FReeper Canteen ~ Part VII of War in Ancient India ~ August 24, 2004

a Tribute to Hinduism ^ | August 24, 2004 | LaDivaLoca

[LaDivaLoca]

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ANCIENT WARFARE





Part VII: War in Ancient India

Martial Arts - Fighting without weapons

"Fighting without weapons was a specialty of the Ksatreya (caste of Ancient India)and foot soldier alike. For the Ksatreya it was simply part and parcel of their all around training, but for the lowly peasant it was essential. We read in the Vedas of men unable to afford armor who bound their heads with turbans called Usnisa to protect themselves from sword and axe blows.

"Fighting on foot for a Ksatreya was necessary in case he was unseated from his chariot or horse and found himself without weapons. Although the high ethical code of the Ksatreya forbid anyone but another Ksatreya from attacking him, doubtless such morals were not always observed, and when faced with an unscrupulous opponent, the Ksatreya needed to be able to defend himself, and developed, therefore, a very effective form of hand-to-hand combat that combined techniques of wrestling, throws, and hand strikes. Tactics and evasion were formulated that were later passed on to successive generations. This skill was called Vajramukhti, a name meaning "thunderbolt closed - or clasped - hands." The tile Vajramukti referred to the usage of the hands in a manner as powerful as the vajra maces of traditional warfare. Vajramukti was practiced in peacetime by means of regular physical training sessions and these utilized sequences of attack and defense technically termed in Sanskrit nata."  

Kalaripayattu, literally “the way of the battlefield,” still survives in Kerala, where it is often dedicated to Mahakali. The Kalari grounds are usually situated near a temple, and the pupils, after having touched the feet of the master, salute the ancestors and bow down to the Goddess, begin the lesson. Kalari trainings have been codified for over 3000 years and nothing much has changed. 

The warming up is essential and demands great suppleness. Each movement is repeated several times, facing north, east, south and west, till perfect loosening is achieved. The young pupils pass on to the handling of weapons, starting with the “Silambam”, a short stick  made of extremely hard wood, which in the olden times could effectively deal with swords. The blows are hard and the parade must be fast and precise, to avoid being hit on the fingers! They continue with the swords, heavy, and dangerous, even though they are not sharpened any more, as they are used. Without guard or any kind of body protection; they whirl, jump and parry, in an impressive ballet. Young, fearless girls fight with enormous knives, bigger than their arms and the clash of irons is echoed in the ground. The session ends with the big canes, favorite weapons of the Buddhist traveler monks, which they used during their long journey towards China to scare away attackers.   

The “Urimi” is the most extraordinary weapon of Kalari, unique in the world. This double-edged flexible sword which the old-time masters used to wrap around the waist to keep coiled in one hand, to suddenly whip at the opponent and inflict mortal blows, is hardly used today in trainings, for it is much too dangerous.

This indigenous martial arts, under the name of Kalari or Kalaripayit exists only in South India today. Kalarippayat is said to be the world's original martial art. Originating at least 1,300 years ago, India's Kalaripayit is the oldest martial art taught today. It is also the most potentially violent, because students advance from unarmed combat to the use of swords, sharpened flexible metal lashes, and peculiar three-bladed daggers. More than 2,000 years old, it was developed by warriors of the Cheras kingdom in Kerala. Training followed strict rituals and guidelines. The entrance to the 14 m-by-7 m arena, or kalari, faced east and had a bare earth floor. Fighters took Shiva and Shakti, the god and goddess of power, as their deities. From unarmed kicks and punches, kalarippayat warriors would graduate to sticks, swords, spears and daggers and study the marmas—the 107 vital spots on the human body where a blow can kill. Training was conducted in secret, the lethal warriors unleashed as a surprise weapon against the enemies of Cheras.

Father and founder of Zen Buddhism (called C’han in China), Boddidharma, a Brahmin born in Kacheepuram in Tamil Nadu, in 522 A.D. arrived at the courts of the Chinese Emperor Liang Nuti, of the 6th dynasty. He taught the Chinese monks Kalaripayattu, a very ancient Indian martial art, so that they could defend themselves against the frequent attacks of bandits. In time, the monks became famous all over China as experts in bare-handed fighting, later known as the Shaolin boxing art. The Shaolin temple which has been handed back a few years ago by the communist Government to the C’han Buddhist monks, inheritors of Boddhidharma’s spiritual and martial teachings, by the present Chinese Government, is now open to visitors. On one of the walls, a fresco can be seen, showing Indian dark-skinned monks, teaching their lighter-skinned Chinese brothers the art of bare-handed fighting. On this painting are inscribed: “Tenjiku Naranokaku” which means: “the fighting techniques to train the body (which come) from India…”

Kalari payatt was banned by the British in 1793.  (Refer to chapter on European Imperialism).

(For more information on martial arts refer to chapter India and China and Kalarippayattu and Kalari Payatte - The martial art of Kerala

(source: The Boddhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and China - By Terence Dukes/ Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio  p. 3 - 158-174 and 242. A Western Journalist on India: a ferengi's columns - By Francois Gautier Har-Anand Publications January 2001  ISBN 8124107955 p. 155-158).

