This Week In Violence! Presents Ki-o-rahi

The Maestro - April 1, 2016April 1, 2016

New Zealand - two islands full of sheep, mountains, kiwi birds and fruits, hobbits, and especially rugby. The All-Blacks' legendary Haka chant strikes fear and wonder into opponents and crowds all over the world. Indeed, the culture of rugby in New Zealand may stem from well beyond when the first

This Week In Violence! Presents Cheese-Rolling

The Maestro - March 25, 2016March 24, 2016

The English are well known for their absurdist sense of humour. From Monty Python to Mr. Bean to even Parliament itself, the weird and surreal come out in so many aspects of everyday life in the United Kingdom. Thus, it comes with absolutely zero surprise that amongst all the slapstick

This Week In Violence! Presents Buzkashi

The Maestro - March 18, 2016March 18, 2016

When you think about polo, what do you think about? Pretentious wankers in jodhpurs? Giant-sized croquet mallets? The most bland, reserved crowds ever? Overall, polo as we know it is reserved almost exclusively for the wealthy elites of the United Kingdom and the northeastern United States and as well in

This Week In Violence! Presents Calcio Storico

The Maestro - March 11, 2016March 11, 2016

Ah, Italy. A country of romance, wine, food, art, history, and culture! Such a refined, sophisticated place to live. Why on earth would such a place have a need for such silly, brutish things as competitive sports, right? Well, turns out that not only do they do all those previously-mentioned things

This Week In Violence! Presents Bo-Taoshi

The Maestro - March 4, 2016March 4, 2016

To residents of the Western world, it seems almost standard for us to use the adjectives "weird" or "crazy" to describe most things coming out of Japan, and yet despite these cliches, I simply can't find another word more appropriate to describe the game of bo-taoshi to you all. This is

This Week In Violence! Presents Takanakuy

The Maestro - February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

Imagine spending your Christmas beating the shit out of your friends, family members and neighbours. Actually, wait. Some of you probably do that already. But imagine doing that and having one gigantic-ass party to go along with all the fisticuffs. That, folks, is the beauty of takanakuy. Takanakuy is an annual

This Week In Violence! Presents Kabaddi

The Maestro - February 21, 2016March 3, 2016

This Week In Violence! is a new feature for the off-season that features one obscure sport or event that has some degree of violence to it. Without a weekly football fix, we need to get our violence and bloodshed quota fulfilled somehow! First on the list for this series is