Silambam - A Traditional martial art from Tamil Nadu, India
Silambam (Tamil: சிலம்பம்) is a weapon-based Dravidian
martial
art from Tamil Nadu in south India. It is closely related to
kalaripayat, particularly the southern style, which was created in
the neighbouring state of Kerala. In Tamil, the word silambam
refers to the bamboo staff which is the main weapon used in this style. Other
weapons are also used such as the maduvu (deer horn), kathi (knife) and vaal
(sword). Unarmed
silambam, called Kuttu Varisai, utilizes
stances and routines based on animal movements such as the snake, tiger and
eagle forms. The length of the staff depends on the height of the practitioner.
It should just touch the forehead about three fingers from the head, although
different lengths are used in different situations. It usually measures roughly
1.68 meters (five and a half feet). The 3 feet stick called sedikutchi can be
easily concealed. Separate practice is needed for staves of different lengths.
The usual stance includes holding the staff at one end, right hand close to the
back, left hand about 40 centimeters (16 inches) away. This position allows a
wide array of stick and body movements, including complex attacks and blocks.
There are numerous sub sects in silambam like nagam-16 (cobra-16), kallapathu
(thieves ten), kidamuttu (goat head butting), kuravanchi, kalyanavarisai
(similar to quarterstaff), thulukkanam, and so on. Each is unique and may differ
from one another in grip, posture, foot work, method of attack, length of the
stick, movement of the stick etc.
History of Silambam
Silambam supposedly originated in the Kurinji hills, present
day South Indian state Kerala almost 5000 years ago. The Narikuravar of the area
are said to have used staves called chilambamboo in battle and to defend
themselves against wild animals. They would also perform solo
stick-fighting
demonstrations during Hindu religious festivals. The art was patronized by the
ancient Chola, Chera and Pandya kings of South India during the Sangam period.
The Maravar pada of Travancore kings used silambam in their
warfare against enemies. Ancient contact between Tamil Nadu and Southeast Asia
brought silambam
to the Malay Peninsula during which time the word silambam came
to refer to the art as well as the weapon. Many Southeast Asian martial
arts
were influenced by silambam including silat and Krabi Krabong.
The references to Silappadikkaram in Tamil Sangam literature dating back to the
2nd century refer to the sale of silamabam staves, swords,
pearls and armor to foreign traders. The ancient trading centre at the city of
Madurai was renowned globally and said to be thronged by Romans, Greeks, and
Egyptians among others who had regular sea trade with the Tamil kingdoms. The
bamboo staff, one of the first weapons used in Indian martial
arts, was in great demand with the visitors. The soldiers of King
Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1760–1799) relied mainly on their silambam
prowess in their warfare against the British Army.Indian martial arts
suffered a decline after the British colonists banned silambam
along with various other systems. They also introduced modern western military
training which favoured fire-arms over traditional weaponry. The stick lost much
of its combat superiority and some of silambam's vast
techniques and styles were lost.
Silabmam Techniques
Beginners are taught footwork (kaaladi) which they must master
before learning spinning techniques and patterns, and methods to change the
spins without stopping the motion of the stick. There are sixteen of them among
which four are very important. Footwork patterns are the key aspects of silambam
and Kuttu Varisai (empty hands form). Traditionally, the masters first teach
kaaladi for a long time then proceed to Kuttu Varisai. Training
in Kuttu Varisai allows the practitioner to get a feel of
silambam
stick movements using their bare hands, that is, fighters have a preliminary
training with bare hands before going to the stick. Gradually, fighters study
footwork to move precisely in conjunction with the stick movements. The ultimate
goal of the training is to defend against multiple armed opponents. In silambam
as well as
Kuttu Varisai, kaaladi is the key in deriving power for the blows.
It teaches how to advance and retreat, to get in range of the opponent without
lowering one's defence, aids in hitting and blocking, and it strengthens the
body immensely enabling the person to receive non-lethal blows and still
continue the battle. The whole body is used to create power. When the student
reaches the final stage, the staff gets sharpened at one end. In real combat the
tips may be poisoned. The ultimate goal of the training is to defend against
multiple armed opponents. Silambam
prefers the hammer grip with main hand facing down behind the weak hand which
faces up. The strong hand grips the stick about a distance hand's width and
thumb's length from the end of the stick and the weak hand is a thumb's length
away from the strong hand. The weak hand only touches the stick and to guide its
movement. Silambam
stresses ambidexterity and besides the preferred hammer grip there are other
ways of gripping the staff. Because of the way the stick is held and its
relatively thin diameter, blows to the groin are very frequent and difficult to
block. Besides the hammer grip, sliambam uses the poker grip and ice pick grip
as well. Some blocks and hits are performed using the poker grip. The ice pick
grip is used in single hand attacks. The staff is held like a walking stick and
just hand gets inverted using the wrist. In battle, a fighter holds the stick in
front of their body stretching the arms three quarters full. From there, they
can initiate all attacks with only a movement of the wrist. In fact, most
silambam moves are derived from wrist movement, making it a key component of the
style. The blow gets speed from the wrist and power from the body through
kaaladi (footwork). Since the stick is held in front, strikes are telegraphic,
that is, the fighter does not hide their intentions from the opponent. They
attack with sheer speed, overwhelming the adversary with a continuous non-stop
rain of blows. In silambam, one blow leads to and aids another.
Bluffs may also be used by disguising one attack as another. In addition to the
strikes, silambam also has a variety of locks called poottu. A
fighter must always be careful while wielding the stick or they will be grappled
and lose the fight. Locks can be used to disable the enemy or simply capture
their weapon. Techniques called thirappu are used to counter the locks but these
must be executed before being caught in a lock. Silambam also
has many different types of avoiding an attack like blocking, parrying,
enduring, rotary parrying, hammering (with the stick), kolluvuthal (attacking
and blocking simultaneously) and evasive moves such as sitting or kneeling,
moving out, jumping high, etc. Against multiple attackers, silambam
exponents do not held out their sticks as they do in single combat. Instead they
assume one of the numerous animal stances which makes it difficult for opponents
to predict the next attack. An expert silambam stylist will be familiar with
Varma Kalai (pressure-point fighting)
and knows where to strike anywhere in the body to produce fatal or crippling
effects by the least use of power. In one-on-one combat an expert would just
slide his stick to opponents wrist many times during combat. The opponent may
not notice this in the heat of battle until they feel a sudden pain in the wrist
and throw the stick automatically without knowing what hit them. When two
experts match against each other one may challenge the other that he will hit
his big toe. Hitting the big toe can produce crippling effects on the fighter,
making them abandon the fight. This is called solli adithal which means
"challenging and successfully hitting".
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