History
K History
Field hockey is the oldest known “Stick and Ball“ game and presumably goes back to the earliest civilisations even though there exists no exact evidence of the actual origins of the game.
From the year 4000 BC dates the oldest portrayal of a game of hockey. It is a grave painting from the Nile Valley. There were also “Stick and Ball“games in China, Persia and amongst the Aztec Indians who played with 50 men per team for prizes and other material possessions. It belonged to the character of the game not only to play the ball but also to incapacitate as many opponents as possible so as to render them unfit for battle. In India, Pakistan, Persia and Japan the roots of hockey’s tradition reach back at least 2000 years. And the Greeks, never slow to accept the opportunity for a fight, took over the game of “hockey“ from Persia in addition to the disciplines of throwing, running and wrestling.
In 12th Century France a game was played called “crosse“ or “hoquet“, a word which means shepherd’s crook. It is assumed that the English word “Hockey“ is derived from it. The sport can also be identified with early games called hurling, shinty and bandy where the aim was to drive the ball into a marked area of the opponent’s field. This “goal“ could be made of two posts, a hole in the ground, a circle or simply a straight line end zone. Very few other rules existed since you could play the ball with all your body or catch it and carry it for a few yards. It was all very simple. The ball was often driven through the air making the game very dangerous though nobody seemed too concerned. Despite its rough character and toughness the game was highly appreciated and practised in more peaceful surroundings such as cloisters and seminars.
What began as a rough game in the Middle Ages finally changed and became the cultivated, modern version seen in England during the late 19th century. South-east London is the home of Blackheath, the first ever hockey club and since 1861 people have played on a piece of wide open ground using primitive batting woods and a “ball“ which was actually a solid piece of rubber in the shape of a cube. At this stage the game was largely free of tactics in attack and defence. Since hockey was not now regarded as a fighting game, or “war game“, women were introduced to fill the gaps caused by a lack of men. It was soon regarded as a women’s sport in England.
In 1875 another London club, Teddington, was formed and both modernised and standardised the game with the introduction of new rules. Players were not permitted to play the ball – now a sphere – with their hands nor to lift their sticks above shoulder height. In 1883 team numbers were restricted to 11 players but the most important development was the introduction of the shooting zone, all of which was incorporated in 1886 into the newly formed English Hockey Association.
During the following years the British Army spread the game to India, Pakistan and Australia, all of which developed into leading hockey nations. In 1901 the British sports teacher M.K. Applebee introduced the game in the USA at Harvard University. In London in 1908 hockey was included in the Olympic schedule for the first time where England won gold ahead of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Germany. In 1924 the world’s governing body for hockey, FIH, was founded during the Olympic Games in Paris. Hockey has been included in the Olympic Games since 1924 in Amsterdam when India beat the Netherlands 3:0 in the final. Thereafter, India went on to dominate the competition until 1960 when Pakistan beat India 1:0 in Rome though four years later in Tokyo this result was reversed. Surprisingly, at this time, the East German team had beaten their Western neighbours at the qualifying stage.
It was not until the Games of 1980 in Moscow that the ladies’ competition was included.
When looking at old paintings you realise that hockey sticks of the very earliest times were similar to the modern ice hockey stick. The blade was very long and joined the shaft in a long curve. One played with what was termed a “giant’s forehand“.
Up until the end of the 1950’s there were sticks “Made in Germany“ produced by manufacturers of tennis rackets who had access to the raw materials and know-how. The wood for the shaft was hickory and mulberry imported from India mainly and the producers added inlays of rubber through the handle to increase a stick’s elasticity. The greater the elasticity the harder you could hit the ball. For a game played on deep and soft natural turf this was the crucial criterion for quality.
Until the mid 1950’s playing the ball on your right hand side was dominant but this changed following a tour by the German National team to Pakistan. In 1954 players studied the Pakistan methods for four weeks, analysing their individual skills at controlling the ball in front of the body. As a result, the “Indian Dribble“ and the shorter Asian blade were introduced to the German game. Due to the changed position of the ball and with the help of new blades players’ behaviour was less predictable. They had a greater variety of passing and deception options as Horst Wein wrote in his remarkable book in 1968, “Hockey – Learning and Teaching”.
Then, around 1960 India and Pakistan took over the world market in stick production. Instead of exporting the raw materials it was the finished product that was sent abroad. It is still only a small percentage of hockey stick production which exists outside these two countries, but, as in most other trades, the need to modernise and accept change has been embraced on the sub-continent.
