Sports and training inside and outside the military

>>3013970
I wish i had something to add besides a bumb

>>3014109
I'l bump your bump

>>3013970
Well I can tell you about the history of my ancestors from Kochi southern India. Training was primarily the old art of Kalari Payattu, mostly in the central style that utilized fist strikes and weapons in separate types of combat, training was done in a Kalari, a sort of pseudo ring where in one corner the wargod or war goddess was placeda along with the consecrated weapons , and the opposite side the master observed, and the rest of the students ringed it.

They would engage in one on one, one on two, six on one, all kinds of match ups and some were to the deaths, other ritualized and most was for training.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh1eWgrzwrw

Now this isnt at all like what it used to be, nowadays Kalari is a shadow of what it was and an amalgam of stolen techniques being passed off as authentic kalari, the closest to original indian martial art would be the Sikh shastravidya which has similarity in movement, engagement and locks consistent with early texts and Asan(master) of kalari.

Most of this I know from my grandfather and the texts from the temple my family guards.

>>3014188
Thanks for sharing anon, the bald guy with the mustache has good footwork. Would this sort of fighting happen around army camps or would shows of this be up during holidays?

I read mongols used to practice wrestling a lot, they call it 'Bokh' and there were matches every night. People would bet horses and shit on fighters. I imagine it proved to be a useful skill if, during battle they would somehow get dismounted. They could tackle the average infantryman and have a chance at beating him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPpbgNzR6p8

>>3014188
Indians do talk about Kalari a lot, but it's pretty much dead as an effective martial art.
Kusti (which is a mix of Persian wrestling and Indian grappling) still has hardcore gyms.
http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft6n39p104&brand=ucpress

>>3014238
There would be shows, usually around harvest or the commemaration of a goddess, victory over the enemies and such events. Infact there is a weird ritual called mamankam, where a picked group of Kochin warriors are sent north to the Zamorin of Calicut while Calicut held its annual fair, and in the middle of the festivities these picked group called Chaver Pada, or Death Squad, they try to assasinate the Zamorin or Samoothiri, a title equivalent to king. None of the attempts ever succeeded but it was a way to show the valor of the Nairs of Kochi against their old rival Calicut. The Kochi nairs allied with the portugese later on against the Calicut.

As for war camps, it is mostly lost as to what they did, but what is known is that if there was a friendly kalari nearby they would be able to train or recruit from there so they would usually be invited to camp in the area of the Kalari. If they found themselves in hostile territory they would likely train and practice like anyone else, but long term campaigning and invasions arent something the Kochin army was used to so there is little in the form of how they worked.

I know a lot of the rituals around it though but they are all boring and make no real sense, I guess the truth of it mostly lost now.

>>3014358
>Indians do talk about Kalari a lot, but it's pretty much dead as an effective martial art.
Agreed, its a shame how they so stupidly promote it like some big thing, it died a long time ago and the revival hardly does the art justice, its just yogic posturing and then strikes borrowed from silat and kick boxing with choreographed jumping. Though Silat and Muay Thai do have their origins in south Indian martial arts and likely was introduced by the Cholas and Pallavas during the large scale trade and occasional invasions between 3rd to 13th century AD.

What about that Greek bloke who carried a calf over his shoulder as it grew for his Olympic training?