HISTORY OF MARTIAL ARTS
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HISTORY OF THE MARTIAL ARTS - KARATE
INDIAN MARTIAL ARTS :
STYLES
WRESTLING :- Malla-Yuddha . Pehlwani . Musti Yuddha . Mukna . Inbuan Wrestling
KALARIPPAYATTU :- Silambam . Marma ati . Kuttu Varisai
GATKA
THANG-TA
NOTABLE PRACTITIONERS
Phillip Zarrilli . Jasmine Simhalan . Gobar Guha . Gulam .Guru Hargobind . John Will
INDIA is home to variety of FIGHTING STYLES . In SANSKRIT they may be collectively referred to as SASTRAVIDYA or DHANURVIDYA . The former is a compound of the words sastra [ weapon ] and vidya [ knowledge ] , meaning "knowledge of the sword" or "knowledge of weaponry" [1]- The latter term derives from the words for bow [ dhanushya ] and knowledge [ vidya ] , literally the "science of archery in PURANIC literature , later applied to martial arts in general [2]- The VISHNU PURANA text describes dhanurveda as one of the traditionaleighteen branches of "applied knowledge" or UPAVEDA . [3]- In TAMIL , they are either known under the umbrella term KALARIKA , meaning "art of the battleground", or TARKAPPUKALAI , meaning "art of self-defence" .
CONTENTS ;-
1 - History
1 - Antiquity [ Per-Gupta ]
3 - Classical period [ 3rd to 10th centuries ]
4 - Gurjara Pratihar Age [ 6-11 centuries ]
5 - Agni Purana
6 - Middle Ages [ 11th to 15th centuries ]
7 - Mughal era [ 1526 to 1857 ]
8 - Paika Rebellion of khurda [ 1817 ]
9 - Modern period [ 1857 to present ]
10 - Weapons
11 - Styles
12 - North India
13 - South India
14 - Wrestling
15 - References
16 - External Links
HISTORY :- Further information - Military history of India and Asian martial arts [ origins ]
ANTIQUITY [ Per-Gupta ] :-
Indian EPICS contain accounts of combat, both armed and bare-handed. The MAHABHARATA describes a prolonged battel between ARJUNA and KARNA using bows , swords , trees , rocks and fists. Another unar battle in the Mahabharata describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with kicks , finger strikes , knee strikes and headbutts. Krishna Maharaja, whose battlefield exploits are alluded to in the Mahabharata , is credited with developing the sixteen principles of SASTRAVIDYA.
Many of the popular sports mentioned in the VEDAS and the epics have their origins in military training , such as wrestling [ maladvandva ] , chariot-racing [ rathachalan ] , horse-riding [ dhanurvidya ] . Competitions were held not just as a contest of the players' prowess but also as a means of finding a bridegroom. ARJUNA , RAMA and SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA all won their consorts in such tournaments.
In the 3rd century , elements from the YOGA SUTRAS OF PATANJALI , as well as finger movements in the nata dances , were incorporated into martial arts . A number of INDIAN fighting styles remain closely connected to YOGA , dance and performing arts. Some of the choreographed sparring in kalaripayat can be applied to dance and KATHAKALI dancers who knew MARTIAL ARTS were believed to be markedly better than the other performers. Until recent decades , the CHHAU DANCE was performed only by martial artists. Some traditional INDIAN dance schools still incorporate kalaripayat as part of their exercise regimen.
Written evidence of martial arts in Southern India dates back to the Tamil SANGAM LITERATURE of about the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The AKANANURU and PURANANURU describe the use of spears , swords , shields , bows and SILAMBAM in the Sangam era . The word KALARI appears in the Puram [ verses 225 , 237 , 245 , 356 ] and Akam [ verses 34 , 231 , 293 ] to describe both a battlefield and combat arena. The word kalari tatt denoted a martial feat , while kalari kozhai meant a coward in wal. Each warrior in the Sangam era received regular military training in target practice and horse riding. They specialized in one or more of the important weapons of the period including the spear [ vel ] , sword [ val ] , shield [ kedaham ] , and bow and arrow [ vil ambu ] . The combat techniques of the Sangam period were the earliest precursors to KALARIPAYAT . References to "Silappadikkaram" in Sangam literature date back to the 2nd century. This referred to the SILAMBAM staff which was in great demand with foreign visitors.
References to fighting arts are found in early BUDDHIST TEXTS , such as the LOTUS SUTRA [ ca . 1st century AD ] which refers to a bxing art while speaking to MANJUSRI . It also categorized combat techniques as joint locks , fist strikes , grapples and throws . UNRELIABLE SOURCE ?
