter-

carry out the following moves.

measures.
The key to a Slide Touch lies in the
angle that your ball contacts another
ball and the force of the stroke.
If the angle is too small, not only the
Slide Touch but even the Touch will
fail. Conversely, if the angle is too big,
the move will often end up similar to a
Front Touch your ball will either stop
where it touches the other ball or will
be stroked to the side of the ball that it

Photograph 1

Example of stance when carrying out a

Slide Touch to the right

24

Photograph 2

Example of stance when carrying out a

Slide Touch to the left

touches, and then stop.

direction of the stroke.

If insufficient force is used in the

stroke, the distance of the Slide Touch
will be too short, while too much force
will make it difficult to accurately stroke
the targeted section.

With a Slide

This

Touch, it is important that the angle

stance makes it easier to swing to the

isnt too small or big, and the force

right to make a successful Slide

used isnt too little or too great.

Touch. In contrast,

Your position is equally important in a

Slide Touch. Be sure that the direction
of the stroke and the line joining the
tips of both feet are parallel. If you try to

The stroke should be carried

compensate for an incorrect stance

out in the same way as carrying out a

with the movement of your arms or

Front Touch, stroking the ball in a

wrists, you could end up missing the

straight line with the center of your

ball completely.

body as the axis.

When positioning

The distance you

yourself, the easiest way is to draw

draw your foot back will depend on

your foot back depending on the direc-

how far you want the Slide Touch to

tion you want your ball to move in and

go.

then position your entire body in the

Draw a circle in front of the gate on the

Diagram 1

court and position the ball (mark

Points A and B for repeated practice)
as shown in

Carry out a

Slide Touch and practice sending the

ball into the circle. Once you become
used to the distance and have mastered this move, repeat the move
increasing the distance between your

ball and the ball to be touched by 1m

each time.

25

A Double Touch is a move in which

are going to set up a Double Touch

your ball touches two balls in a single

and therefore will be on guard.

stroke.

With a successful Double

other words, you will somehow have to

Touch, the player can carry out sparking

set up a Double Touch while the other

twice and if this is successful, he/she

team is unaware, and there will be

can then go on to carry out two strokes

very few opportunities to do so. It is at

of his/her ball. The Double Touch is

times like this, when you have to make

an extremely important skill as the

the most of the few opportunities that

players teams overall game benefits

you have, that regular practice will pro-

significantly if these two strokes are

duce real results.

carried out effectively.

three forms, and if there are three

There are three main formations of

balls, immediately set up a Double

Double Touches

Touch. While you are waiting for your

In

Remember these

turn, look at the position of the ball of the

next player in your team and try to predict which formation the Parallel, the
Vertical Bow or Horizontal Bow shape
Although three
balls may end up in these three forma-

will result depending on where you

send your ball.

tions by coincidence during the game, in

the majority of cases these are delibe-

Diagram 1 Parallel Formation

rately set up as part of the overall

game strategy.
With each of these formations, a distance of between 30cm to 50cm
between the three balls has the best
chance of success. When practicing,

start with a shorter distance to get a

feel for the move.
If three balls belonging to your team
are close to each other on the court,
the other team will assume that you

26

The target balls are close to each other and parallel

to your stance when facing towards the target
balls. This has the greatest chance of a successful
Double Touch.

Stroking
Practice

Practicing setting up a Double

Touch

This practice can be carried out by 1

the corresponding ball.

or 2 persons.

Try to replicate the

(3) Confirm the position of the touched

basic Double Touch formation using

ball and send your ball to a position

your ball and the ball to be sparked.

(formation) which will allows the corres-

Finally, stroke the corresponding ball

ponding ball to achieve a Double

(the ball that realizes the Double

Touch.

Touch) to experience the exhilaration

(4) Stroke the corresponding ball to

of achieving a Double Touch.

achieve a Double Touch.

Use three balls the corresponding

(5) Regardless of whether the Double

ball, your ball and the ball to be

Touch is successful or not, once again

touched and scatter them onto the

scatter the three balls on the court and

court in any formation. For example,

repeat steps (1) to (4).

you can place the balls in a triangle,

Diagram 4

Basic Skill 11 Double Touch

Chapter 1 Basic Skills and Stroking Practice

each ball separated by 1m, as shown in

Diagram 4.
(1) Stroke your ball so it touches the
ball to be touched. Repeat until you
achieve a Touch.
(2) Once you have achieved a Touch,
spark the touched ball to the front of
Diagram 2

Vertical Bow-shaped
Formation

Diagram 3

Horizontal Bow-shape
Formation

When the balls, including your ball, are in a bowshape when seen from the direction that you are
stroking your ball in. Apply the Slide Touch by
stroking your ball to the right.

The reverse of the Vertical Bow-shaped Formation. Apply the Slide Touch by stroking your ball to
the left.

27

As shown in

28

, a Pass

As shown in

, a Touch

is when your ball passes

Pass is when your ball is stroked and

through a gate with a single stroke to

touches the right or the left of another

touch another ball. After sparking the

ball in front of a gate before passing

other ball, you can then stroke your

through that gate. As this is also con-

ball twice.

sidered a Double Play, once the other

Although a Pass Touch may result by

ball has been sparked, the player can

coincidence during the game, in the

stroke his/her ball twice in a row.

majority of cases it is a deliberate

When the ball is positioned in front of a

move that is extremely important in

gate during the game, in most cases a

your teams overall strategy.

Touch Pass will be coincidental and is

rarely set up deliberately.

Diagram 1 Pass Touch

Diagram 2 Touch Pass (right or left)

Touch

T
Lets practice to set up a Pass Touch for

is a greater chance of your ball stop-

a ball that is yet to pass through the

ping within the range and therefore

second gate (or the third gate) by

there is a greater chance of your

stroking your ball or sparking another

achieving a Pass Touch, although your

ball. As shown in

, your

ball will be more far away from the

balls stroking position A (sparking

gate than the case a. If the ball is

position) is 1.5m from the gate and

stroked so that it touches the leg of

50cm from the line.

gate (case c), your chance of achieving

(1) Stroke your ball from Point A

a Pass Touch becomes even greater.

towards the area where the corres-

(2) Stroke the corresponding ball to

ponding ball in front of the gate can

finish the Pass Touch.

make a successful Pass Touch to your

ball.

At this point, if your ball is

stroked parallel to the gate (case a),

the ball may go out of the predicted
range of the corresponding balls move
to make a successful pass. However, if

(3) Next, spark at Point A to set up a

Pass Touch. The Spark course is the
same as (1).
(4) Stroke the corresponding ball to
finish the Pass Touch.

it is stroked diagonally (case b), there

Diagram 3

29