One of the most underrated and yet must watch movies of the ‘Man of the Hour’ – Siddharth Malhotra is “Brothers”. It is underrated due to the fact that it was India’s 1st ‘Mixed Martial Arts movie’ (MMA). Despite of the plot holes and lack of proper characterizations, this was unique in its own. From ‘Muay Thai’ to ‘Grappling’ and ‘Kick-Boxing’, this movie has showcased it all with no compromise on cinematography.
But what’s even more interesting to know is the origin(s) of these martial techniques, be it hand-to-hand combats or knife fighting techniques in Close Quarter Combats (CQC).
WHAT ARE MARTIAL ART TECHNIQUES ?
Simplifying a whole convoluted process in a holistic manner, martial art techniques are the combat sidearm of various life philosophies which allow their practioners to defend themselves in life threatening situations anytime, anywhere and with anyone.
These are done in order to practice for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military & law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; sports; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage.
Examples :- Kalaripaayttu, Judo, Wing Chun, Capoeira, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), Kali / Eskrima, etc.
ORIGIN OF MARTIAL ART TECHNIQUES.
Kalaripayattu (originated in modern day Kerala) is considered as the mother of all martial arts techniques. According to the legends, this dates back to ‘Treta Yuga / त्रेता युग’, when ‘Lord Parashurama / परशुराम’ along with ‘Sage Agastya / ऋषि अगस्त्य’ founded the same. When Lord Parashurama saved & reclaimed the land of modern day Kerala from the evil, many temples of ‘Shiva’, ‘Vishnu’ and ‘Devi’ were established.
So as to protect them from evil adversaries, a self defence mechanism had to be brought into existence. Lord Parashurama was a master in the art of weaponry and he and Sage Agestya developed Northern / Vadakkan Kalaripayattu (emphasis on weapons) and Southern Kalaripayattu (emphasis on weaponless combat) respectively. Later during 5th – 6th C.E., an Indian Buddhist monk named Jayavarman / Bodhidharma / Dharmottara from present day Andhra Pradesh, under the reign of Pallava Dynasty went to China as part of ‘Deshaparyatana’.
In those days, Indian scholars used to travel throughout the world in order to flourish the exchange of cultures, spread of religions, trade, etc. At that time, the Liang Dynasty Emperor had started local Buddhist monks translating Buddhist texts from Sanskrit to Chinese to understand Buddhist culture and he was called ‘Tamo / 多摩’’ in Chinese. The emperor and Tamo, due to philosophical differences, parted their ways and the later reached out to the nearby temple to meet with the monks who were translating these Buddhist texts.
Tamo, on observing that the local monks were mentally & physically lethargic and were vulnerable against the attacks of the local forest rebels, decided to teach them moving exercises, designed to both enhance ‘Chi flow’ and ‘build strength’. These sets, modified from Indian Yoga (mainly ‘Hatha / हठयोग’ & ‘Raja / राजयोग’) were based on the movements of the 18 main animals in Sino-Indian Iconography (e.g., tiger, deer, leopard, cobra, snake, dragon, etc.), were the beginnings of Shaolin Kung Fu.
(The local tribal Chinese martial arts might've developed prior Bodhidharma's visit, but it was unable to protect them from forest rebels. The reason being martial arts are a by-product of life philosophies, which was missing in then Chinese martial arts.)
HOW MARTIAL ARTS HELPED IN FREEDOM STRUGGLES ?
There are certain examples where martial arts system developed out of dance movements or rituals with or without blades & knives, that helped people overcoming European colonialism.
• Capoeira :-
It is a fast & versatile Afro-Brazilian martial art that encompasses the elements of dance, music and acrobatics. It was practiced by enslaved Africans in Brazil at the beginning of the 16th century and is widely known for its acrobatic & complex manoeuvres, often involving elements of kicking, headbutting, slapping, boxing, dodging, elbows, walking on one’s hands, deception, evasion, etc.
Dance & music were incorporated in the system to disguise the fact that they were practicing fighting techniques because at that time Brazil was a Portuguese colony and was enforced to have ‘Sugarcane farming’ by making the African population their slaves. It originated from Angola and was called ‘N’gola / Engola’; a type of ancestral ritual dance.
Its practioners (Capoeirista) used to practice it during or after their work as it was their only tool to escape slavery. Similar to any other colonizing power, the Portuguese would not want any sort of resistance from the locals. Capoeira, sort of, equipped them to survive in such a hostile environment.
Though tolerated until the 1800s, this quickly became criminalised after due to its association with being African, as well as a threat to the interim oppressive regime. The oppressive regime in Rio the Janeiro in order to suppress it, established severe physical punishments against its practioners, which included hunting & public execution. Started to travel across the world in 1970s, now, Capoeira has been felicitated with the special protected status of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO (November 26, 2004).
Accomplished Practitioners : Many Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts fighters have a Capoeira background, either training often or having tried it before.
Example - Anderson da Silva, a yellow belt Capoeira and former (record holder) UFC Middleweight Champion.
• Filipino Martial Arts :- Arnis, also known as Kali or Eskrima/Escrima, is the national martial art of the Philippines. The Spanish colonized Philippines in 1521 and ruled until the Philippine revolution in 1898. This event of Filipino history marked the start of freedom struggle, first against the Spanish and later the Americans.
The Philippines has what is known as a blade culture. Unlike in the West where medieval & renaissance combative and self-defense blade arts have gone almost extinct, blade fighting in the Philippines is a living art. One can find the Local folk carrying more knives than guns. During the revolution, the use of a weapon called machete or bolo or Kampilan played an important role. It was used by the Philippine natives for close quarter combat. The plan of action is – to rush in unexpectedly and hack about swiftly, without the slightest attempt at self-preservation.
Americans were first exposed to Arnis during the Philippine–American War in events such as the Balangiga massacre where most of an American company was hacked to death or seriously injured by bolo-wielding guerillas in Balangiga, Eastern Samar. (So called superpower!)
During World War II, many Filipinos fought the Japanese hand to hand with their blades as guerilla fighters or as military units under the US Armed Forces in the Far East (USFFE) like the Bolo Battalion (now known as the Tabak Division). The Philippines was the bloodiest theatre of the Pacific War for the invading Japanese Empire, incurring the most Japanese deaths in World War II with at least 498,600 Japanese troops killed in fighting the combined Filipino resistance and American soldiers.
Accomplished Practitioner(s) : Jeet Kune Do, a philosophy (and martial art as well) invented by the Bruce Lee might not be a familiar name in competitive fighting, but not many are known of the fact that Bruce Lee was a vivid practitioner of Kali.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS :-
• Karamvit / Karambit :- The karambit is a multi-use knife designed for user safety, precision, and efficiency. The iconic curved blade is profoundly known for having a ring at its base and double edged blade. It was developed in the 11th century as a farming sickle tool. Unlike other knives vulnerable to get disarmed, karamvit can't be disarmed due to its ring like structure allowing to lock the forefinger in it.
• Balisong :- Also known as butterfly knife; Batangas knife; or a fan knife, these iconic knives are easy to hide due to its folding nature. These knives are shown to be associated with goons in bollywood movies.
Who would've thought that martial would not only impact the world, but also form the lifestyles of many. It's not limited merely to Olympics, medals and certificates, it's much more than that !
* A Random Brainstorming initiative in collaboration with Comrade Blogger .
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