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Bharat (Ancient Northern India) and Tamilakkam (Ancient Southern India) was one of the centres of several martial traditions and practices until it became a unified India during the time of British rule around the 1700s. Some of the older traditions include organised martial systems as practiced by the Kshatriya caste of hinduism, which are some of the oldest descriptions of organised martial practices documented in the Rigveda, these systems include armed and unarmed combat and aspects such as meditation, conditioning, horse riding etc. Some of the older traditions include organised martial systems as practiced by the Kshatriya caste of hinduism, which are some of the oldest descriptions of organised martial practices documented in the Rigveda, these systems include armed and unarmed combat and aspects such as meditation, conditioning, horse riding etc.
Organised martial arts in India include the ancient martial art of Malla-yuddha (more commonly known as Mallayuddha), which is described in the Indian epics as the fighting style of warriors such as Bhima. The art is supposed to have gained maximum prominence in ancient India at the time when the oral tradition of the Mahabharata epic was concieved, the Mahabharata was compiled in textual form during the 5th century BC, the epic's setting has a historical precedent in Vedic India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power in the late 2nd and early 1st millennia BCE. It is believed that mallayuddha was regarded as a prominent martial art in that era.
Martial arts of the India are diverse in nature and have origins of different times from various different ethnic groups. A number of ancient and sophisticated Dravidian martial arts were developed in South India, including Kuttu Varisai (empty hand combat), Varma Kalai (the art of vital points) and Adithada (kickboxing) in Tamil Nadu, and Kalari Payattu (way of the arena) in Kerala.
Influence of Indian martial arts
Some organizations believe that India is the origin of their martial arts, such as Brazillian Jiu Jitsu.
Legend holds that Bodhidharma was the third child of the Pallava king Sugandan from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. He trained in breathing exercises and combat. Bodhidarma also studied Buddhism and became the 28th patriarch of that religion.
Following the death of his master, Bodhidharma travelled to China to spread buddhism. After appearing in the court of emperor Wu-Di of the Liang dynasty, he settled down in the Shaolin, in the province of Henan (northern China), where he is said to have installed many martial practices leadin to the development of Chinese martial arts such as Kung Fu. In the monastery, Bodhidharma lived for 9 years and is also credited for the development of Zen Buddhism.
However, the claim that the martial arts of China and Japan come from India is disputed. Noteworthy martial artists, such as Charles C. Goodin, Chojun Miyagi, Cezar Borkowski & Marion Manzo, Hidetaka Nishiyama & Richard C. Brown and Funakoshi Gichin have credited Bodhidharma, while specialists in martial arts history such as Tang Hao, Matsuda Ryuchi and Stanley Henning have rejected the claims. Moreover, the existence of martial arts in China prior to the purported arrival of Bodhidharma is documented in the Bibliographies in the Book of the Han Dynasty, the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue and even at the Shaolin temple in the Taishō Tripiṭaka.
Bodhidharma has also been mentioned in articles by news organisations such as the New York Times.
India has influenced the martial arts of the Malay peoples.
Indian martial arts under colonialism
Indian martial arts declined as Western colonialism disrupted the livelihoods of India's martial castes.
Rajputs who sought service with rulers as their ancestors had done found their sources of patronage limited by British restrictions; unable to find employment in their traditional line of work, some joined the Pindari.
Kalarippayattu underwent a period of decline after the introduction of firearms and especially after the full establishment of British colonial rule in the 19th century.
More European modes of organizing police, armies and governmental institutions, and the increasing use of firearms, gradually eroded the need for traditional martial training associated with caste-specific duties.
The British Raj banned kalarippayattu in 1804 in response to a series of revolts.
The resurgence of public interest in kalarippayattu began in the 1920s in Tellicherry as part of a wave of rediscovery of the traditional arts throughout South India which characterized the growing reaction against British colonial rule.
In the video gameShadow Hearts: Covenant, Gama appears as the mentor of Joachim Valentine, one of the characters who joins the player's party. Throughout the game, Joachim can challenge Gama to one-on-one matches in order to learn new wrestling moves.
The classic martial arts film Master of the Flying Guillotine depicts a silent Indian fighter using a yoga based fighting style and having an unnatural ability to extend his limbs to attack.
References
Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (1970). Advanced History of India. Bombay: Allied Publishers. pp. 3, 10, 50, 67–71, 80, 132, 138, 142, 310, 316.
Sastri, K.A. Nilakanta (1967). Age of the Nandas & Mauryas. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 171–182, 248.
Pillai, V. Kanakasabhai (1997). The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago. Delhi; Madras: Asian Educational Services. pp. 2, 10–39, 102, 105, 106, 113, 116, 121, 138, 194.
Ramaswamy, Sumathi (2004). The Lost Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies, Catastrophic Histories. Berkeley; London: University of California Press. pp. 107–109, 176.