The idea to make laminated blades originated in the Netherlands when different head shapes were demanded. These shapes were not possible by traditional means using solid timber. The blade is constructed by gluing strips of mulberry into the desired shape from a gentle bend up to the full U-turn presented by Grays. The advantage is that backhand play in particular becomes much easier, the area to control the ball having been significantly increased.
Not only the shape of the blade has changed but also the materials and techniques to construct the handle and shaft. Hockey is no longer a “hit and run” game and sophistication is evident in every aspect of the game. Rubber inlays have been removed and materials such as glass fibres, kevlar and carbon to strengthen and stiffen the stick have been applied.
The most radical change to hockey occurred in the 1970’s when natural grass was replaced by artificial grass playing surfaces. The character of the game, the demands on players and the materials required to build a hockey stick all experienced a dramatic overhaul. In 1976 Holland laid its first artificial pitch at Kampong Utrecht whilst the first in Germany went down at Limburg. In 1972 Michael Peter won a gold medal with Germany on natural grass in Munich whilst in Los Angeles, twelve years later, he won silver this time on an artificial surface. The game on synthetic grass safeguards the skills of the better players by protecting them from the unpredictability of the natural surface. A gifted super-talent by the name of Stephan Blöcher found that his mesmerising individual skills could often outmanoeuvre half the Australian or Dutch teams, a feat which would be unthinkable on natural grass.
In 1978 the first TK stick was produced even though it did not carry the world famous TK logo. In the basement of his parents’ house in Feudenheim, Mannheim, Thomas Kille worked on every raw stick. He applied the reinforcements, wound the grips and cloth tapes and finished each stick with care and precision to make them the best in Germany. TK was among the first to use carbon fibre to achieve extreme stiffness for the better quality sticks. Sales continued to increase until on 1st January 1985 the company “Kille & Bal“ commenced distribution in the German market with the brand name ‘TK’. Ranbir Bal was a consultant to the company and made the vital contacts to the leading stick manufacturers in India and Pakistan.
Just seven years later there were more than ten male and female TK contracted players in national squads at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games winning gold or silver medals. TK had established itself worldwide as well as in Germany. At the Atlanta Games of 1996 Floris Jan Bovelander of the Netherlands scores two penalty corners against Spain, each estimated to be travelling well in excess of 130 kph. He was using a TK Shorty weighing 28 ounces whilst Taco Van den Honert was the flick specialist using a light TK1 Hook with appreciable bow in the shaft.
In the meantime there is a variety of blades on the market with names such as “shorty“, “midi“ and “hook“ whilst TK has developed its unique head protection system called “Total Integration“, abbreviated subsequently to “TI“. The man-made resin together with the wooden stick design combine to produce a system that dramatically prolongs the stick’s life.
In the 1990’s Fernando Ferrara brought an unknown skill from his home country of Argentina to Italy. The national player was signed by the Cernusco club of Milan and he showed how to strike the backhand in a different way. From a low body position he hit the ball with the edge of the stick’s shaft and created extra speed with shots on goal. He used a TK1 Plus Hook, but, the “Argentinean Backhand“ exposed the stick to possibly the most extreme stress where the reinforcing fibres were partly crushed, damaging the wood and allowing the possibility for water to penetrate. What could be done? What was the answer? At TK the solution is obvious.
The third generation “TI“ now exists thanks to the development by the TK experts in consultation with leading German internationals such as Christian “Buda“ Blunck, Christoph Eimer and Oliver Domke. The playing surface of the stick is once again free of “TI“ whilst the heel is coated with a thick layer of “TI“ as are both edges of the shaft up to a height of approximately 20 cms as well as the face of the shaft above the head. TK has patented this system and has a full protection of this unique system.
“TI“ the artificial part of TK sticks leads the way for further developments in the man-made category of stick production. The next radical change is already with us with synthetic materials set to compete with wooden sticks. What skiing and tennis have already embraced will now happen in hockey. In November 1999 the FIH changed the rule permitting the use of composite sticks in all hockey, including internationals. The sticks are composed of a mixture of glass, kevlar and carbon fibres and compared to conventional wooden sticks are stiffer, lighter and more powerful. They are produced in moulds and, therefore, are not subject to the variations that wooden sticks experience.
Composite sticks, however, are also vulnerable to damage and breakages as they are exposed to the ever growing demands of the modern game. Players have to learn to adapt to any stick, wooden or composite, and adjust their game accordingly. They must accept the limitations of the stick they choose and also learn how to maintain their stick in order to achieve the best performance.
This concludes the story so far but we all look forward to the next chapter for our sport.
Who knows who will write it, but, one thing is for sure, TK will be there to play a major part.
