The goal of the knuckle hop is to move in a forward direction hopping on your knuckles and toes. The person who goes the longest distance while maintaining their body in position is the winner.
Thousands of years ago, humans crossed the Bering Strait from Russia to present day Alaska. The journey to new world was challenging with freezing weather conditions and limited resources. Many of the travelers continued South all the way to the South American continent. However, humans did settle in the North and adapted to the cold extreme harsh conditions.
The Canadian, Greenland and Alaskan indigenous people are the descendants of those who crossed to the new world from Siberia throughout different time periods. The Dene, Inuit, Yupik, and Chukchi are to name some of the indigenous people. The people of the arctic lands passed down their culture and survival skills for generations.
Although the temperature is cold year-round, the winter months are extremely cold and dangerous. Food and resources become limited in the winter months. Travel and hunting expeditions are near scarce during the winter. The ancestors of today’s Inuit people created fitness training and games based on mental and physical skills that would benefit them for surviving extreme climates. Over time the games became shared practiced knowledge throughout the arctic.
Arctic Games
The Arctic Winter Games unify the people together to celebrate and honor their ancestors’ culture. The arctic games consist of the training skill challenges from the ancestors of the Inuit and Dene people. Some of these games include:
The Kneel Jump, The Back Push, The Airplane, The Sitting Knuckle Pull, The Leg Wrestle, The Mouth Pull, The Musk Ox Push, Alaskan High Kick, Stick Pull, One-Foot High Kick, Two-Foot High Kick, Seal Hop, Ear Pull, Blanket Toss, and the Knuckle Hop.
The challenges of the games benefited the people in Strength, Balance, Hunting, Communicating. For additional information on Arctic Winter Games Click Here to visit the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
Knuckle Hop
The Knuckle Hop is an individual event in which one positions themselves in a pushup position with their hands in fists. Staying in a push-up position, the player then lifts their body forward on their fists and toes. The player to go the longest distance wins.
The Knuckle Hop is a competitive game that challenges the player’s endurance, physical and mental abilities. The Knuckle Hop game originated from hunter’s imitating the movement of a seal’s during hunting. The mimicking of the seal’s allowed the hunters to stalk closer for an easier kill.
There are many other great events in the Arctic Winter Games. However, I appreciate how the Knuckle Hop game has physical and mental challenges to compete. A player will have to overcome pain and possible bleeding from the knuckles.
Conclusion
I personally was not aware of the Arctic Winter Games, World-Eskimo-Indian Olympics, and Native Youth Olympics. The games are a great way to spread and celebrate their culture. There is major respect and appreciation for the competitors in the events. Over the years the games have gained more interest from many players around the world.
For further learning, I suggest following Kyle Khaayák’w Worl. Kyle is the son of Knuckle Hop Champion Rodney Worl. He is successful in winning many medals and competitions. He does many great humanitarian events sharing his knowledge of the games and culture of the Inuit people. Kyle continues to teach and train students to help build and strengthen the mind, body, and spirit.
For anyone looking to step up their work out game. Try some of these events.
