All India Silambam
Federation"..The state
of Tamil Nadu is considered to be the cradle of modern
and scientific staff fencing, popularly known in Tamil
as Silambam. The Pandya kings ruling in Tamil Nadu
promoted Silambam fencing, as did their Chola and Chera
counterparts. Silapathiharam Tamil literature, dating
back to 2nd century A.D., refers to the sale of
silamabam staves, swords, pearls and armour to foreign
traders. The ancient trading centre at Madurai city,
renowned globally, was said to be thronged by Romans,
Greeks, Egyptians among others who had regular sea
trade with the ancient Dravidian kings. The silambam
staff was one of the martial art weapons, that was in
great demand with the visitors.The use of the long
staff for self - defence or mock - fighting was a
highly organised game in the state as early as the 1st
and 2nd centuries A.D. In the Vedic age, young men were
imparted training to defend themselves with staves,
both as a ritual and an emergency. The staves wielded
by ace fencers were given distinctive names, and
treated with reverence. Some records trace the origin
of this art to a divine source - Lord Muruga, and
within the Tamil mythological framework, sage Agasthya
is also credited with the genesis of Silambam. Silambam
is believed to have travelled from Tamil Nadu to
Malaysia, where it is now a popular recreational sport
and also a mode of self - defence..."
Thamizhar Martial Arts
Alex Doss, 10 February 2006
Silambam - Jothi Senthil
Kannan
Martial Arts Origins
Martial Arts
Misconceptions
Daruma Bodhidarma
Varma Kalai and Kuttu
Varisai
Silambattam
(Silambam)
Malyutham (Grappling)
Adithada (Kick
Boxing) Tamil Martial Arts in
Southeast Asia
When we think of martial arts, we usually think of
China or Japan. Only recently, people have
discovered that martial arts had its roots in India
�somewhere�. The
location of the part of India martial arts came
from still remains a mystery to many.
Let us take note that India is a sub-continent
with roughly 18 languages and various dialects of
certain languages. Each state has its own language
and writing script. Moreover, there are three major
ethnic groups which are the Indo-Aryans of the
Northern part, the Mon-Khmer of the Eastern part,
and the Dravidians (Thamizhars) of the Southern
part. The Indian sub-continent is more comparable
to Europe geographically even though it is a
country in itself created by the colonial British
for their own economical achievements.
Martial arts have been in existence on the Indian
sub-continent for thousands of years practiced by
ancient Tamils of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Eelam
(Northeast Sri Lanka), Kerala, and the Southern
portion of present day Andhra Pradesh. The
Malayalam language in Kerala only separated from
Tamil as its own language during the 8th century
A.D. In Andhra Pradesh, the southern half of that
state spoke Tamil, while the northern part spoke
Prakrit , before the language of Telungu had formed
it�s own language in that state.
In Sri Lanka, the whole island was Tamil up to the
3rd century B.C. before the arrival of a group of
exiles from Bengal penetrated the island. They
settled in the Southern and Western and Southern
parts of the island. Their offspring later became
the present day Sinhalese, which their language is
a mixture of Tamil, Pali (from Bengal area), and
Sanskrit.
The Indian sub-continent was once connected with
Madagascar of East Africa and Australia by the
sunken Lemurian continent of the Indian Ocean. On
the African continent itself are numerous fighting
styles some also in forms of dances which resemble
various Kung-Fu kicks, leaps, and maneuvers. In
Brazil, there is a martial art called Capoeira. It
is a fighting style in a form of a dance brought to
South America by slaves along with the Yaruba
religion of West Africa. These ideas of combat must
have crossed from both Africa and Australia through
Lemuria to the Indian sub-continent which may have
had an influence on the scientific Tamil martial
arts thousands of years ago.
Long ago, animal fighting styles were imitated by
pre-historic man which was a system for survival.
