The India is the mother of many practices in Asian civilization at the complex Indian culture comes from those great civilizations of the past that still amaze us for the depth of their knowledge. When West appeared in the first images of the masters of contemporary kalari payattu, many fans saw an art that, if they had ever heard of it, believed extinct. And the kung fu experts could see its undeniable similarities with some old styles of northern China. And as the kung fu, in recent years many schools kalari payattu, driven by the state, are going to meet a modern systematization of their programme, which has watered down the tradition. However, among the narrow alleys of Madras and the arid villages of Rajasthan, under the dark of Tamil beards and turbans of Sikhs, still lie unnamed men who know the key to life and death.
Sorti parallel which are also affected many other Indian martial arts. Because of the martial arts are not only kalary payattu: over the hot plains of Kerala, other parts of the Asian subcontinent have created their own styles martial of undoubted interest. Many of them seem apparently disappeared, others were preserved by saving as a traditional confidentiality, others have tramutati practices ritualistiche and sports.
From ancient texts - like the poems epic Ramayana and Mahabarata or religious writings such as Saddharmapundarika Sutra, Buddhacarita Sutra and the Rig Veda - reveal the names of forms of combat styles with bare hands, as the masti, binot, the kusthi or vajiramushti, or armed, as the bana, lathi, the phari-gatka. Of the arts belong to the first group, the contemporary historical research has not yet rintraccciato evidence of survival. Among the armed martial arts, however, there are several that are still widely practiced.
Thang-ta
The thang-ta is an art that includes the use of weapons, flanked a sophisticated system of fighting with bare hands. In the language of Manipur, the region of North-East India where the art originated in the seventeenth century, thang ta means sword and spear. The Indian launch was often used, challenged two hands, warriors on horseback, in its current form it is about one meter long and a half, with a rope attached at the rear to allow recovery after a possible launch.
In addition to these two weapons, the practitioners of thang-ta handling sabres (thang'jou) and strings (ten), addestrandosi through khong'lol-khut'lol, sequences of movements preordered. The same techniques still practiced it says were used by the real Manipuri to fight the British invaders.
In fighting with bare hands sarit-sarat, which traditionally supports the armed thang-ta, the practitioner is inspired by the movements of animals, preventing displacement and lateral semicircular attack the opponent, and then fight back with a wise mixture of strokes and projections. Both the physical aspect of practice (mapan'gi kang'lol), the spiritual (nung'gi kang'lol, closely linked to tantrism) make clear similarities with the kalari payattu of Kerala.
Rich and worthy of India, led the mystical art, from his name: the followers are preparing to combat praying, according to the dictates of practices tantriche, with the help of powerful songs lairol (mantra) and mystical gestures khut 'lol (mudras), the god of Pakhangba sword and the spear, Ashiba (and associated to the thang ta). According to a legend related to these rites, the god-king Lainingthou Pakhangba donated to the king Mungyamba a spear and a magical sword, asking him to kill the demon Moydana.
The practitioner of thang-ta dedicated hard to practice meditation, working on breathing, the exercises ningsha-kang'lol, and on accumulation of internal (ting) in the lower abdomen (channing). An exercise much concentration used, which leads to states of consciousness more refined and mind-body coordination, is to focus attention on the point at the center of the forehead, between the eyebrows. For meditation there are specific postures, such as cross-legged kong'grai achouba, where his hands open and overlapping arise with the palm upwards of your at.
Gatka
An original typical of Punjab Sikh proud people, gatka is a system that includes armed sticks, weapons and cutting snodate weapons. The sticks have lengths from one to three meters and symbolically represent the human spinal column through which energy flows kundalini (gatka presents clear points of contact with concepts tantrici). A particular type of stick used in this art is the Marathi, which bears weight at both ends. His riding develops in your upper flexible joints, as well as the ability to rotate vorticosamente arms around his body.
The advanced practitioner accesses handling of weapons cut, the first among all the sword, which represents the junction between heaven and earth and becomes an instrument of transcendence. Profit compredere to the close relationship between the practitioner of gatka and its blade is a traditional poem, entitled Jai tegang (Glory to the sword):
O sword, which cuts and shoot
That crush the armies of evil
Beautiful in battle
You by force.
Arma unstoppable
Terribly fast
Your light is shining
Of the whole glory of the sun.
You gifts peace to the holy
Destructive of ignorance
Renewals sins
I hope you and protection.
Glory, glory to the Creator of the World
Liberator of all creation
My protector
Glory to the sword.

