Four Unknown But Powerful Styles of Martial Arts
Author: Troy Macraft
Author: Troy Macraft
Lathi
Lathi is a martial art and is also the name given to a bamboo pole, 6-8 ft (1.8-2.8 m) long, with a metal tip at the end, which is wielded like a sword. Lathi is thought to have originated from an ancient and peaceful yogic practice in which practitioners try to release "kundalini" (coiled-up energy) through the body via circular and figure-eight movements. It later became a martial art and was initially popular in eastern and southern India.
The stick was originally used to help keep buffalo in order-in fact, a common Hindi saying goes "jiski lathi, uski bhains," meaning, "he who wields the lathi gets to keep the buffalo." Farmers skilled with the stick were often called to become militia and settle disputes on behalf of regional warlords and landowners. The art later evolved into a sport and duels, in which practitioners could show their prowess and possibly gain employment or enhanced status among the men of their village, were common.
Today, the term "lathials," derived from the art form, is commonly used as a word to describe men for hire who will fight, settle scores, and restore honor among farmers who feel slighted.
It was the British, during the colonial rule of India, who introduced the lathi as a weapon to be used in crowd control and during riots. In present day India, the lathi is us as a weapon by the national police for similar purposes.
Bandesh
Bandesh was thought to have originated several hundred years ago, bandesh is a system of grappling, locking, choking, disarming, and forced-submission techniques, commonly used against an armed assault. It is a martial art that stresses non-lethal use of force; practitioners are encouraged to reduce the risk of injury to their attacker. While practice matches can involve hand-to-hand combat, they generally include weapons-the winner is deemed to be the practitioner who successfully disarms his opponent.
But Marma Atti
But Marma Atti follows the principle that attacking and opponent must take on a two-pronged approach. The first prong consisting of the physical side and the other prong being the mental or spiritual aspect. Practitioners first aim to erode their opponent's will to fight by psychological means-reasoning with them and discouraging them- before striking, kicking, knifing, or clubbing them, or attacking with any other improvised weapon. Humiliation of the opponent during the fighting process is also of primary importance and it is believed that this can help effect a swift victory.
Taught and practiced widely in rural south India, but marma atti is a holistic and practical method of self defense rather than a sporting art. Practitioners are taught to maintain an impeccable character of high moral standing to cultivate inner strength and an understanding of one's own ego. This in turn engender an attitude of avoiding aggressive individuals. But marma atti is, in essence, an evolution of natural defensive mind-and-body practices.
Nata
Nata is a martial art form in which finger movements, taken from an ancient Indian dance, are used alongside yogic movements. Although little is known about the art today, it is quite likely that it included finger- and wrist-locking maneuvers and weapons disarms based on joint locks and pain-compliance techniques.
The practitioners of ancient Indian dance possessed a good understanding of the physiological make up of the joints, in particular the arms, hands, and fingers, as these types of movements were stressed in ancient Indian dance. It is likely that the arts were included in other ancient Indian martial arts such as weapon forms and grappling sports.
In the 3rd century BCE, the author Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras, the ancient foundational text of yoga. These yogic elements, as well as finger movements in the nata dances, were later incorporated into various martial arts. Furthermore, there are several references in early historical Buddhist texts such as the Totus Sutra, written in the 1st century ce, which refer to Indian martial arts of boxing and, in particular, techniques of joint locking, fist strikes, grapples, and throws.
Although the subject of speculation among historians, it is possible that these elements describe the evolution of hand movements and locking techniques from the early nata dances into later martial-art forms.About the Author:
Troy Macraft Heads the Content Dept. at The MMA Zone. Troy, is an expert in martial arts training and historical aspects of ninjitsu. He has also reviewed many items of martial arts gear and
ninja swords. If you enjoyed this article and want to read more please click here:
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