Where did the sandbag movement spread?

The sandbag project belongs to the traditional national and folk sports. It is difficult to study its origin. Like most sports and folk games, throwing sandbags has a long history, which can be traced back to ancient times. Human ancestors used hard objects such as stones to hit their prey. With the development of the times and the progress of human civilization, as a game, of course, sharp tools such as stones cannot be used, so people began to use sandbags with less harm instead. The earliest ball game in China was handball, and throwing sandbags may be this early ball game.

However, due to the variety of forms, rich skills, small exercise load and large expansion space, sandbag throwing games are very suitable for the development and popularization of primary school students. Of course, it is precisely for these reasons that the folk sport of throwing sandbags has spread to this day. It was popular all over the country in 1960s and 1970s, and it was a classic team game. The children enjoyed this activity and became an indelible witness to the growth of a generation. Although there is no grand occasion at that time, it is still active in primary school teaching, especially in some areas with poor conditions and lack of sports facilities, because it has low requirements for sports venues and equipment. Practicing sandbags is conducive to the improvement of students' flexibility and softness. At the same time, sandbags are easier to enter families and communities, which is easy to arouse the interests of students and parents.

Throwing sandbags is a noisy game, which can train individual agility. There are many ways to throw sandbags. The most popular one is to draw a big circle on the sunny terrace or open space first, and divide the participants into two groups by drawing lots. One group stands outside the circle and the other group stands in the circle. There is no doubt that people in the circle have been surrounded. The people outside the circle gave orders and threw sandbags at the people inside. If you hit the foot of an insider, the person who is hit will be eliminated and must walk out of the circle. Until the last person was shot and eliminated, the last two groups exchanged and the game started again. There is also a common way to play, that is, draw a big circle on the ground, and select "prisoners" by drawing lots and throw them into the circle. Here, that circle means prison, but it is quite beautiful. People in the circle will be miserable, and people outside the circle will throw sandbags in succession. He can hide or pick it up. He wants to be like Nezha with eight arms, waving his hands at random, hoping to catch a sandbag. As long as he can catch it, he can be liberated from prison early, or he will be thrown by sandbags all the time. When everyone in the circle comes out, the game will come to an end, and it is necessary to re-select "prisoners" to facilitate a fresh start. Another is that two people stand at both ends and throw sandbags, while others hide in the middle. The elimination system is generally adopted. If the man in the middle is hit by a sandbag, he has to act as a pitcher. If he catches the sandbag directly with his hand, he has to add a "chance of survival" and the game continues. Isn't this a bit like a pitcher in baseball? There is only one "winning rule": I hide, I hide, I hide!

A sandbag sewn with rags and needle and thread is filled with fine sand as a weapon to "kill" each other. Making sandbags is also an interesting and important part of the gauze bag game. Sewing sandbags is also the first lesson for many girls to learn manual work. In addition to coarse sand (sand is too fine to leak out), cloth can also be stuffed with old rice and plastic beads.

When we were young, the game of throwing sandbags had passed its peak. But because there is a sandbag making class in the school handicraft class. Naturally, sandbags cannot be left idle. During that time, when the bell rang, we rushed to the playground like an arrow. We quickly divided into groups and began to fight. The game of throwing sandbags practices our dodging skills. On the playground, in the open space, almost every day, students in grade two or three of primary school are fighting a sandbag throwing war. Everyone carries a few sandbags in their schoolbags and takes them to school, just waiting for the bell to ring. Probably because playing this game requires teamwork. Without teamwork, it is easy to lose the game. In the process of playing sandbag games, it is also very tiring, which fully tests people's reaction ability and physical strength. With the development of the times, sandbag games are more diversified. Some children no longer use sandbags, but use balls as "sandbags" to play. Although the game is evolving, this spirit of unity and cooperation to win will remain in the memory of childhood forever.