The LOTUS SUTRA makes further mention of a MARTIAL ART with dance-like movements called Nara . [ UNRELIABLE SOURCE ? ] Another early BUDDHIST SUTRA called Hongyo-kyo describes a "strength contest" between Gautama Buddha's half-brother PRINCE NANDA and his cousin DEVADATTA . Siddhartha Gautama himself was a champion of swordplay , wrestling and archery before becoming the BUDDHA .
CLASSICAL PERIOD [ 3rd to 10th centuries ]
17th century mural of BALARAMA in a SOUTH INDIA temple. Martial arts are often associated with AVATARA in the PURANAS .
Like other branches of SANSKRIT LITERATURE , treatises on MARTIAL ARTS become more systematic in the course of the 1st millennium AD .
BAJRA MUSTI , a striking and grappling style , is mentioned in sources of the early centuries CE .
The KAMA SUTRA written by VATSYSNA enjoined women to regularly "practice with sword, single-stick, quarterstaff, and bow and arrow" .
Around this time, TANTRIC philosophers devloped important metaphysical concepts such as KUNDALINI, CHAKRA, and MANTRA. The SUSHRUTA'S work formed the basis of the medical discipline AYURVEDA which was taught alongside various INDIA martial arts, especially those that had an emphasis on vital points such as VARMA KALAI. With numerousother scattered references to vital points in Vedic and epic sources, it is certain that INDIA'S early fighters knew and practiced attacking or defending vital points.
Around 630, king NARSIMHAVARMAN of the PALLAVA DYNASTY commissioned dozens of granite sculptures showing unarmed fighters disarming armed opponents. These may have shown an early form of VARMA ADI, a Dravidian martial arts that allowed kicking, kneeing, elbowing and punching to the head and chest, but prohibited blows below the waist. this is similar to the style described in the Agni Purana.
MARTIAL ARTS were not exclusive to the KSHATRIYA caste, though the warrior class used them more extensively. The 8th century text Kuvalaymala by Udyotanasuri recorded fighting techniques being taught at ghatika and salad educational institution, where non-Kashatriya students from throughout the subcontinent [ particularly from SOUTH INDIA, RAJASTHAN and BENGAL ] "were learning and practicing archery, fighting with fist, and in duels [ niuddham ]" . Hindu priests of the Gurukullam institutions also taught armed and unarmedfighting techniques to their students as a way of increasing stamina and training the physical body.
GURJARA PRATIHAR AGE [ 6-11 centuries ]
The GURJARA dynasty which belonged to SURYAVANSHA and CHANDRAVANSHA practised various fighting systems. Armed styles called shastravidya, archery called dhanurvidya, swordsmanship called khadgavidya, fighting on horseback called ashwarohana, and fighting on elephants called gajarohana were extensively perfected and widely practised. Unarmed combat arts were wrestling called mallayuddha, and its sporting form called mallakrida, whereas the striking art utilising mainly punching and kicking but also secondarly grappling was called mushtiyuddha. Vajramushti and its variant called lohmushti [ meaning iron fist ] were only practiced by royalty and nobility. Because of their intense martial culture and adherence to Kshatriya Dharma as propounded in BHAGVADA GITA and VEDIC DHARMASASTRA only, they were able to defeat Arab invasions continuously especially in BATTLE OF RAJASTHAN while Europr and Central Asia failed in defending themselves while also amass largest empire at INDIA. Gurjara emperor Nagabhata I [ 750-780 CE ] and Mihir Bhoja I [ 836-890 CE ] commissioned various texts on martial arts, and were themselves practitioners of these systems. Shiva Dhanurveda was composed in this era. The khadga, a two-handed broad-tipped heavy longsword, was given special preference. Khadga-puja i-e. ritualised worship of the sword on special occasions were performed to unite the warrior's soul with his weapon. In some places Gurjara GATKA and KUSHTI are still practised with much fervor as there have been some wprld-class wrestlers from the community competing at national and international level.
AGNI PURANA
The earliest extant manual of dhanurveda is in the AGNI PURANA [ dated to between the 8th and the 11th cantury ] . The dhanurveda section in the Agni Purana spans chapters 248-251. It divideds the art into weapons thet are thrown or unthrown. The thrown [ mukta ] class includes twelve weapons altogether which come under four categories, viz .
1 - Yantra-mukta: projectile weapons such as the sling or the bow.
2 - Pa i-mukta: weapons thrown by hand such as the javelin.
3 - Mukta-sandharita: weapons that are thrown and drawn back, such as the rope-spear.
4 - Mantra-mukta: mythical weapons that are thrown by magic incantations [ mantra ] , numbering 6 types.
The se were opposed to the much larger unthrown class of three categories.
1 - HASTA-SASTRA OR AMUKTA: melee weapons that do not leave the hand, numbering twenty types.