Element particularly close to the handle of the sword, in order to further promote a merger between optimal warrior suit and is manufactured on the extent of the individual practitioner. Of great importance in other knives there is also the kirpan, a long knife around 30 cm, which is part of the traditional costume Sikhs. Finally weapons include flexible whips, chains, belts and use of bad martial, the rosary typical of Shivaism and Buddhism, which the specialist gatka often builds itself steel balls.
All the weapons of gatka can be used singly or in pairs and can easily fight in every direction, developing techniques in eight directions, always circular.


Cheibi Gad-GA
An ancient martial art of Manipur, based on the use of sword and shield - the diameter of a meter - and also launches, used with refined techniques and evasive. Today the practice is taking place mainly with long sticks from 70 to 76 cm, wrapped in leather casings, which replace swords. The sport of the current fighting is taking place inside a circle of 7 metres in diameter, divided by two lines of a meter.


Lathi
Lathi Sanskrit is the name by which is known for centuries a bamboo stick usually the length of one meter and a half, weighing about one kilogram. The practice of fighting with lathi, documented already in the distant past, is still being circulated by regulated by various sporting bodies. Under these rules, the meetings provide a lathi-based scoring shots brought successfully to eleven targets of the human body, with the prohibition of strike nose and ears. The stick is usually wrapped in a sheath of skin and practitioners wear protective inguinal, rokavice and a sort of helmet that protects cotton temples and ears, yet accidents are very numerous, due to the realism of the meetings.
The training in this art is based on predetermined exchange techniques, which provide mainly hits and counterclaims, and only when he acquired considerable familiarity with the weapon, the practitioner can engage in combat free.


Lakri akkhara
The lakri akkhara (lakri means wood, while akkhara indicates the land of practice) is an art of riding stick similar to lathi, only with a remarkable tradition of confidentiality. Indeed, it is based solely on oral transmission within families of students and does not have predetermined shapes.
The training provides for long sessions of practice in which the student is training to hit the trees. This is mainly spread knowledge among martial humble peasants of north-central areas of India. Again, the preferred wood for the sticks is resistant bamboo, which almost flexes in agile parades roke of violent blows hamla two hands (movements that remind me of a certain little techniques Japanese kenjutsu). Unlike the lathi in lakri akkhara levers and projections, with the help or not stick are widely used when understood that the battle reaches the shorter distance. Once complete practice, or rather introduces a whole, although short, ritual, during which the two contenders, the first to grasp the sticks and start fighting, perform acrobatics on wheels hands, exchanging seats. So greeting crossing sticks three times and start to beating shots. An lasts, because mantenutasi sufficiently pure through generations of students aware of serious and asset value of what grandfathers and their fathers handed while dusks taste ancient toglievano to farm their magnificienti colors.


Silambam
Silambam is the name under which it is known in Tamil Nadu, his place of origin, the art of riding long stick. From writings Silapathiharam Tamil literature, which lists the local production of silambam sticks, swords and armor, it is clear that this martial as early as 100 AD, promoted by the king of Pandya dynasties, Chola and Chera. Indeed, it seems that even distant Greek and Egyptian merchants appreciate very sticks made in the city of Maduray.
Even during the Vedic (100-200 BC) was the widespread practice of stick with defensive purposes, as ritualistici and sports activities. Even custom was to name your stick and confer great respect, because he was in the widespread belief that the Tamil silambam had divine origin, inspired by Lord Muruga and perfected essay by Agasthya.
The silambam is practiced with four types of staff: a rather elastic and flexible when done rotate a wheezing sound, it is a very rigid, one-third is a bit shorter than the others and one last item balls of rags to a ' end.
The way to combat the practitioner of silambam is characterized by rapid movements of feet, jump and spin in every direction with powerful strokes, and a fake continue remarkable ability to anticipate the opponent moves. Again, the technical staff refer to the styles of fighting various animals, such as the monkey, snake or hawks. Traditionally, training must pass through which the practitioner may include as evidence evade or deflect stick with stones that torma unleashed opponents of the spear against, or how to fight against enemies fed groups. The meetings begin silambam as a time with the ritual greeting of the gods, teacher (guru), bystanders and the adversary, but their modern version sports and presents the least martial and more playful.
The ends of the sticks are covered with a sticky powder whose goal is easily leave marks on the body color of fighter when they are touched by the stick. The allocation of points to the signs varies depending on the areas of practice: In some cases, a sign below the life that is a point, above two. According to regulations, he won the first athlete that affects three times the contendente also a sign left by only touch on the forehead or back of their true victory, as well as the disarmament opponent. Sometimes, the fighting is added proof of skill in which the athlete must defend and preserve a bag of coins placed between his feet. The meetings, which take place on a hard surface circular with a diameter of between 6 and 7 metres long, unless one of the above techniques to resolve the issues between six and ten minutes, interspersed with pauses for a minute at the end of the first and the third phase, and three minutes after the second.

