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Photo credits to Karitoon.com

What Philippine local games do you know or even played?

Hearing this question, many games would pop out of your mind. With those games, have you included the game kadang-kadang?

Kadang-Kadang, which is also known as Tiyakad in tagalong was first played in Cebu in the year 1969.  Kadang-kadang is a traditional Filipino game which is played during laro ng lahi or recreational activities.

Kadang-kadang which also means “simple play” is an outdoor game that is played using a bamboo stilt. To play the kadang-kadang, you need a pair of bamboo poles with equal lengths and a stepladder of foot size to serve as the platform for the player’s feet. The bamboo has a height of 10 feet from the ground. But in the present era, Filipinos modified the height of the bamboos making it higher.

Primarily, kadang-kadang is a racing game. Before starting the game, players should form two parallel lines with a distance of 100 meters apart to serve as the starting and finish line and then mark every 25th meter of each line.

The game needs four players in each team.  The players are set in a way that the first player stands behind the starting line, while the second player will stand behind the 25th mark of the line, the third player behind the 50th mark, and the fourth player stands behind the 75th mark.

The rule of the game is just simple. On the signal “get set”, the player stands at the starting line with his stilts. At the signal “go” the first player mounts on his stilts and starts walking to the 25th mark.  After reaching the mark, he gets off from the stilts and hand it down to the second player who will do the same while going to the 50th mark. The same pattern goes with the third and the fourth player until they reach the finish line. A player loss if he gets off the stilts twice before reaching the finish line, or gets off the stilt after two steps (Propagate Philippine Indigenous Game).

In the game kadang-kadang, the players will be able to build up their concentration, teamwork, and sportsmanship. In this game, balance is an important element. If you know how to balance yourself, you will be able to perfectly play this kind of game.

Kadang-kadang is not only for recreational activities. It could also be played during free time when you are with your playmates, friends, and families.