Pillow defend in its rude nation is a materialization of chaos , a safe - ish exit for the murderous hostility innate to most children . You grab the nearestpillowand whip it at the nearest physical structure . There are no rules .
But pillow fighting has been set aside by the over-12 set and consequently burgeon forth protocols . About half a one C ago , in a conniption of nostalgia for childhood violence , two local community group in Sonoma , California , thought it would be uproarious to create aWorld Pillow Fighting Championshipto raise money for charity . The construct seems to be straightforward — two people , fortify with a pillow each , straddle a logarithm suspended over mud and duke it out . The first person strike hard off loses . There ’s an likable simplicity to the thing : It ’s like a rodeo , you either win or you ’re muddy .
If gamy school day students in Ito , Japan acknowledge of Sonoma ’s pillow sport , it seems to have play zero role in the game they invented in 2013 . Simultaneously theatrical and competitive , the All - Japan Pillow Fighting Championship consist of two team of five players each side .
Before the mate start , all team members feign sleep beneath duvet on individual futon . When the referee blow the whistle , the players leap to their feet and scramble to the dividing product line , grab a pillow as they go .
The pillows in this game , though , are flung , not swung . Any squad appendage struck by a pillow is knock out of play . A designated player can bring their duvet along and hold it up as a shield for teammates . A second player is appointed " king . " When one squad strikes the other ’s king , that team wins the match .
The pillows are not random items , but specially manufactured cushions that adhere to strict size and weight regulations . They ’re stuffed , not with feather , but with latex to achieve the take heft and bounce . There are no age restrictions — the youngest musician so far recorded was 9 , the eldest 75 .
Two one - minute of arc matches make up a biz . As a summercater , it ’s speedy , goose and grow tight . No Word of God yet on itsOlympicsprospects , butwith skateboard officially in , pillow fighting ca n’t be far behind .
