I was wandering around bullshido and this site to find out great things about muslim martial arts history. I just found this guy from you post! Thanks! Do you think pakistan might hop on board? Very similar in terms of culture.
AAAhmed, It would be interesting to see a country like Pakistan come on board in the fight scene. There is no doubt that they would contribute a tough lot to the fight game. Life is hard in Pakistan and their is an existing fight culture there. Though I believe it's mainly based on wrestling and I am not too sure about the particulars of it. Though most South Asian countries do have that an other martial element to their culture. We have a fair amount of Pakistani's working here in Hong Kong and many of them work the manual labor sector. I see a group of them everyday when I walk into town I've gotten in the habit of saying hello and havin' a bit of a chat with them. These guys are insanely strong... I stood and chatted with the job foreman while his workers (also Pakistani's) were unloading 55gallon drums from the back of a truck by hand... jeezuz - just head to toe fitness on these guys. It was insane... and they never spent a day in the gym. I have a feeling that they'd give most guys at my gym a hard way to go if it was down to sheer grappling. Just the grip strength alone was silly on these guys. So at the moment... I don't think that Pakistan is on board... but it would be great if they had some representation in the fight game. And yes I agree there are many similarities between the two cultures given their history. If the Kashmir region is anything to go by then they're certainly not afraid of a fight.
Well, wrestling is really big in pakistan. When i used to visit as a kid, next to cricket, wrestling is a big pass time. But i was never a tough kid, so i would watch some of the other kids do it. I really think there is potential. Only problem is that, not many pakistani's know about MMA, they know and love wrestling but MMA? THey love watching the WWF, they love watching punching and kicking and grappling. But it's fake. I think PRIDE and UFC could seriously gain major profits by popularizing in pakistan/india/sri lanka. ESPECIALLY because it's real.
Indian wrestling is pretty cool. The indian club is usually called "gada"(pronoun. geh-da). There is also an indian version of the "iron Body" which is supposedly over 3000 years old. The warriors who practised this trained by taking hits from people swinging gadas.
There are also fighting styles developed by Sikhs too. I saw a clip, if i can find it again, that would be awsome. I could post it.
its name is GADA as told by Angelus above. Its not just a training tool it was also used as a weapon in wars(the club which the great gama has, not which other old snaps show), there use to be GADA fights also. The weapon has its roots in Indian mythologi, HANUMAN god of strength use to carry that weapon
I believe the sikh martial art is called "Gatka" or "Fari Gatka" It is practical because it was created in a very violent time zone in India. It was a style that could be learned quickly so that armies could be assembled in a short period of time. (just like how todays police officers and soldiers are trained in hand to hand combat). It looks like a very interesting art to me and i hope someone on MAP -maybe some who is a practitioner of Gatka- sheds a little more light on it.
I too would like to see it but I don't have access. I was wondering how you all would think India's striking art of verumkai/kaliprattya (India's "empty hand" fighting style) would fare in MMA competition? I already know most of kaliprattya is armed fighting but there is some striking techniques? Is is mostly just acrobatics now or do you think it has any practical use?
Kalaripayat and many CMA's -especially the CMA's with strict buddhist roots like the Shaolin styles- share the same root. Like many CMA it has flashy and acrobatic movements. However all the movements can be broken down so that they can be used in a fight. Kalari is one of India's most "complete" martial arts that survive today because the practice of any "art of war" was banned during the british occupation of india. Kalari does have alot of striking and grappling techniques. One of the hardest skills to master in kalari is marma (pressure point) fighting. The whole concept is to disable an opponent by using the least amount of force and energy possible. There are Kalari gurus (masters) out there who can basically disable you armed with a feather and use that same feather to heal you again.. now thats scary.
When I ment "practical uses" I should have mentioned that I wanted to know if anyone thought verumkai would be a practical style in MMA. I figured Marma was the most useful on the street, assuming a master had to use it, but I just wondered how verumkai would fare in MMA. I was under the impression verumkai was mainly striking cause I've read that some in India consider it the precursor to Shaolin Kung Fu.
I dont know how it will fare in MMA tournaments because most of these tournaments are dominated -generally - by groundfighters. Dont get me wrong.. once in a while a striker with ubelievable skill will appear and become champ. Verumkai - even though it has some groundfighting and grappeling- is still categorized as a striking - punches kicks- style so i dont really know how it would do. The Verumkai fighter should be quick enough to stay out of grappling range and powerful enough to KO his opponent before the fight hits the ground.
Hmmm... I wouldn't hold my breath... if strikers the pedigree of Ramon Dekker or Semmy Shilt couldn't withstand a takedown ... what really makes you think a Verumkai fighter will?
In thekkan(Southern) Kalaripayattu Verum kai is called Adithada(Hit and Block). You can find some information about this on Asan Paul Whitrod's site http://www.kalarippayatt.co.uk/. "Open hand fighting known as (kai puru) or hand fight, these are sometimes long or short prearranged fight sequences designed to understand the attacking of the vital points through the complexity of the drill. The proper method of kai puru was that you be shown the vital points where each attack is made. Then with your partner, you pair off the aim at those points whilst your partner will block the incoming attacks. As if you were chasing to hit certain key points on the human anatomy. There are different types of kai puru, using elbows (kai muttu) knees (kal muttu) foot (padam) and so on. Such skills form the basics of (Adi Tada) block and strike. Other than prearranged fight there are sensitivity drills and lock drills, where you will flow in and out of locks, this is too make sure you know the escape of if a lock is placed on you. There are some 64 locks, though there are many variations of each lock. These are done on the floor, standing, crouching etc. These locks are identical to locks found in kusti. Some Tekkan kalari masters speak of the words, (Adi Tada kusti). The sciences of Kalari are based on 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 108. Also understanding of body movement is based on 3. Examples of this are as follows. There are 8 body positions that all techniques can and must be applied, Laying on the floor, on one knee, on both knees, crouching, low, middle, upright, jumping. The 8 directions as on a compass, also up and down. Understanding the methods one then combines 8x8=64 etc. This truly makes Kalari a very advanced system. The 64 locks must also be applied in the same way, thus the practitioner will cover all angles of defence. " Asan Paul Whitrod is specialised in the southern style of kalaripayattu and he has trained under different Kalari Asans. Check this one too http://www.martialartschannel.co.uk/intro.html http://www.kalariworld.com/ Thanks
Hi slipthejab remember the previous discussion we had "Indian Kalaripayattu and it's influence on Muay Boran, Muay Thai and Krabi Krabong ". I have found some information for you.Think it's okay to post it here . Go to this website http://www.martialartschannel.co.uk/intro.html and take the Krabi Krabong section. You can see some similarities between styles. Paul Whitrod has got Golden Sash in krabi Krabong and he is an expert in kalaripayattu as well. hope this will help you thanks
it seems like every time i read something that you have written, my IQ drops a few points. i wonder if i could become mentally handicapped by reading every one of your posts?
Do you think Kushti wrestling would be handy? But it self probably not, since it has no ground work just stand up grappling but...... It's fun!
