Silambam words · Beginner

An Indian martial art from Tamil Nadu, in which the long staff (silambam) is the main weapon, with footwork, spins and strikes. In sport it has fighting with staffs and displays with several weapons. The WSA also teaches Kuttuvarisai, the unarmed form, and Varma Kalai, pressure points and treatments.

The long stick used for silambam, usually cane (rattan) or bamboo, with hardwood rarely used. It should reach about the forehead of the user, about 1.68 m (5.5 ft). For WSA tournaments it is at most 117 cm for juniors and 120 cm for seniors, weighs at least 440 to 510 g for men (400 to 440 g for women) and is at least 24 to 26 mm thick. The tip needs a protective cover.

Stick fight, the combat event, in which two competitors in red and blue fight with silambam staffs in weight classes. The WSA calls it silambam staff fencing and calls the stick-fencing round Silambam Kambu Sandai.

The five weapon-swing events: Erattai Kambu Veechu (double stick rolling), Vel Kambu Veechu (spear stick swing), Vall Veechu (sword swing), Surul Vall Veechu (steel whip) and Otrai Kambu Veechu (single stick rolling).

A round court on a 12 m by 12 m mat with three circles: a yellow centre circle (radius 2.5 ft) where the fight starts, a blue middle circle (radius 10 ft) and a red outer circle (radius 12 ft) called the warning. Only one foot may pass the outer circle; both feet out costs 2 marks, and a repeat is disqualification. The red corner is on the left and the blue on the right.

In the school games a fight has three rounds of 2 minutes with a rest of 1 minute after the first. The WSA uses two rounds of 2 minutes with a minute's rest, a third round of 2 minutes if tied, and then the Tani Tiramay marks to break a tie, with a 10-minute rest between a player's matches.

The ritual respect shown to the ring chairman, judges, referee and opponent before a bout, done in a left stance with the stick, touching the stick to the forehead and then the ground. The competitors then cross their sticks and the referee starts the bout by parting them.

In the school games every touch on the body, shoulder or ankle scores 1 point, and touches on the head, neck and face, from hip to mid-thigh, or from elbow to fingers are not scored. The WSA scores a gentle touch below the collarbone and above the belt and on the top of the arms, with the referee stopping play to call hit or no hit. Powerful hits are not admitted.

On points under the school games rules: five judges each give a score card of up to 20 points, the highest and lowest cards are removed, and the rest averaged. Under the WSA rules, if no point win has been scored, three of the five referees must support a decision, which may be for superior technique and spirit.

Power hits, going out of the court, hitting the head, neck, groin or other banned targets, disobeying the referee, cutting or punching wrongly, and outside coaching. The WSA also bars hitting with the hand, elbow or leg, punching, pushing, kicking, grabbing, hooking the opponent's neck, head or shoulders with the stick, hugging, attacking a downed opponent, and running away.

The official inside the court who starts, restarts and stops the event, judges inside the court, decides players' behaviour and shows the cards, and signals by whistle. A referee must have been a judge for five years.

Footwork. Beginners learn it first, as it drives the power of strikes and teaches advancing and retreating, and in the school games there is a Kaaladi Varisai (leg steps) section scored in the self-skill event.