The first weapon used was the stick which was an
extension of the arm. Various weapons were later
invented during the Stone and Iron Ages. At the
turn of the 6th century A.D., martial arts spread
from Southern India to China by a Tamil prince
turned monk named Daruma Bodhidarma. From China,
martial arts have spread to Korea & Japan. In
South East Asia martial arts was introduced during
the naval expansion of the Chola and Pallava
Empires of the Tamil Country between the 2nd and
12th centuries A.D.
In the Tamil country, the earliest martial arts
known were Varma Kalai (pressure point attacks
� similar to Tai Chi or Dim Mak),
Kuttu Varisai (hand to hand combat
� similar to Kung Fu and Karate),
Malyutham (wrestling), Silambam (staff and weapons
fighting � similar to the Filipino
arts of Arnis, Kali, and Escrima), and Adithada
(kickboxing).
Martial arts can also be seen in the classical
dance of Bharatha Natayam. Through its rhythmic
movements one can see a close resemblance to the
stances, blocks, and strikes in martial arts. There
is also a close affiliation to Yoga in the
stretching and meditating exercises of almost every
fighting art.
During the mid-1990�s the martial
art of Kerala called Kalaripayattu began to gain
popularity, especially in the tourist industry of
Kerala. It was widely believed that the only
martial art in India was Kalaripayattu, claiming to
be the mother of all martial arts. In an Indo-U.S.
monthly magazine called �India
Currents� dated back in 1996,
there was an article on Kalripayattu. It talked
about a battle between the Cholas and Cheras where
the Chera kingdom of Kerala were victorious in
defeating the Cholas because of their knowledge in
Kalaripayattu, thus �the they took
to their heels and fled�.
The Cholas not having knowledge in the martial arts
is absolutely FALSE. It was the fighting prowess of
the Cholas, and their strategic military
capabilities which allowed them to expand their
empire as far north to the Ganges, as far west to
the Maldives, as far south to the island of Sri
Lanka, and as far east to
Malaysia� In India there tends to
be a trend to sideline Tamil culture, even in the
martial arts. Kalaripayattu is not the only living
martial art on the sub-continent. It is one of
many.
Kalaripayattu became an established martial art
during the 13th century AD as quoted in Frank
Zarilli�s �When
the Body Becomes All Eyes�. The
art of Kalarippayattu is a dynamic fighting system
which incorporates a combination of yoga and
gymnastics. It trains in an array of weaponry,
empty hand combat, pressure point attacks (Marma
Adi), and the healing arts of Ayurveda. The Kerala
dance of Katha Kali is very close to the martial
art of Kalarippayattu in its posture, stances, and
foot movements.
Another misconception is in which martial art the
monk Daruma Bodhidarma had introduced to China. In
many articles and web sites, it claims that
Bodhidarma had studied and introduced
Kalarippayattu to China. If Kalarippayattu had not
been established until the 13th century A.D., then
how would it have been possible for this art to
have been introduced to China during the 6th
century A.D. (700 years back)? Also, Bodhidarma was
from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu where several martial
arts there were already in existence.
In Partap Sharma�s book called
�Zen Katha: Inspired by the Life
of Bodhidarma, founder of Zen and Martial
Arts�, it states that it was the
art of Vajramushti Bodhidarma had introduced to
Shaolin. Vajramushti is a fierce style of wrestling
which has it�s origins in the
state of Gujarat situated in Northwestern India.
The only difference which sets it apart from modern
day wrestling is that the contestants wore
knuckledusters on their right hands to add
devastating power to their one hit blows.
Vajramushti has its influences from Greek
Prankrathon Wrestling during the time of Alexander
the Great�s conquest of the Indus
Valley and Northern India. This fighting style does
not resemble Kung-Fu or Karate, nor does it
incorporate any other weapon other than the
knuckleduster.
Many people in the western world often relate
martial arts with Buddhism due to its stereo type
in Hollywood films. Well, it was Buddhism which was
introduced from Northern India and martial arts
from Southern India. There was a very brief period
when Buddhism was practiced in the Tamil country of
the Southern Indian peninsula.
