Silambam

This article is about the martial art. For the film, see Silambattam (film).

Silambam

Also known as	Chilambam, Silambattam
Focus	Weapons (bamboo staff)
Country of origin	Tamil Nadu, India
Olympic sport	No

Silambam (Tamil: சிலம்பம்) or silambattam (Tamil: சிலம்பாட்டம்) is a weapon-based Dravidian martial art from Tamil Nadu in south India but also practised by the Tamil community of Sri Lanka and Malaysia. 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 short staff (sedi kuchi or muchchaan), deer horn (maduvu), knife (kathi), sword (vaal), stick (kali or kaji), dagger (kuttuval or Katar), knuckle duster (kuttu katai), and whips with several flexible and metallic blades (surul pattai). Some silambam practitioners has also included the unarmed system, called kuttu varisai,into their curriculum which utilizes stances and routines based on animal movements such as the snake, tiger, elephant 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 metres (five and a half feet). The 3 feet stick called sedikutchi can be easily concealed. Separate practice is needed for staffs of different lengths. The usual stance includes holding the staff at one end, right hand close to the back, left hand about 40 centimetres (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

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 Kings Puli Thevar, Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Maruthu Pandiyar(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. However, in the Tamil movies produced in Chennai, actors like M.G.Ramachandran (MGR) and M.N.Nambiar who were well versed in this art form during their stage training phase of their careers in 1930s, did incorporate silambam 'fight' scenes in some movies in 1950s and 1960s for box office appeal. As a result of this, silambam became more widespread in Southeast Asia where such Tamil movies were screened. Silambam is still practiced in Malaysia today, and demonstrations are held for certain festive occasions.

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. Traditionally, the masters first teach kaaladi for a long time before proceeding 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, 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.

As with some northern Chinese systems, the silambam staff is said to have "one head", meaning that only one end is primarily used for attacking. 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, silambam 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. 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 hold 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 ati (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".

In popular culture

• Silambam was featured in numerous Tamil films such as Thevar Magan, Silambattam, Jagan Mogini, Kovil, Padagotti and Rickshawkaran

• Silambam was showcased in the Malaysian TV series Gelanggang and Gerak Tangkas.

Influence on other martial arts

Silambam has influenced a number of martial arts in India and other parts of the world. Silambam was of particular importance to the history of numerous Southeast Asian fighting systems. During the colonial period, silambam became more common in Southeast Asia than in India where it was banned by the British rulers.

In India, lathi, danda yuddha, banethi etc are some staff based arts having their roots in silambam. Sikh art gatka is heavily influenced by silambam.

It also influenced staff and stick based martial arts in other parts of world like shaolin staff, bojutsu etc. Malaysian silat is directly derived from silambam. Krabi krabong and Kbach kun boran are other such examples. Short stick fighting in Filipino eskrima is very much identical to that in silambam. Silambam's unarmed component, kuttuvarisai has influenced various bare hand fighting styles in kung fu, karate etc. Knowledge of vital points of body in marma ati is widely used in most martial arts of world. Fire silambam has influenced many fire dances like Poi.

See also

• Indian martial arts
• Kuttu Varisai
• Varma Kalai
• Marma Ati
• Kalaripayat
• Kbachkun boraan
• Krabi Krabong
• Silat

External links

• www.silambam.in Karnataka State Silambam
• www.silambam.us Silambam Academy
• www.silambam.com Silambam Nilaikalakki
• www.sangam.org Article of sangam.org
• www.silambam.co.in Sri Mariyamma Silamba Kudam Official Page
• LIKE US ON FACEBOOK OUR SILAMBAM FACEBOOK PAGE