Silambam Overview
How did silambam, the art of self defense, come into being?
In ancient days, pre historic man used a bamboo stick to protect himself from approaching animals and inimical humans. Because of its usefulness, they always had the stick with them. When they went in search of food, they had to walk long distances. Playfully they swirled the sticks that they carried with them. As and when some inimical humans attacked them with sticks, they had to defend themselves with sticks. Thus a kind of fighting with sticks began to develop. It the first defense mach anion in human history.
Development of this art at the time of sieges and kings.
About 5000 years age. Sieges age shier, a great devotee of lord Muruga, the Tamil god, lived in the hills of Pothigai in Thirunelveli District, that is situated in Tamilnadu in south India. It is said that it was Agasthiar who invented he is art of Silambam.
Later on the chera, Chozha and Pandiya kings introduced this art in their warfare and made it compulsory for all the soldiers in the five wings of their military.
In the recent past, at the time of Pulidevan and Veera Pandiya Kattabomman (1760–1799) this art was resurrected and was used in the fights against the British. So the British passed orders not to practice Silambam.
As for the Tamils, Silambam is not only a weapon but also a traditional Martial art. So they practiced it for the sake of physical fitness.
Techniques and Weapons
Silambam is a weapon-based Dravidian martial art from Tamil Nadu in south India but also practiced by the Tamil community of Malaysia ,Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. 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 Maduvu (Deer horn), Kathi (Knife) and Vaal (Sword). Unarmed Silambam, called Kuttu Varisai, utilizes stances and routines based on animal movements such as the Snake, Tiger 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 meters (five and a half feet). The 3 feet stick called sedikutchi can be easily concealed. Separate practice is needed for staves of different lengths. The usual stance includes holding the staff at one end, right hand close to the back, left hand about 40 centimeters (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.
The bamboo staff, one of the first weapons used in Indian martial arts, was in great demand with the visitors.
How did silambam come to be known a sport?
Rules and regulations were framed for silambam and so it developed into a sport. There are state, national, continental and international federations for silambam. Annual competitions are being held as per norms.
The All India Silambam Federation was duly registered in Government of Tamilnadu in 2006 and is functioning successfully. National competitions are held annually.
The executive committee, meeting in Kolalampur and 20th September, 2009, decided to form the Asian Silambam Federation, bavings its head quarters in India. This Federation has been duly registered in India.
For the first time Asian silambam Federation conducted competitions for men and women in all the three categories of sub-junior, junior and senior. It was held from 3rd to 6th November, 2009 at CSI Hall Nagercoil, Kanyakumari District,Tamilnadu, India. 300 competitors from nine nations of India, Malaysia, Singapore, Nepal, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Iran Participated.