So, what religion do martial arts belong to? Is it
a Hindu art, a Buddhist art, or of some other
religion? It would be irrelevant to say that
martial arts came from any religion since martial
arts was originally a system of survival for early
man. Religions have incorporated martial arts into
their realm. In the western part of the African
continent martial arts is part in the Yaruba
religion. The same can be said in Asia. However, if
one were to say that Asian martial arts
philosophies had its roots from Buddhism, it would
be false. As far as the philosophical aspect of
Asian martial arts, it has its roots in
Hinduism.
Take for example the famous �Yin
and Yang� symbol. It represents a
combination of opposites like hard and soft, light
and dark, and male and female. The origin of Ying
and Yang came from the male and female Hindu
deities Siva and Shakti. In Bharatha Natayam, it is
said that Siva was the creator of the dance. He is
known as the Natarajah, or Lord of the Dance.
Likewise, he was known for the creation of
scientific martial arts and the healing arts like
Varma Cuttiram. Other martial arts of the Tamil
peninsula on the Indian sub-continent like Silambam
is said to have its roots from
Siva�s son, Murugan.
Even in the martial arts system of Kalarippayattu,
its philosophies state that this art was created
out of the wrath and fury of Siva when he destroyed
the demon Dakshayaga. One of
Siva�s disciples, Parasurama, is
supposed to have studied this art from him and
passed it on to his 21 disciples in Kerala.
Daruma Bodhidharma (Chinese: Ta Mo; Japanese:
Daruma) was the third child of the Pallava king
Sugandan from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. At birth he
was born with a breathing disorder and was banished
by his family due to the evil practice of caste
system introduced by the Indo-Aryans who had
migrated from Persia (present day Iran). He was
adopted and trained at birth in breathing exercises
and combat, namely in the arts of Varma Kalai and
Kuttu Varisai. Bodhidarma also studied Dhyana
Buddhism and became the 28th patriarch of that
religion.
When his master passed away, he wanted to spread
his apprenticeship to other countries and moved to
China. After having met emperor Wu-Di of the Liang
dynasty, he settled down in the Shaolin Monastery,
which is situated in the province of Henan
(northern China). In the monastery, Bodhidharma
lived ascetically and by meditating for 9 years
developed Ch'an Buddhism (Japanese: Zen
Buddhism).
When he taught Ch'an Buddhism, which contains
elements of Dhyana Buddhism and Taoism, he realized
that his apprentices did not have the mental and
physical shape to really meditate, or to defend
themselves from bandits. That's why he developed
certain gymnastics and breathing techniques.
Bodhidarma�s "muscle exercises"
were surely influenced by his experiences with his
experience in the Tamil martial arts. The "muscle
exercises" and the "18 hands of lohan", which were
developed later on, are however the basis for
nowadays Shaolin Kempo, otherwise known as Kung
Fu.
Bodhidarma also introduced the healing art of Varma
Cuttiram and herbal medicines from the Tamil
country which evolved into Acupuncture, Tai Chi
Chuan, Qi Gong, and Chinese medicine of today.
Both Varma Kalai and Kuttu Varisai combined make up
a deadly fighting art. Varma Kalai (also known as
Marma Adi in Kerala) is the art of dealing with
vital pressure points of the human body. The
Chinese arts of Tai Chi (healing touch) and Dim Mak
(death touch) are very close to Varma Cuttiram
(healing touch and remedies) and Varma Kalai. In
Varma Kalai one can heal, maim or even kill someone
depending on what part of the body is hit and how
much pressure is applied.
In Kuttu Varisai, gymnastic, stretching (yoga), and
breathing exercises are conducted before training.
In combat, almost every part of the body is used
such as the fists, elbow, feet, knees, etc. Various
different animal styles such as the tiger,
elephant, snake, eagle and monkey are used. All
these styles include posture, grappling, throws,
hits, and locks.