Thoda
With thoda we move in the Indian region of Himachal Pradesh and we are dealing with another weapon ancient learning. Almost as old are the origins of this art martial, which is said to originate battles between clans of the Kaurava and Pandava valleys and Kulu Manali and that today more than ever, has been transformed into a game with a distinct component martial ritualistic. Even in ancient times, in these regions, the armed clashes between the various clans were preceded by a fixed ritual: a group of young people from a faction went before dawn in the village who wanted to challenge three leaves and casting in local wells, so the bold lurking among the vegetation on the edge of the village, and when the first settlers came to draw water, they shouted threats and words of defiance, resulting in the beginning of contention. Procedures similar comparison are found in many primitive societies.
In recent times a great manifestation of thoda is held every year during the festival of Baisakhi, between 13 and April 14, days devoted adoration of Hindu goddesses Durga and Mashoo. By that time the best artisans of the region are given a large daffare to manufacture the numerous wooden arrows and bows traditional meters long by two and a half, depending on the height dell'arciere. Then, in the fateful day, a genuine crowd of fighters (you can get even 500 people) rushes en masse on the ground of practice, the majority of these men is made up of dancers, who, far from taking part directly to battle, merely substantiate his faction with songs and dances drawn up, the rhythm of music and the exciting pace. The celebration of the ancient clashes between Kaurava and Pandava is clearly and strongly recalled by the division of fed groups of contenders in the Pashi factions and Saathi. Among excited shouts and songs of war, has contended order beginning with Shaathi trying to penetrate the barrier that human Pashi formed to prevent them advanced. Until the first reach a central location of the battlefield: it's time to compact the ranks of armies and grapple in the final challenge, deployed at a distance of about ten meters, the two groups begin the attack, in which the arrows scagliare whose objective is limited to the leg (not forget that this is a symbolic representation, comparison procedure similar to those found in many primitive societies), conversely, the only possibility of defence consists in attempts to dodge arrows opponents through rapid movements Legs, which scalciano furiously to the right and missing. Imbattersi, between the districts of Shimla and Solan, in one of these colourful representations can lead the viewer with the side riappacificarsi aggressive inevitably developed in human nature, a party that seems made for its sublimation in a climate almost ironic.

Gusthi
The fight is gushti martial art and a sport spread throughout India, but especially in developed areas of Mysore, Indore, Baroda and Patiala. Its origins and its current structure are archaic, numerous technical rather primitive: projected imbalances, and taken levers tend to give rise to great power off. The fighters gushti Indeed, in their garadhi (gyms) undergoing an exhausting physical training and conditioning muscle of a respected, following a workout regime unchanged for more than a century: intense conditioning muscle through lifting weights and several years for the agility and flexibility articulate. Equally important is attributed by fighters to diet, which favours fruits, vegetables, butter and milk; practitioners Muslim add large amounts of meat. The techniques of this art can sometimes recall those of the fight greek-Roman, or some aspects of Japanese sumo, especially in moves which exploits as a fighter lunghuti taken on the enemy (sort of pants consisting of a long strip of cloth that the Indian wraps it around the sides and all'inguine), the only clothing worn by students. The meetings are held in a space unique and fascinating: a round surface raised by way 'of hill, the diameter of about 10 meters, and covered with a sandy surface.
Other names which over the centuries have taken various systems are niyuddha anti-kride, mallakrida and malla-yuddha. It seems that these practices included different methods of comparison: nell'asura (similar in today jarasandhi) were permitted to blows above the chest, while in dharanipata is used mainly technical grasp and atterramento. In some particularly bloody clashes was not rare death of one of the contenders, while the wounds were serious laboriously treated with the ancient Ayurvedic medicine remedies.

(This article was translated by a machine translation software and not by one person)