Field hockey is the oldest known “Stick and Ball“ game and presumably goes back to the earliest civilisations even though there exists no exact evidence of the actual origins of the game.
From the year 4000 BC dates the oldest portrayal of a game of hockey. It is a grave painting from the Nile Valley. There were also “Stick and Ball“games in China, Persia and amongst the Aztec Indians who played with 50 men per team for prizes and other material possessions. It belonged to the character of the game not only to play the ball but also to incapacitate as many opponents as possible so as to render them unfit for battle. In India, Pakistan, Persia and Japan the roots of hockey’s tradition reach back at least 2000 years. And the Greeks, never slow to accept the opportunity for a fight, took over the game of “hockey“ from Persia in addition to the disciplines of throwing, running and wrestling.
In 12th Century France a game was played called “crosse“ or “hoquet“, a word which means shepherd’s crook. It is assumed that the English word “Hockey“ is derived from it. The sport can also be identified with early games called hurling, shinty and bandy where the aim was to drive the ball into a marked area of the opponent’s field. This “goal“ could be made of two posts, a hole in the ground, a circle or simply a straight line end zone. Very few other rules existed since you could play the ball with all your body or catch it and carry it for a few yards. It was all very simple. The ball was often driven through the air making the game very dangerous though nobody seemed too concerned. Despite its rough character and toughness the game was highly appreciated and practised in more peaceful surroundings such as cloisters and seminars.
What began as a rough game in the Middle Ages finally changed and became the cultivated, modern version seen in England during the late 19th century. South-east London is the home of Blackheath, the first ever hockey club and since 1861 people have played on a piece of wide open ground using primitive batting woods and a “ball“ which was actually a solid piece of rubber in the shape of a cube. At this stage the game was largely free of tactics in attack and defence. Since hockey was not now regarded as a fighting game, or “war game“, women were introduced to fill the gaps caused by a lack of men. It was soon regarded as a women’s sport in England.
In 1875 another London club, Teddington, was formed and both modernised and standardised the game with the introduction of new rules. Players were not permitted to play the ball – now a sphere – with their hands nor to lift their sticks above shoulder height. In 1883 team numbers were restricted to 11 players but the most important development was the introduction of the shooting zone, all of which was incorporated in 1886 into the newly formed English Hockey Association.
During the following years the British Army spread the game to India, Pakistan and Australia, all of which developed into leading hockey nations. In 1901 the British sports teacher M.K. Applebee introduced the game in the USA at Harvard University. In London in 1908 hockey was included in the Olympic schedule for the first time where England won gold ahead of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Germany. In 1924 the world’s governing body for hockey, FIH, was founded during the Olympic Games in Paris. Hockey has been included in the Olympic Games since 1924 in Amsterdam when India beat the Netherlands 3:0 in the final. Thereafter, India went on to dominate the competition until 1960 when Pakistan beat India 1:0 in Rome though four years later in Tokyo this result was reversed. Surprisingly, at this time, the East German team had beaten their Western neighbours at the qualifying stage.
It was not until the Games of 1980 in Moscow that the ladies’ competition was included.
When looking at old paintings you realise that hockey sticks of the very earliest times were similar to the modern ice hockey stick. The blade was very long and joined the shaft in a long curve. One played with what was termed a “giant’s forehand“.
Up until the end of the 1950’s there were sticks “Made in Germany“ produced by manufacturers of tennis rackets who had access to the raw materials and know-how. The wood for the shaft was hickory and mulberry imported from India mainly and the producers added inlays of rubber through the handle to increase a stick’s elasticity. The greater the elasticity the harder you could hit the ball. For a game played on deep and soft natural turf this was the crucial criterion for quality.
Until the mid 1950’s playing the ball on your right hand side was dominant but this changed following a tour by the German National team to Pakistan. In 1954 players studied the Pakistan methods for four weeks, analysing their individual skills at controlling the ball in front of the body. As a result, the “Indian Dribble“ and the shorter Asian blade were introduced to the German game. Due to the changed position of the ball and with the help of new blades players’ behaviour was less predictable. They had a greater variety of passing and deception options as Horst Wein wrote in his remarkable book in 1968, “Hockey – Learning and Teaching”.
Then, around 1960 India and Pakistan took over the world market in stick production. Instead of exporting the raw materials it was the finished product that was sent abroad. It is still only a small percentage of hockey stick production which exists outside these two countries, but, as in most other trades, the need to modernise and accept change has been embraced on the sub-continent.