There are a huge variety of weapons used in this
fighting system which can easily be seen in many
Chola bronze statues of various deities. Some
resemble those used by the gladiators of ancient
Rome. Weapons include the trident, sticks (kali or
kaji) (short, long, or double sticks), swords (val)
and shield, double swords, daggers (kuttuval)
(simple or double), knuckle duster (kuttu katai),
and whips with several flexible and metallic blades
(surul pattai).
Silambam is an ancient art of staff fencing. This
was patronized by the Chola, Chera and Pandiya
Kings, who ruled the country of Tamilnadu and other
parts of the sub-continent. According to research
this form of martial arts has been in existence for
over 5000 years, even before the arrival of the
Indo-Aryans. Silambam is said to be the oldest in
the world since the use of the stick was the first
weapon used in pre-historic times. It received
royal patronage from all the Tamil Kings beginning
from the Sangam era. The soldiers of the King
Veerapandia Kattbomman (1760 �
1799) relied mainly on their prowess in Silambam in
their warfare with the British Army.
The Silappadikkaram of Tamil literature, dating
back to 2nd century A.D., refers to the sale of
Silamabam staves, swords, pearls and armor to
foreign traders. The ancient trading centre at
Madurai city, renowned globally, was said to be
thronged by Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians among
others who had regular sea trade with the ancient
Dravidian kings. The silambam staff was one of the
martial art weapons, which was in great demand with
the visitors.
Some records trace the origin of this art to the
Tamil deity Murugan. Silambam is believed to have
traveled from Tamil Nadu to Malaysia, where it is
now a popular recreational sport and also a mode of
self - defense.
Four different types of staves are used. One
produces a swishing sound, another involves lighted
balls of cloth at one end of the staves, called
'torch silambam', a third is quite short in length
but powerful, and finally a non - elastic staff
that produces a clattering sound.
Malyutham is similar to western wrestling. Greek
Pankrathon wrestling may be related to this art
since there have been much sea-trade between the
Tamil country, Greece and Rome (yavanas). The art
reached its zenith in Tamilnadu during the Pallava
period. The temples of Mamalapuram were constructed
by the Pallava king Mammala. He is said to have
been a master at Malyutham wrestling. During
mid-Chola period mallas ( artistes ) went to
various parts of the sub-continent and Sri Lanka to
participate in tournaments. The art was taught in
ancient days by persons belonging to the Malliga
Chetty community.
Here, the opponents wrestle with each other,
attempting to push the other down. Various rules of
the game apply to the procedure. In a tournament,
wrestlers travel far and wide, challenging local
wrestlers, and if they win, the name and fame of
their own town or area is multiplied
hundredfold.
Adithada is very similar to Muay Thai kickboxing.
Fighters use their feet, hands, knees, elbows, and
the forehead. Grappling is incorporated as part of
combination moves in this fighting art for take
downs. Pressure points are also targeted during
dueling. This art has evolved into a dynamic
fighting sport in Thailand called Muay Thai and
other countries of Indo-China like Cambodia, Laos,
and Burma. During the British Raj, it was the Gurka
regiment who used the Brumese martial art called
Bando which incorporated kickboxing in this system
called Lethwei. This art of kickboxing was also
used by the Gurkas in hand to hand combat against
the Japanese on the Indo-Burma border during
WWII.
Between the 2nd to 12th centuries AD the Cholas and
Pallavas did extensive sea trade throughout
Southeast Asia and China. Various countries
periodically came under Tamil rule. At the
beginning of the 2nd century AD, Pallava prince
Kaundinyan of Kanchipuram became the first king of
Cambodia. Much of the historical accounts of the
time can be seen in bas reliefs (carvings on walls
similar to Mamallapuram wall carvings) at sites
like the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. The fighting
arts and styles can be clearly seen on these walls.