2 - MUKTAmukat: weapons that can be thrown or used in-close, numberin 98 Varieties.
3 - BAHU-YUDDHA: nine weapons of the body [ hands, feet, knees, elbows and head ], i.e. unarmed fighting.
The duel with bow and arrows is considered the most noble, fighting with the spear ranks next, while fighting with the sword is considered unrefined, and wrestling is classed as the meanest or worst form of fighting. Only a KSHATRIYA could be an ACHARYA [teacher ] of dhanurveda, BRAHMINS and VISHYAS should learn from the kshatriya, while a SHUDRA could not take a teacher, left to "fight of his own in danger". There follow nine ASANA or positions of standing in a fight. Samapada ["holding the feet even"]: standing in closed ranks with the feet put together [ 248.9 ] VAISAKHA: standing erect with the knees apart, arranged in the shape of a flock of geese [ 248.11 ] ALI HA ["licked, polished"] : bending the right knee with the left foot pulled back [ 248.12 ] PRATYALI HA : bending the left knee with the right foot pulled back [ 248.13 ] JATA ["origin"] : placing the right foot straight with the left foot perpendicular, the ankles being five fingers apart DA..AYATA ["EXTENDED STAFF"] : keeping the right knee bent with the left leg straight, or vice versa; called vikaa ["dreadful"] if the two legs are two palm-lenghts apart [ 248.16 ] SAMPUA ["hemisphere"] [ 248.17 ] SVAATIKA ["well-being"] : keeping the feet 16 fingers apart and lifting the feet a little [ 248.19 ] . Then there follows a more detailed discussion of archery technique. The section concludes with listing the names of actions or "deeds" possible with a number of weapons, including 32 positions to be taken with sword and shield [ khagacarmavidhau ], 11 names of techniques of using a rope operation " along with 5 names of " acts in the rope operation " along with lists of "deeds" pertaining to the CHAKRA, the spear, the iron club [ tomara ], the mace [ gaa ], the axe, the hammer, the bhindipala or laguda, the VAJRA, the dagger, the slingshot, and finally deeds with a bludgeon or cudge .
MIDDLE AGES [ 11th to 15th centuries ]
The earlist treatise discussing the techniques of MALLA-YUDDHA is the Malla Purana [ ca. 13th century ]. Other old styles like VARMA KALAI and KALARIPAYAT had developed into their persent forms by the 11th century, during an extended period of warfare between the CHERA and CHOLA dynasties. Organised MARTIAL ARTS in ancient INDIA included MALLA-YUDDHA, or combat-wrestling, codified into four forms, Stories describing KRISHNA report that he sometimes engaged in wrestling matches where he used knee strikes to the chest, punches to the head, hair pulling, and strangleholds. Based on such accounts, Svinth [ 2002 ] traces press ups and squats used by INDIA wrestlers to the pre-classical era. There are scattered references to dhanurveda in other medieval texts, such as the Kamandakiya Nitisara [ ca. 8th c. [ citation needed ], ed. Dutt, 1896 ], the Nitivakyamrta by Somadeva Suri [ 10th century ], the Yuktikalpataru of Bhija [ 11th century ] and the Manasollasa of Somesvara [III] [ 12th century ] There is an extant dhanurveda-samhita dating to the mid 14th century, by Brhat Sarngadhara Paddhati [ ed. 1888 ]. [citation needed]
MUGHAL ERA [ 1526 to 1857 ]
The khanda, a native straight sword
After a series of victories, the conqueror Babur established Mughal rule in Northe India during the 16th century. The Mughals, Persians of Mongol descent, practiced martial techniques such as wrestling and mounted archery. By combining indigenous malla-yuddha with Persian varzesh-e-bastani and Mongolian wrestling they created the grappling style pehlwani which has remained popular until today, particularly among Muslims. One of the Mughals' most enduring legacies on Indian martial arts was their introduction of the Turkish-influenced talwar [ scimitar ]. Although curved blades had been used in India since ancient times, the straight khanda [ double-edge sword ] had enjoyed greater popularity until then.
The Ausanasa Dhanurveda Sankalanam dates to the late 16th century, compiled under the patronage of Akbar. [ citation needed ] There is also a 17th century Dhanurveda-samhita attributed to Vasistha.
PAIKA REBELLION OF KHURDA [ 1817 ]
Paika is the Oriya word for fighter or warrior [ Padatika Bahini ]. Their style of fighting, known as paika akhada, can be traced back to ancient Kalinga and was at one time patronised by King Kharavela. In March 1817, under the leadership of Buxi Jagabandhu Bidydhar Mohapatra, nearly 400 Khanda of Ghumusar in Ganjam marched towards Khurda in protest against British colonial rule. Many government buildings were burnt down and all the officials fled . The British commander of one detachment was killed during a battle at Gangpada . The paika managed to capture two bases at Puri and Pipli before spreading the rebellion further to Gop, Tiran, Kanika and Kujang. The revolt lasted a year and aa half before being quelled by September 1818. With the rebellion put down, the colonists were more vigorous in their attemts to stamp out the martial practices of Orissa. Today , paika akhada has been preserved only as a performance art .
