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WABUKAN Arsenal · Staffs and sticks · India

Silambam staff

The bamboo staff of Tamil silambam, spun in fast figure-of-eight patterns around the body.

Silambam staff
Silambam staff WABUKAN illustration

Also known as

சிலம்பம் · silambam; kambu

Origin and history

Silambam is the staff art of Tamil Nadu, with references in Tamil Sangam literature and a living tradition in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore. The name is also used for the staff itself.

Martial arts that use it

Silambam

Construction

A bamboo or hardwood staff about the height from the ground to the practitioner’s forehead (often around 1.5–1.7 m), sometimes with metal rings at the ends.

Basic techniques

Training

Stick and staff training starts with grips, stances and basic strikes and blocks practised in the air or on a target, then two-person drills at controlled speed. Many schools use rattan or padded sticks for sparring, with a helmet and gloves.

Safety

Wear a helmet with a face grille and padded gloves for any contact work; hands and fingers are the most common injuries. Check sticks for cracks and splinters and retire damaged ones.

Legality (general information)

Sticks, staffs and other impact or flexible weapons are ordinary objects in some countries and restricted weapons in others (several European countries, for example, regulate nunchaku, batons or weighted chains). Carrying one in public without a good reason can be an offence even where owning it is legal. Transport it in a bag and use it in the training hall. This is general information, not legal advice: check local law.

Did you know?

Footwork (kaaladi) is considered the root of the art: students may spend a long time on foot patterns before using the staff freely.

More weapons

Knobkerrie / induku Asa (tahtib stick) Lathi Gatka soti and farri Quarterstaff Varapau

Sources

Original WABUKAN text, written from these cross-checked sources (facts, not sentences).

  1. Wikipedia — Silambam