At the Prambanan and Borobodur temples of Java
Indonesia the same can be seen in the bas reliefs
of the Tamil martial arts fighting skills used by
ancient warriors. During the 10th century A.D. the
Chola Empire was at its peak with their expansion
in Southeast Asia. Under king Raja Raja Chozhan
parts of Burma, Isthmus of Kra, Malaysia, Sumatra,
and Java were under his rule.
Much of the elements of Tamil culture introduced
there were dance, cuisine, writing, literature,
architecture, and the martial arts. Here is a list
of fighting systems in each Southeast Asian country
which had its roots in Varma Kalai, Kuttu Varisai,
Malyutham, Adithada and Silambam.
� BURMA � Bando,
Lethwei (kickboxing)
� THAILAND �
Krabi Krabong, Muay Thai (kickboxing)
� CAMBODIA �
Pradal Serey (kickboxing)
� MALAYA �
Bersilat, Silambam
� INDONESIA �
Pentjak Silat (styles vary from island to
island)
� PHILIPPINES �
Arnis - Kali � Escrima (stick,
knife, and machete fighting), Sikaran (kickboxing),
and Dumog (wrestling)
In conclusion to this topic, Martial arts were
introduced by the Tamil civilization to China and
Southeast Asia. Proof of the Tamil navy venturing
into Southeast Asia introducing various arts can be
seen on the bas reliefs of numerous temples in
places like Cambodia and Indonesia. The ancient
city of Kanchipuram where Daruma Bodhidharma was
born is located no where else other than in Tamil
Nadu. The fact that there are similar martial arts
on the African continent which was brought to
Brazil from West Africa also proves the fact of the
origination of the Thamzhars and other Davidians
through the Lemurian continent. The martial arts of
Varma Kalai, Kuttu Varisai, Silambam, Malyutham,
and Adithada have been in existence for thousands
of years. However, the martial arts of the Tamils
are slowly vanishing. Anyone who is interested in
joining a discussion group to learn, teach, and
promote these arts are welcome. Please go to:
Thamizhar Martial Arts http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/thamizharmartialarts/
� Sharma, Pratap Zen Katha:
Inspired by the Life of Bodhidarma, founder of
Zen and Martial Arts
� Zarilli, Phillip When the
Body Becomes all Eyes
� Encyclopedia of Martial
Arts
� Broughton, Jeffrey The
Bodhidarma Anthology
� Hsuan, Hua The Intention of
Patriarch Bodhidarma�s coming
from the West
� Balakrishnan, P.
Kalarippayattu
� Madras Institute of Asian
Studies �Varma Cuttiram
� Raj, Manuel J. Silambam:
Technique and Evaluation
� Raj, Manuel J. The origin
and the historical development of Silambam
fencing [microform] : an ancient self-defense
sport of India
� New Delhi: Sports Authority
of India Indigenous Games and Martial Arts of
India
� International Tamil Language
Foundation The Handbook of Tamil Culture and
Heritage
� Winderbaum, Larry The
Martial Arts Encyclopedia
� Ramaswamy, Sumathi The Lost
Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies,
Catastrophic Histories
� Lewis, J. Lowell Ring of
Liberation: Deceptive Course in Brazilian
Martial Arts
� Capoeira, Nestor Capoeira:
Roots of the Dance-Fight Game
� Kraithat, Panya Muay Thai:
The Most Distinguished Art of Fighting
� Vaitayanon, Kumron Muay
Thai: The Art of Eight Limbs
� Paladin Press Fighting Arts
of Indonesia: Combat Secrets of Silat and
Kuntao
� Wiley, Mark V. Filipino
Martial Arts: Cabales Serrada Escrima
� Galang, Reynaldo S. Classic
Arnis
� Diego, Antonio The Secrets
of Kalis Ilustrisimo
� Berk, William R. Chinese
Healing Arts
� VARMAKALAI http://perso.wanadoo.fr/varmakalai/VARMA%20KALAI%20-%20(ENGLISH)%201.htm
� SILAMBAM http://www.silambam.com/
Martial Arts Origins