MODERN PERIOD [ 1857 to present ]
Indian martial arts underwent a period of decline after the full establishment of British colonial rule in the 19th century . More European modes of organizing police, armies and governmental institutions , and the increasing use of firearms, gradually eroded the need for traditional combat training associated with caste-specific duties . The British colonial government banned kalaripayat in 1804 in response to es of revolts. Silambam was also banned and became more common in the Malay Peninsula than its native Tamil Nadu. During this time , many fighting systems were confined to rural areas . A few became merely performance arts, such as karra samu [ stick fighting ] and kathi samu [ sword fighting ] from Andhra Pradesh . The resurgence of public interest in kalaripayat began in the 1920s in Tellicherry as part of a wave of rediscovery of the traditional arts throughout south India which characterized the growing reaction against British colonial rule . During the following three decades, other regional styles were subsequently revived such as silambam in Tamil Nadu , and thang-ta in Manipur .
WEAPONS
THE KATARA, DEVELOPED IN INDIA, HAS GAINED SOME FAME FOR ITS UNUSUAL DESIGN .
A wide array of weapons are used in South Asia, some of which are not found anywhere alse. According to P.C. Chakravati in The Art of War in Ancient India, armies used standard weapons such as wooden or metal tipped spears, swords, thatched bamboo, wooden or metal shields, axes, short and long bows in warfare as early as the 4th century BC. Military accounts of the Gupta Empire [ c. 240-480 ] and the later Agni Purana identify over 130 different weapons, categorised into thrown and unthrown classes and further divided into several sub-classes.
Over time, weaponry evolved and India became famed for its flexible wootz steel. Armed forces were largely standardised and it is unclear if regular infantry were trained in any recognisable martial system other than standard military drills . More sophisticated techniques and weapons were employed by fighters trained in the warrior jati .
THE URUMI, A FLEXIBLE BLADE THAT BEHAVES LIKE A WHIP, IS UNIQUE TO DRAVIDIAN MARTIAL ARTS .
STYLES
As in other respects of Indian culture, Indian martial arts can be roughly divided into northern and southern styles, more or less corresponding to the major ethno-linguistic grouping of Indo-European vs . Dravidian speaking populations. The main difference is that northern India was more exposed to Persianate influence during the Mughal period, while Southern India is more conservative in preserving ancient and medieval traditions . The exception to this rule are the northeastern states which, due to their geographic location, were closed off from most pre-Europeast Asia. In addition to the major division between north and south India, martial systems in South Asia tend to be associated with certain states, cities, villages or ethnic groups .
NORTH INDIA
1 - Gatka is a weapon-based style adapted from shastra vidya by the Sikhs of the Panjab .
2 - Mardani khel is an armed method created by the Marathas of Maharashtra .
3 - Musti yuddha is a style of kickboxing, popular in the Middle Ages but now confined to Varanasi .
4 - Pari-khanda is a style of sword and shield fighting from Bihar .
5 - Thang-ta or huyen lalong is an armed system created by the Meitei of Manipur .
SOUTH INDIA
1 - kalaripayat has its roots in the combat training halls [ payattu kalari ] of Tamilakam's traditional educational system .
2 - Kathi samu is a primarily sword-based art originating with the kshatriya caste of Andhra Pradesh .
3 - Paika akhada is an armed system formerly practiced by the warriors of Orissa .
4 - Silambam is a weapon-based style from Tamil Nadu which focuses on the bamboo staff .
WRESTLING
Wrestling arts are found throught India and were generically referred to in Sanskrit as malavidya or science of grappling . True combat-wrestling is called malla-yuddha, while the term malakhra refers to wrestling for sport. Malla-yuddha was codified into four fowhich progressed from purely sportive contests of strength to actual full-contact fights known as yuddha. Due to the extreme violence, this final form is generally no longer practiced . The second form, wherein the wrestlers attempt to lift each other off the ground for three seconds, still exists in south India . Malla-yuddha is virtually extinct in the north where it has been supplanted by Mughal pehlwani . Vajra-musti was another old grappling art in which the competitors wrestled while wearing a cestus-like knuckleduster. In a later variation, the duellists fought with a bagh nakh .
Numerous styles of folk wrestling are also found in India's countryside, such as mukna from Manipur and Inbuan wrestling from Mizoram .