Thailand is probably the only country in the world were kite fighting is a competitive sport. Competitions are fought with two types of kites called Pakpao and Chula.
Pakpao, considered the female kite, is diamond-shaped, 0.76m (2.5ft) in length and usually has a long tail. She is normally just flown by one person. Being light, she can move swiftly if properly handled.
Chula, the male kite, is 1.5m (5ft) or more in length and shaped as a five pointed star. In the air it swings pendularly as he heaves his greater bulk against the wind’s force. Chula can be of enormous size requiring up to 20 men to send it aloft and maneuver it.
Bangkok’s Phramane Ground (Sanam Luang) near the Grand Palace is the most prominent site for kite fighting competitions. The tournament area is divided into two sections. Upwind, usually in the direction of the Grand Palace, is the area reserved for the Chula kite teams; south of the dividing line, a length of stout rope supported by bamboo poles, is the Pakpao domain.
The air space for the Chulas is divided into channels, each Chula can only manipulate within its channel which is marked by red flags.
By tournament rules a minimum of two Chulas and four Pakpaos must compete in a match. A Chula team consists of the captain, one or two handlers who fly the kites for most of the time, and a team of youths who run with the string when the captain gives the order, usually blown with a whistle. As mentioned above, the Pakpao is flown by just one handler.
The Chula kite’s battle equipment includes a number of Champahs - strips of split bamboo formed into grappling hooks; these are spaced along the string at intervals specified by the rules; there may be a minimum of three or a maximum of five Champahs depending on the size of the kite. Like boxers, Chula kites are organized in size divisions.
Dainty diamond-shaped Pakpao uses her long starched cloth tail as a snare, together with a formidable semi-circular string loop hanging from the string that flies her. Speed and agility is decisive for her, in offense and defence.
There are around fifty rules governing contests between Pakpao and Chula teams. One of them requires the giant Chula to keep within the corridor of attack allocated to it in Pakpao territory. Contests are often timed.
Chula makes his sorties into Pakpao space in an effort to entangle and force down in his territory a maximum number of Pakpao kites. A skilled Chula team can capture two Pakpaos in a single sortie. The rules only allow a maximum of two Pakpao on each sortie, for which the Chula is scored twenty points; should he bring back three, the sortie is considered a draw.
It must not be thought that Chula is always the winner. Pretty Pakpao can be a tough fighter, and when two Pakpaos make a combined attack on Chula he frequently crashes in Pakpao domain. To be ensnared in a single Pakpao’s loop can be sufficient cause for his downfall.
If a Chula caught in a Pakpao loop can still land in its own territory the Chula is the winner just as if it were the Chula entangling the Pakpao. The Pakpao only scores if the Chula comes down in Pakpao territory.
In case a Pakpao body is lost but the tail remains on the Chula line or the tail is lost but the body remains, the Chula kite landing in its own territory is still considered the winner.
During competitions, the Pakpao kites usually try to attack the Chula kite that has invaded their territory from high above. As soon as the two kites are entangled, the Chula team always has a chance to make it home. The Chula captain will blow his whistle as soon as the entanglement happens, and his team of youths will run with the line to assure just this: coming down in Chula territory.
Aside from the fighting kites, Thais make and fly all sorts of other kites in hundreds of different shapes: owls, fish, faces, serpents and so on, ranging in size from a few centimeters to more than 7 meters.
