Malaysian Silambam Porrkalai Council MSPKM

hiSTORY OF SILAMBAM PORRKALAI

Invention of Silambam

About 5000 years age, the development of Silambam art took place. It is said that it was Agasthiar who invented this art of Silambam. Later on the Indian kingdom of Chera, Chozha and Pandiya kings introduced this art in their warfare and made it compulsory for all the soldiers in the five wings of their military.Long ago, animal fighting styles were imitated by pre-historic man which was a system for survival. The first weapon used was the stick which was an extension of the arm. Various weapons were later invented during the Stone and Iron Ages. At the turn of the 6th century A.D., martial arts spread from Southern India to China by a Tamil prince turned monk named Daruma Bodhidarma. Bodhidarma is the father and founder of ancient martial arts. From China, martial arts have spread to Korea & Japan. In South East Asia martial arts was introduced during the naval expansion of the ancient Sailendra, Sri Wijaya and Majapahit kingdom from Nusantara and Chola and Pallava Empires of the Tamil Country between the 2nd and 12th centuries A.D.In the recent past, at the time of Pulidevan and Veera Pandiya Kattabomman (1760–1799) this art was resurrected and was used in the fights against the British. So the British rulers banned the practice Silambam. The art was also used by the local Indonesians to rebel against the Dutch and Portugese in the colonial era, a strong point that many martial arts silat schools mushroomed here.From the south India, Silambam spread over the rest of India and it called in different name in different part of the country. Silambam is called as Nedu Vadi in Kerala; karra saamu in Andhra Pradesh; Dhanta Varisai in Karnataka, Lathi in Uttar Pradesh; Marithani in Maharashtra; Dhal Lakadi in Gujarat; Patta Pachi in Punjab & Haryana; Kathga in Jharkhand and Bihar depending upon their language spoken in their area. Back in Nusantara, silambam expanded along the Hindu Buddha kingdom into Khmer, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Sumatera ,Papua, Philliphines to Indonesian Spice Islands today the art is known as Silat or Silayat.

Silambam Porrkalai Techniques and Weapons

Silambam is a weapon-based Indian traditional martial art practiced by the traditional community of Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The word silambam refers to the bamboo staff which is the main weapon used in this style. Other weapons are also used such as the Maduvu (Deer horn), Kathi (Knife) and Vaal (Sword). Unarmed Silambam called Kuttu Varisai, utilizes stances and routines based on animal movements such as the Snake, Tiger and Eagle forms.The length of the staff depends on the height of the practitioner. It should just touch the forehead about three fingers from the head, although different lengths are used in different situations. It usually measures roughly 1.68 meters (five and a half feet). The 3 feet stick called sedikutchi can be easily concealed. Separate practice is needed for staves of different lengths. The usual stance includes holding the staff at one end, right hand close to the back, left hand about 40 centimeters (16 inches) away. This position allows a wide array of stick and body movements, including complex attacks and blocks. There are numerous sub sects in silambam like nagam-16 (cobra-16), Kallapathu (Thieves ten), Kidamuttu (goat head butting), Kuravanchi, kalyanavarisai (similar to quarterstaff), Thulukkanam, and so on. Each is unique and may differ from one another in grip, posture, foot work, method of attack, length of the stick, movement of the stick etc.The bamboo staff, one of the first weapons used in Indian martial arts, was in great demand with the visitors and thanks to Bodhi Darma, this art successfully made its way to four corners of the world.

The Silambam Porrkalai Sastram in Malaysia.

At Majlis Silambam Porrkalai Malaysia, our Grandmaster and Chairman, Master N.Mooralitharan, our Patron Mr.B. Arumugam and our Advisor Dr.M.Chandra Sagaran, together with our instructors and students work in harmony in making MSPKM the world leader in Silambam martial arts.

01

ORIGIN of silambam porrkalai

Silambam is an Indian Ancient Martial art of Tamil Nadu, today can be found spread widely in Malaysia, Indonesia, South East Asia and the world."Silambal" is a word generally used to denote the sound created by a fast flowing spring, murmur of leaves, the chirping noises of birds etc. It might have been originally used to describe the "whooshing" sound created by the swinging of the long staff and clashing sound of the swords. Silambam became the popular word to describe the martial art that used long staff and various kinds of swords, knives and lances. Some websites give a very incorrect explanation for the word Silambam as silam means hill and bam means bamboo used in the long staff fighting. Bam and bamboo has nothing to do with Tamil language or culture.Pre historic man used a bamboo stick to protect himself from approaching wild animals (the self defense was invented), Because of its usefulness, they always had the stick with them. When they went in search of food, they had to walk long distances. Playfully they swirled the sticks that they carried with them (the basic Silamabam steps were formed unknowingly). As and when some rival tribal humans attacked them with sticks, they had to defend themselves with sticks (and thus the basic sparring and war martial arts developed).

02

categories OF SILAMBAM

Silambam can be categorized in three section.

１．Sports Silambam

The modern Silambam was popularized mainly as a sports education for school students, thus this category has been highly promoted among young children recently. The game is played inside circle court on the ground, and rules for bodily safety is very strict, as just taking point by merely touching opponent rather than beat it hardly. It looks like Ken-do in Japan, but less like martial arts than game play. Silambam or Stick Fencing, is trying to make it as a Olympic games, because the popularity and region of playing Silambam are increasing every year.２．Show Silambam

It is mainly performed with colorful ribbon and ring for local festivals and events. Especially fire Silambam performed in the night companied by ethnic drum beat is really fascinating, almost looks like a circus entertainment, invite you into the states of trance.

３．War Silambam

This is the original feature of martial arts Silambam Porrkalai. From basic manipulation of the stick, self defense sequence with partner, along with advanced locking and throwing technique.The variation of stick rotating technique of Silambam and weapons, such as swords, blades and knife is most dominant and well displayed. .

03

modern day silambam as sports and arts

Modern Day Silambam as Sports and arts.Majlis Silambam Porrkalai Malaysia, in reviving Silambam art, have developed rules and regulations , together with silambam experts around the world . New silambam suitable to modern times and new youths were framed for Silambam and so it developed into sport and arts , taught widely at schools and community halls, with the approval of Ministry of Education & Ministry of Youth and Sports in Malaysia. There are now state, national and International Federations formed for silambam and annual competitions are being held in Malaysia and internationally, by MSPKM.