A Transylvanian Tackle is a Quidditch move which was first seen at the 1473 Quidditch World Cup, a match between the national teams of Flanders and Transylvania. This Quidditch World Cup was where instances of all 700 known fouls were committed in the one match (QA6, QA10).
The move itself is technically legal because no contact is made between the players. However, the fake punch to the nose can be extremely disconcerting for an opposing player and almost impossible to execute without contact under match conditions (QA10).
Commentary
Etymology
Transylvania means "on the other side of the woods" (Wikipedia).
From the Web
Writing by J.K. Rowling on Pottermore:
- History of the Quidditch World Cup
- 2014 Quidditch World Cup reports
- 2014 Quidditch World Cup final
- The Daily Prophet
Pottermore enhanced reading experience: Quidditch World Cup
Screenshots of the original Daily Prophet coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup on Pottermore: Imgur archive
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Tags: fight fights fouls hits intimidation scared sportsmanship strategy tactics