The true origin of HitBall is lost, naturally in the mists of time. We have some mundane records.

Few histories uncover, in a believable way, the ancient origins of this arcane and somewhat violent pastime.

Could we suspect that the current versions are deliberately written to obscure the ancient traditions behind HitBall?

Dare we suggest that the commonly known versions of the story do not quite reveal the whole truth?

YES we DO!

Rahaysa's version of the game's past:

It all started with a frisbee. Lionel and I became so good with the thing that competing on the basis of missed catches or wide throws became meaningless.

We noticed that it became possible to hit each other with the frisbee with very high energy throws, at about a five metre range.

Of course, we became good at that too, and started to suffer from bruised fingers. Eventually we became so fast that it was almost impossible to hit either of us, and no one else wanted to play with us because it hurt.

Another aspect of this violent version of frisbee that didn’t work was the limited strategy. We knew what we wanted in a sport was an environment in which we could use 100% of our speed, power and strategy, with movement appropriate to as wide a range of fighting styles as possible.
So… we developed HitBall. The breakthrough was suspending the ball overhead.

During the years of experimentation, we played with balls varying in size from basketball to tennis ball, weighing from a few grams, up to around a kilo. The rules were constantly re-negotiated to make the game safer while enhancing the realism of the martial aspect.

When the rules and kit were reasonably established, we began to play… and learn.

HitBall (we have found, after several years hard competition) is a tough game physically. Your body works hard, but as long as the rules are respected, the injury rate is lower than contact karate, boxing, kung-fu, ju-jitsu, even squash or tennis.

It makes you fit, works every muscle group and is the fastest way to a serious endorphin rush short of being hijacked.

Lionel went to the USA with a few hundred balls and introduced the ’Merkans to the game. A New Zealander, Willie Dent, took the title from him over there. This meant that Lionel had to spend a couple of extra months there so he could return with the title.

Since then, the title has remained in South Africa.

Another version, drawn from some very dubious sources:

Images from the Cretan/Minoan empire, and even older ones from South America, predating the Olmec civilization clearly show players kicking and hitting a tethered yak bladder at each other.

It seems that with the flooding of the big rectangular plateau which was the centre of the South American civilisation, the court strategists (all keen players) took the trade routes away from their drowned city (Atlantis) and ended up in Persia on a ship carrying a large cargo of coca leaves and tobacco.

It seems that originally, HitBladder was used to determine right and wrong, sometimes in a trail-by-combat scenario, but much more often as people betting on the "right" fighter taking money from those who had bet on the "wrong" fighter.

Mostly, however, the game was shrouded in mystery and taboo, partly because yaks (the only source of really srong bladders) were hard to come by, but perhaps more because the small sect of warrior monks that had cornered the yak bladder market didn't want just anyone running around with the co-ordination to hit anything they wanted to hit. This was the sacred preserve of a small group of warriors, who also weren't too keen to share the secret of their painless training method with other warriors either.

Eventually, yak bladders became scarce, and HitBall was lost in the dense mists of time.

Totally lost?

Well…

One monk eventfully (there had to be many events on such a journey, not so?) made his way, via India and (travelling with Bhodidarhma) to China. He then traveled (in disguise as a zen missionary) to Japan, where he found, much to his delight, that the bladders of Komodo Dragons were just the right size and strength - even better than yak bladders!

In Japan, he founded the Ni kintama Ichi Do Ryu (two balls one way school) of ninjitsu, but kept the secret of HitBladder, passing it only to his descendants.

How HitBall then crops up in South Africa is not entirely clear, but may have a connection with a Japanese airman, shot down in WWII over Bapsfontein. He may have been the descendant of the long forgotten Atlantean, but it is certain he was way off course. Bapsfontein is a very long way from Pearl Harbour.

A plastic ball is used these days. Activists from the Yak Bladder Preservation Foundation and the Komodo Dragon Bladder Lovers Society should therefore please BACK OFF and send their hate mail, letterbombs and (would-be) assasins elsewhere.

For instance, complain to the Japanese Kendo schools. Their greatest swordsman used to beat komodo dragons senseless as training, and it is likely that he occasionally damaged their bladders.

This was only in part due to him overhearing a chance remark about some zen ninja who needed komodo dragons for his training. The word "bladder" must have skipped his notice.