# Asian kids game? Fluttering hands?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-kids-game-fluttering-hands/775798>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 28, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-kids-game-fluttering-hands/775798 "2016-12-28T22:07:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\
**Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-kids-game-fluttering-hands/775798/1 "2016-12-28T22:07:05Z")

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Just saw a girl of about 6 playing this with her mom. It very well could be just a family activity between the two of them, but it sort of looked like it could be a more common Asian kids game. If so, I’d like to learn about it.

They faced each other and rapidly moved their hands back and forth, over and under themselves (not over or under the other persons hands), sort of in a fluttering motion. Then at some signal (verbal?), they stopped and instantly presenting their hands, palm out to the other player. This was followed by giggles of joy by the girl.

Was this some common “rock, paper, scissors” type activity like this?

> **[Sansukumi-ken](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sansukumi-ken)**
>
> Sansukumi-ken (三すくみ拳) is a category of East Asian hand games played by using three hand gestures. Ken games went into a period of decline in Japan after World War II. One of the few surviving sansukumi-ken games is jan-ken, which was brought to the West in the 20th century as rock paper scissors.
> East Asia has a long history of hand games, which are known as ken games in Japan. Ken was brought to Japan in the 17th century as a Chinese drinking game. Aside from drinking, ken games were also popul...

Or something else?  
Or just a family play game of some sort?

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [December 30, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asian-kids-game-fluttering-hands/775798/2 "2016-12-30T23:48:46Z")

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I’ve seen that sort of thing done by Japanese and Korean\* pop musicians and “idols” (kinda like girl versions of boy bands but not necessarily musical). I always assumed it was an extension of their dance moves, which often have a lot of hand movements.

\*I’m sure it’s probably more common with one or the other, but I really don’t know the difference in the two genres. And I can’t reliably tell different nationalities apart with my own race, let alone Asian ones.