East Coast Kahuna

Jan Ken Po

Doesn't it just grate on your ears when you hear kids talking about playing "Rock, Paper, Scissors"? It's "Jan Ken Po"! How could it be called anything else? In Hawaii, kids learn this game even before learning to read.

This game which is more effective than a coin toss consists of players chanting, "Jan Ken Po," as they swing their closed fists three times from side to side, in time to the chant. At the "Po" each player will display an open hand (representing paper), a closed fist (representing a stone), or two fingers (index finger and middle finger) in a scissors. Scissors beats paper, paper beats stone and stone beats scissors. You can do this effectively with three people as well as 2 (or even four people - but it gets a little complicated with more). No coin needed. Ties, rematches, eliminations, etc. all take place in seconds.

When people on the mainland play Rock Paper Scissors, the chant is "1-2-3". No wonder the game never caught on and they insist on flipping coins.

posted by tjh14850 @ 10:50 AM