The idea to make laminated blades originated in the Netherlands when different head shapes were demanded. These shapes were not possible by traditional means using solid timber. The blade is constructed by gluing strips of mulberry into the desired shape from a gentle bend up to the full U-turn presented by Grays. The advantage is that backhand play in particular becomes much easier, the area to control the ball having been significantly increased.
Not only the shape of the blade has changed but also the materials and techniques to construct the handle and shaft. Hockey is no longer a “hit and run” game and sophistication is evident in every aspect of the game. Rubber inlays have been removed and materials such as glass fibres, kevlar and carbon to strengthen and stiffen the stick have been applied.
The most radical change to hockey occurred in the 1970’s when natural grass was replaced by artificial grass playing surfaces. The character of the game, the demands on players and the materials required to build a hockey stick all experienced a dramatic overhaul. In 1976 Holland laid its first artificial pitch at Kampong Utrecht whilst the first in Germany went down at Limburg. In 1972 Michael Peter won a gold medal with Germany on natural grass in Munich whilst in Los Angeles, twelve years later, he won silver this time on an artificial surface. The game on synthetic grass safeguards the skills of the better players by protecting them from the unpredictability of the natural surface. A gifted super-talent by the name of Stephan Blöcher found that his mesmerising individual skills could often outmanoeuvre half the Australian or Dutch teams, a feat which would be unthinkable on natural grass.
In 1978 the first TK stick was produced even though it did not carry the world famous TK logo. In the basement of his parents’ house in Feudenheim, Mannheim, Thomas Kille worked on every raw stick. He applied the reinforcements, wound the grips and cloth tapes and finished each stick with care and precision to make them the best in Germany. TK was among the first to use carbon fibre to achieve extreme stiffness for the better quality sticks. Sales continued to increase until on 1st January 1985 the company “Kille & Bal“ commenced distribution in the German market with the brand name ‘TK’. Ranbir Bal was a consultant to the company and made the vital contacts to the leading stick manufacturers in India and Pakistan.
Just seven years later there were more than ten male and female TK contracted players in national squads at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games winning gold or silver medals. TK had established itself worldwide as well as in Germany. At the Atlanta Games of 1996 Floris Jan Bovelander of the Netherlands scores two penalty corners against Spain, each estimated to be travelling well in excess of 130 kph. He was using a TK Shorty weighing 28 ounces whilst Taco Van den Honert was the flick specialist using a light TK1 Hook with appreciable bow in the shaft.
In the meantime there is a variety of blades on the market with names such as “shorty“, “midi“ and “hook“ whilst TK has developed its unique head protection system called “Total Integration“, abbreviated subsequently to “TI“. The man-made resin together with the wooden stick design combine to produce a system that dramatically prolongs the stick’s life.
In the 1990’s Fernando Ferrara brought an unknown skill from his home country of Argentina to Italy. The national player was signed by the Cernusco club of Milan and he showed how to strike the backhand in a different way. From a low body position he hit the ball with the edge of the stick’s shaft and created extra speed with shots on goal. He used a TK1 Plus Hook, but, the “Argentinean Backhand“ exposed the stick to possibly the most extreme stress where the reinforcing fibres were partly crushed, damaging the wood and allowing the possibility for water to penetrate. What could be done? What was the answer? At TK the solution is obvious.
The third generation “TI“ now exists thanks to the development by the TK experts in consultation with leading German internationals such as Christian “Buda“ Blunck, Christoph Eimer and Oliver Domke. The playing surface of the stick is once again free of “TI“ whilst the heel is coated with a thick layer of “TI“ as are both edges of the shaft up to a height of approximately 20 cms as well as the face of the shaft above the head. TK has patented this system and has a full protection of this unique system.
“TI“ the artificial part of TK sticks leads the way for further developments in the man-made category of stick production. The next radical change is already with us with synthetic materials set to compete with wooden sticks. What skiing and tennis have already embraced will now happen in hockey. In November 1999 the FIH changed the rule permitting the use of composite sticks in all hockey, including internationals. The sticks are composed of a mixture of glass, kevlar and carbon fibres and compared to conventional wooden sticks are stiffer, lighter and more powerful. They are produced in moulds and, therefore, are not subject to the variations that wooden sticks experience.
Composite sticks, however, are also vulnerable to damage and breakages as they are exposed to the ever growing demands of the modern game. Players have to learn to adapt to any stick, wooden or composite, and adjust their game accordingly. They must accept the limitations of the stick they choose and also learn how to maintain their stick in order to achieve the best performance.
This concludes the story so far but we all look forward to the next chapter for our sport.
Who knows who will write it, but, one thing is for sure, TK will be there to play a major part.