"When I studied Kenpo Karate in Hawaii during the mid 1970's, we were taught that Bodhidharma traveled from India to China in 525 A.D. to teach the true meaning of Buddhism to Emperor Wu (Wu-ti). Upon arriving in China, he found that the priests and peasants were being attacked by armed bandits. He meditated on the situation and told the people that fighting and killing are wrong. However, a person must be able to defend himself. Thus, he taught them Go Shin Jitsu Kenpo Karate (or Shorinjiryu Kenpo), an unarmed system of self-defense in which the hands and feet became weapons."
"I would like to tell you my private opinion regarding, of course, karate as follows. I have heard that it is not sure but there is a martial art called "Three Hand" in India. I don't know the original Indian name. "Three Hand" is the direct translation of Chinese language from Indian language. I suppose maybe such a martial art was brought to China from India by Darma during the Emperor Wu dynasty, and it became the origin of Shaolin Temple."
Borkowski, Cezar (1999). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Martial Arts. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. p. 20. ISBN 0-02-862947-7. Two of India's most well-received exports—its religions and martial arts—were enthusiastically embraced in other parts of Asia.{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Tang Hao 唐豪 (1968) . Shàolín Wǔdāng kǎo 少林武當考 (in Chinese). Hong Kong 香港: Qílín tushu.
Henning, Stanley E. (1981). "The Chinese Martial Arts in Historical Perspective". Military Affairs. 45 (4): 173–179. ISSN 00263931. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) "Eventually, possibly as early as the middle of the Qing period, boxing manuals began to refer to Shaolin Monastery as Chinese boxing's place of origin.…By the close of the nineteenth century, these stories had been stretched to claim that the Indian monk, Bodhidharma, had introduced boxing to Shaolin Monastery around 525 A.D.…None of these alleged contributions can be historically verified. Finally, in 1915, a book by an unknown author titled Secrets of Shaolin Boxing was published, which wove together all these groundless stories…its pernicious influence has permeated literature on the subject to this day."
Henning, Stanley (1994). "Ignorance, Legend and Taijiquan". Journal of the Chenstyle Taijiquan Research Association of Hawaii. 2 (3): 1–7. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) 'While Shaolin was the ideal symbol to represent the more numerous, popular styles of boxing, this gave rise to serious misunderstandings and, as a result, later works, beginning with Zhang Kongzhao's boxing manual (1784), attributed the origins of Chinese boxing to Shaolin Monastery, (there is no mention of Bodhidharma until much later - c. 1900).…Why does there appear to be such concern to associate Taijiquan with the Zhang Sanfeng legend between 1912 and 1921, over 60 years after the style of boxing practiced in Chenjiagou village had been given the name "Taijiquan" and exposed to the big city? The answer may lie in a combination of events which began with the earliest reference to "The Dharma" or Bodhidharma as the originator of Shaolin boxing in a widely popular novel, The Travels of Lao Ts'an first published in Illustrated Fiction Magazine between 1904-1907. This was soon followed by a book titled Shaolin School Methods, which appeared as a series in a Shanghai newspaper in 1910. This book, of unknown origin but written in an anti-Manchu secret society tone, expanded on the Bodhidharma story and, in 1915, was altered further and published as Secrets of Shaolin Boxing under the pseudonym, Master of the Study of Self Respect (probably an allusion to anti-Manchu and anti-imperialist feelings).'
Wren, Christopher (1983-09-11). "Of Monks and Martial Arts". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2006-08-30. "The introduction of fighting skills at Shaolin Monastery has been attributed in legend to the Indian monk Bodhidharma, who went to the monastery in 527, three decades after it was founded by Batuo, another Indian monk.…Actually, the ancient martial arts probably originated even earlier as Buddhist monks learned to fend off brigands and other predators."
French, Howard W. (2005-02-10). "So Many Paths. Which Shaolin Is Real? The Reply: Yes". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2006-08-30. "A Buddhist monk from India named Bodhidharma, or Damo, settled here then and began instructing local monks in scripture and the physical drills that are still said to be the basis of kung fu."
Brenson, Michael (1986-01-03). "Art: 'Kernels of Energy,' How Chinese See Rocks". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2006-08-30. "From all this, it is also easy to see why there may have been rock cults in Chinese culture; why the sixth-century Indian monk Bodhidharma, later considered the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism, apparently spent nine years meditating upon a rock; why caves and cliffs had such sacred meaning, and why some reknowned Chinese scholars, from the Middle Ages on, have been known as petrophiles. Because of his obsession with rocks, the Emperor Huizong was called a petromaniac."
Bayly, C.A. (2002) . Indian Society and the making of the British Empire (Sixth printing ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 103. ISBN 0521386500.
Zarrilli, P. (1992). "To heal and/or harm: The vital spots (marmmam/varmam) in two south Indian martial traditions--Part I: Focus on Kerala's kalarippayattu". Journal of Asian Martial Arts. 1 (1).
Zarrilli, Phillip B. (1998). When the Body Becomes All Eyes: Paradigms, Discourses and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, a South Indian Martial Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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