Silambam – Indian Stick Fighting

     

The art Nillaikalakki Silambam was brought to the royal court during the reign of the Cheran, Cholan and Pandian emperors, once powerful rulers of India.  

The art Nillaikalakki Silambam, which exists for more than five thousand years, is an authentic art which starts with the stick called Silambamboo (1.68 meters long). It originates from the Krunji mountains of south India, and is as old as the Indian sub-continent itself.

The natives called Narikuravar were using a staff called Silambamboo as a weapon to defend themselves against wild animals, and also to display their skill during their religious festivals. The Hindu scholars and yogis who went to the Krunji mountains to meditate got attracted by the display of this highly skilled spinning Silambamboo. The art Nillaikalakki Silambam therefore became a part of the Hindu scholars and yogis training, as they were taught by the Narikuravar. 

They brought the art to the royal court during the reign of the Cheran, Cholan and Pandian emperors, once powerful rulers of India.

(source: Silamban – Indian Stick Fighting).

Next Tuesday, Part VIII of War in Ancient India

[tomkow6]

 

TOOO LATE...........

[Kathy in Alaska]

Sorry, tia, I crashed. She, 14 years old, was returning from a 6 week visit with her Dad.

[tiamat]

Yeah, about like that!

[tiamat]

Don't be sorry!

Crashing is what *I* should do, but I've had too much coffee.

[Spotsy]

Ma said that you have to spend the rest of the day in the stockade!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!!

[StarCMC]

Hey EGC! T-storms passing thru - glad I'm wireless and on the battery! Catching up and then we're gonna "do" school!

[StarCMC]

ROFLMBO!!

[Radix]

Australia's Natalie Cook (R) encourages team mate Nicole Sanderson during the women's bronze medal match against Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs of the U.S. in the beach volleyball competition at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games August 24, 2004

It is fascinating to see what is popular from "down under" these days!  

 

An Iraqi youth, viewed through shattered walls, surveys the damage to his hotel room after it came under attack by mortar fire in central Baghdad, August 24, 2004.

The Iraqi Tourism Ministry is engaged upon a new advertising campaign  which stresses that all of the hotels rooms are air-conditioned.

 

U.S. and Iraqi soldiers stand near the wreckage of a destroyed vehicle at the scene of a suicide car bomb explosion in central Baghdad August 24, 2004.

The problem of backed up sewers in Iraq is being dealt with as swiftly as possibly by government officials.

U.S. Army soldiers run while under fire on a patrol in central Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004, a few hundred yards from the Shrine of Imam Ali. U.S. and Iraqi forces battled militants in Najaf on Tuesday and Iraqi National Guardsmen advanced to within 200 meters (yards) of the holy city's Imam Ali Shrine compound, where insurgents loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been holed up for weeks.

Has anyone else ever noticed that the cameramen never seem to have to run in Iraq? 

 

A U.S. Army soldier patrols next to a store displaying posters of soccer stars in central Najaf, Iraq, Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004, a few hundred yards from the Shrine of Imam Ali.

In Iraq, it takes real men with real talent (cuz I can't use the colloquial euphemism here for testicular fortitude) to play real defense!

[StarCMC]

Hmmmm.... a yard sale. But that would take energy and organization - two things I am severely lacking! LOL!!

[StarCMC]

Hey EMB - those pics were GREAT!! Thanks!!

[StarCMC]

Woo-hoo Spotsy!
Congrats on getting #250!!

[Old Sarge]

I can do summer, too, ya know...

The Dog Days seem to have passed,
like the sun-scorched spots on the grass,
with rain and cool breezes,
and hay-fever sneezes,
and sportsmen fishing for bass.

The sun and the breeze can be warm,
so there's no real cause for alarm,
there's plenty of beaches
for any girl who reaches
the water where the young hunks swarm.

But there's parks, and there's fun games to play,
under trees whose branches sway,
there's picnics and strolling,
watching people gamboling
the last of the summer away.

[StarCMC]

In Iraq, it takes real men with real talent (cuz I can't use the colloquial euphemism here for testicular fortitude) to play real defense!

[StarCMC]

Very nice!!

[USVet6792Retired]

".........wish I had a fifth.........."
I don't think so!!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A pint at least, it's been a cave-troll kinda day.

[Old Sarge]

"That water's muddy... um, there could be sharks... er, I don't have my nose plugs..."
"Stop Being A Baby, and SWIM!"

One day, in Wahabbi-Land, Rashid saw a hole...
"Eh-oh!"

"I told 'em not to do it, Sarge..."
Well, that'll be the last time they siphon gas from an Apache...

"Think we can make it to the PX before it closes?"
"We wouldn't have to run, Dumbass, if someone hadn't eaten all of Sarge's beef jerky!"

"Ewww, Man, what did I just step over?"

[USVet6792Retired]

I think I worked with that person at one time!>>>>>>>>>>>

Let me guess, it was a high-speed, low-drag staff Major?

[HiJinx]

 

I think this is what he had in mind...

[StarCMC]

Brass ones - that's what I was looking for!!