The Silambam, a martial art form of
Tamil Nadu, is a stick fighting system which is famous in the whole of south India. It is one of the oldest martial art forms of the world. Silambam is mainly played for self-defence or as mock-fighting. The word Silam meaning 'hill' and bam stands for 'bamboo'. Therefore, the name can be translated as the bamboo from the hill.
Usually, a 1.68 m long stick is used in Silambam. In the beginning the sticks were prepared from a kind of filled, yellow bamboo. The contester holds the stick at one of its ends, right hand close to the butt, left hand about 40 cm away. Movement is of great importance in Silambam. A lot of footwork is done in sequence with stick movements.
The contestants have special dresses which mainly include langots of various colours, sleeveless vests, turbans, canvas shoes and a chest guard. The contests start with greetings to God, the competitor, the audience and the teacher. Usually, the Silambam is fought on a hard surface.
This art form is considered a remnant of the antique Dravidian civilization, and Pandya kings were great promoters of this art form.
