India?

[qwksilver61]

I would like to know if there is any thread or forum on Indian martial arts.India is as old as time,we owe much to the existence of the martial arts to them.
Fascinating culture indeed.Thanks for any input.

 

[exile]

One thing you might be interested in the very high degree of controversy over the familiar claim of an Indian connection in the origin of the CMAs here (see section 5, `Some of the arguments') and hence for the Asian MAs generally, many of which are traced to Bodhidharma's supposed visit to the Shaolin temple 1500 years ago. This dispute may have important implications for the sources of Indian MAs themselves. It turns out, as usual, that a lot of `history' seems to be largely unsubstantiated legend...

 

[Steel Tiger]

I have always been fascinated by India, ancient India to be more precise. It holds a lot of interest to those of us from an Indo-European background because of the enormous similarities. Linguistically it is a gold mine for reconstructing ancient Indo-European languages.

The influence of Indian MAs on the CMAs is a much debated subject. It is obvious that there is some mixture of something going on, afterall Da Mo (Bodhidharma) came from India and brought some physical exercises with him. The tiger form that I know is from Sichuan and looks a lot like some Kalari forms.

I think that one of the problems people run into with subjects like influence from one region to another is that they do not account for waves of influence or things like regional proximity. Its Da Mo, Shaolin and nothing else. Well bagua is not a Shaolin art so where did it come from? And then there is our tiger form. Where did that come from? Questions that need answers I suspect.

Puitting aside India and China, just think of the spread of Hindic culture in the world. Angkor in Cambodia, Prambanan in Indonesia, this culture spread far and wide. It seems unlikely that its martial traditions, so beautifully preserved in the Mahabarata and Ramayana, would be left behind. The kingdoms of the Khmer and on Java were built with warfare and bloodshed.

I think, if we look with a properly critical eye, and can put aside any personal biases, we might very well find Indian martial influences in a lot of Asia.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have done some training in India. Souther Indian in Kerela to be exact. I had the chance to study some Kalarippayattu when I was over their visiting family. Lots of fun.

Search some threads here on MartialTalk as their are several.

 

[Omar B]

I've seen some Kalarippayattu and it's pretty intence. The moves are very dancelike and if someone ever came at me doign that I would have to keep my distance because it's by nature pretty rangy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalarippayattu

Oh, and it's pronounced as - Kalari payat

 

[newGuy12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra_Mushti

 

[tellner]

India is a huge place with an ancient history and hundreds or thousands of ethnic groups. It's got a martial tradition that reflects this. Many martial traditions, actually.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

India is a huge place with an ancient history and hundreds or thousands of ethnic groups. It's got a martial tradition that reflects this. Many martial traditions, actually.

You are absolutely spot on there Tellner. Lots of variety in Indian Martial Arts. Also there is lots of variety in Kalarippayattu. When I trained with them all we worked on was self defense applications because of my interest. No kicking but lots of joint locks, takedowns and throws. It was great and resembled to an extent many joint locking techniques from other more well known arts.

 

[Steel Tiger]

You are absolutely spot on there Tellner. Lots of variety in Indian Martial Arts. Also there is lots of variety in Kalarippayattu. When I trained with them all we worked on was self defense applications because of my interest. No kicking but lots of joint locks, takedowns and throws. It was great and resembled to an extent many joint locking techniques from other more well known arts.

Sounds very cool. It is interesting that there was no kicking. Everything I have seen of Kalarippayattu has involved some high kicks from low stances.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Sounds very cool. It is interesting that there was no kicking. Everything I have seen of Kalarippayattu has involved some high kicks from low stances.

Well when they did a demonstration for my immediate family and extended relatives they did do alot of high kickings, back flips and flashy weapons work. (which I have on tape) However when I talked with the gurukkal and we spoke on my interests we decided just to work on self defense techniques, joint manipulations, etc. What he showed in private and what we worked on was very practical and straight forward and very similar in some ways to Budo Taijutsu training and Filipino Martial Arts. I have alot of respect for true practitioners of the Indian Martial Arts!