Where cock fighting is a game to crow about
by Xuain HaO



It’s played-out by animals – but it’s a Man’s Game.It’s cock fighting and seen by millions as Vieit Nam’s traditional sport.And its practitioners deride suggestions it is cruel. Instead they defend it as a combination of art, chivalry and spirit.Champions of the sport point out that man plays a vital role in keeping the tradition alive. It is the owner who have the experience to select the right bird and to see its hidden qualities.Then a training programme, tailor-made for each animal, has to be worked out. Contests are not entered into lightly and, as one trainer explained, the requirements are simple:"The body must look like a bell, the beak must be crooked with the wings resembling an oyster shell. The neck must be short – and the legs must be long."Those qualities acquired, the training proper starts, under a necessarily tough regime. The trainer added: "Each cock should be trained according to its strengths."The gaO tnYeong mooc ha"u attacks the throat of its adversary, making it panic and run away, while maintaining strength to continue fighting."The gaO loSumi positions itself under the adversary’s abdomen and waits for the moment when its opponent is too tired to start attacking."The gaO "aSumm will attack its adversary repeatedly from the start and score a quick victory.

But it doesn’t stop there: GaO lyO endures its adversary’s blows waiting for the vital moment to strike at his exhausted tormentor; and gaO meo weaves and dodges before side-attacking its adversary, finally piercing its eyes."Many villages are famed for cock fighting, including aoenh Baoeng, in Tiein SYen District, Tho- HaO, in Vieit Yein District, and Yein Phu' in Yein Phong District, all Ba"c Ninh Province; Taiy PhnYeng, in Tha'ch ThaSumt District, of HaO Taiy Province, and NghOa aoi, Nghi TaOm, and Sinh TnO in HaO Noii. Some feature the especially fierce warriors like the aoing, the Trao or the ChieSumn.The game itself is usually held in the yard of the communal house or a smooth open ground. A round usually lasts one ho" of 15-20 minutes, when khuya ho", or break, is taken. A prize game can last seven ho", and it has been known for some games to last as much as twenty ho"

or more. Surprisingly there are no written rules for cock fighting – the only regulations are based on local convention.A cock that runs away is the kyO ha"u, one killed in fight is a kyO tnoe. When the owner of the cock thinks that his bird can no longer fight, he can ask for a suspension of the game – the other cock is awarded the game.In cash terms the prize is small. But the acquired prestige and honour for its owner and trainer is immense, especially if the game is won during TeSumt.

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