Silambam
சிலம்பம்Tamil stick-fighting art. The Tamil Nadu sports university syllabus covers footwork, stick swings and sparring against one to five opponents.
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About Silambam
Silambam is a Tamil stick-fighting art. Phillip Zarrilli lists it in Green's martial arts encyclopedia among the surviving regional traditions of Tamil Nadu, alongside varma ati, and translates its name as stick fighting. Green's encyclopedia refers to the dissertation by J. David Manuel Raj on the origin and historical development of silambam, defended in 1977 at the University of Oregon, and Raj's works are also cited by the silambam syllabus of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University. English Wikipedia derives the name from the Tamil word silam, hill, and according to it silambam has been practised since at least the fourth century BCE, as attested by mentions in Sangam literature.
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Training according to the syllabus of this university includes footwork patterns of one and two steps and of three and four circles, with and without the stick, stick swings from a squat, half squat and standing position, changes of grip, feints and sliding the weapon along the opponent's stick. These are followed by the basic steps of suvadu muraigal, paired sparring, sparring against three opponents, against four opponents in the corners, and one against five, and finally free sparring. According to Wikipedia, the stick is preferably bamboo and usually measures around 1.68 metres. The Tamil Nadu government included silambam in November 2021 among the sports for which a place in the civil service can be obtained under a three percent sports quota. According to a reply in parliament from July 2022, the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports supports it in the Khelo India programme, and in January 2024 it appeared for the first time as a demonstration sport at the Khelo India Youth Games in Tamil Nadu. DT Next wrote in 2021 about at least three Tamil Nadu associations, each of which claims to be officially recognised.
History
Phillip Zarrilli, in his article on India in Green's encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World, writes that each region of the subcontinent historically had its own fighting techniques, more or less influenced by the Dhanurveda and Sangam traditions. Among the surviving traditions he names the Tamil varma ati and silambam, whose Tamil name he translates as fighting with a staff. According to Sangam heroic poetry, a warrior spirit prevailed in southern India between the fourth century BCE and the year 600 CE, but Zarrilli does not mention silambam or the staff in this context.
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The English Wikipedia states that references in the epic Silappadikaram and in other works of Sangam literature show that silambam has been practised since at least the fourth century BCE. It derives the name from the Tamil word silam, hill, and states that the word silambambu denoted a special kind of bamboo from the Kurinji hills in present-day Kerala. The same article states that Indian martial arts declined after the British banned silambam. Green's encyclopedia refers to the dissertation The Origin and Historical Development of Silambam Fencing by J. David Manuel Raj from the University of Oregon, dated 1977. The syllabus of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University, which cites Raj's works, teaches the development of silambam up to the British period and its transformation into a combat sport from 1940.
Technique
According to the English Wikipedia, the length of the staff depends on the practitioner's height, ideally reaching the forehead, about three fingers below the top of the head, usually around 1.68 metres. Bamboo is preferred, sometimes teak or the wood of a tree that Wikipedia calls Indian rose chestnut, the staff is soaked in water and strengthened by beating it on water, and often has metal rings. Wikipedia names other silambam weapons, including maru made from blackbuck antelope horns, aruval, savuku, vaal and urumi. The syllabus of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University gives as the technical foundation step patterns of one and two steps and of three and four circles, staff swings from a squat, half squat and standing position, changes of grip, feints and sliding the weapon along the opponent's staff. The unarmed part of silambam is, according to the English Wikipedia and the website of the Silambam Asia school, kuttu varisai, which the school also calls kai silambam, meaning according to it silambam of the hands. Wikipedia also describes it as a separate martial art with sets based on animals, Silambam Asia names sets of the monkey, snake, tiger, elephant and eagle. Phillip Zarrilli, in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (1992), citing Raj (1977), gives kuthu varisai from Tanjore as a tradition closely related to varma ati.
Training
The Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University offers a six-month distance diploma course in silambam. The first practical part has steps with and without a staff, staff swings from a squat, half squat and standing position, changes of grip, feints and sliding the weapon along the opponent's staff. The second part adds basic steps of suvadu muraigal, side somersaults, jumps and turns, flexibility exercises and sparring in pairs, against three opponents, against four opponents in the corners and one against five, with five to eight kinds of increasingly complex attack and defence strikes, and finally free fighting.
Competition
The syllabus of the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University gives the rules of the Indian Silambam Federation as the competition rules and refers to Raj's handbook The Laws and Officiating of Silambam Fencing of India. According to a PTI report from January 2024, silambam appeared for the first time in the history of the Khelo India Youth Games as a demonstration sport at the games held in Tamil Nadu.
Today
According to a written answer in the lower house of parliament from July 2022, the Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports counts silambam among the domestic sports supported by the Khelo India programme, together with mallakhamb, kalaripayattu, gatka, thang-ta and yogasana. The Tamil Nadu sports minister said in September 2021 that the central ministry had recognised silambam in the Khelo India programme, and in November 2021 the Tamil Nadu government ordered silambam to be included among the sports for which a government job can be obtained under the three percent sports quota. The daily DT Next reported in November 2021 that at least three large silambam associations operate in Tamil Nadu and each claims to be officially recognised. The general secretary of the Silambam Association of India, Thiyagu Nagaraj, then called for unification.
Did you know
According to Raj (1977), whom Phillip Zarrilli cites in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts (1992), in the areas of Madurai, Tanjore, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Nagerkoil silambam is also the name for the Tamil art of striking vulnerable spots, varma ati. The English Wikipedia states that the actor M. G. Ramachandran included silambam fights in his films of the fifties and sixties.
Styles & Branches
Frequently asked questions
What does silambam mean?
Phillip Zarrilli translates the Tamil name as stick fighting. English Wikipedia derives it from the Tamil word silam, hill.
How long is a silambam stick?
According to English Wikipedia, the length depends on the practitioner's height, ideally up to the forehead, and is usually around 1.68 metres.
Is silambam a recognised sport?
Yes. The Indian Ministry of Sports supports it in the Khelo India programme, and in 2021 the Tamil Nadu government included it in a three percent sports quota for civil service posts.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.