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2021-03-04T16:10:33Z

History

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{{Infobox martial art
| logo =
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| image =
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| name = Musti-Yuddha
| aka =
| meaning = Fist combat, Fist fighting
| focus = [[Strike (attack)|Striking]]
| hardness = [[Full-contact]]
| country = {{flagicon|India}} [[India]]
| creator =
| parenthood =
| descendant arts = [[Lethwei]] [[Tomoi]] [[Muay Boran]] [[Muay Lao]] [[Pradal Serey]] [[Muay Thai]]
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| olympic = No
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}}
'''Musti-Yuddha'''<ref name="Musti Yuddha: A Reflection">{{cite web|title=Musti Yuddha: A Reflection|url=https://www.swadesi.com/news/musti-yuddha-a-reflection/}}</ref> ([[Sanskrit]] and {{lang-hi|मुष्टि युद्ध}}; {{lang-ur|{{nq|مُشٹی یُدّھاَ}}}}) is a traditional [[combat sport]] originating from the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Comprehensive Asian Fighting Arts |author=[[Donn F. Draeger]] and [[Robert W. Smith (writer)|Robert W. Smith]] |publisher=Kodansha International |date=1980 |isbn=978-0-87011-436-6}}</ref> The term literally means "fist combat", from the [[Sanskrit]] words ''muṣṭi'' (fist) and ''yuddha'' (fight, battle, conflict). While this would originally have been used as a general term for any boxing art, today it usually refers to muki boxing from [[Varanasi]], the only surviving unarmed style. In the [[Punjab]] there still exists an armed form of boxing called ''loh-musti'' in which the fighters wear an iron ring on one hand, although it is no longer used for sparring.

Aspiring fighters undergo years of apprenticeship, toughening their fists against stone and other hard surfaces, until they are able to break [[coconut]]s and rocks with their bare hands. Any part of the body may be targeted, except the groin, but the prime targets are the head and chest. Techniques incorporate [[Punch (combat)|punch]]es, [[kick]]s, [[Elbow (strike)|elbow]]s, [[Knee (strike)|knee]]s and grabs. Boxers wear no form of protection and fight bare-fisted. Matches may be one-on-one, one against a group, or group against group. Victory can be attained by knockout, ringout or submission.

The martial art is related to other forms of martial arts found in other parts of the [[Greater India|Indian cultural sphere]] including [[Muay Thai]] in Thailand, [[Muay Lao]] in Laos, [[Pradal Serey]] in Cambodia and [[Lethwei]] in Myanmar.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/?id=vb29ngEACAAJ |title = Combat Sports: Boxing, Taekwondo, Judo, Fencing, Sumo, Kendo, Grappling, Kickboxing, Savate, Boxing Training, Paralympic Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mi|isbn = 9781230563480|last1 = Wikipedia|first1 = Source|date = September 2013}}</ref>

==History==
Various types of boxing existed in [[ancient India]]. The earliest references to musti-yuddha come from [[Indian epic poetry|classical Vedic epics]] such as the ''[[Ramayana]]'' and ''[[Rig Veda]]''. The ''[[Mahabharata]]'' describes two combatants boxing with clenched fists and fighting with [[kick]]s, finger strikes, [[knee strike]]s and [[headbutt]]s.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04013.htm Section XIII: ''Samayapalana Parva''], Book 4: ''Virata Parva'', ''[[Mahabharata]]''.</ref> Duels (''niyuddham'') were often fought to the death.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} During the period of the [[Western Satraps]], the ruler [[Rudradaman]] - in addition to being well-versed in "the great sciences" which included [[Indian classical music]], [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit grammar]], and logic - was said to be an excellent horseman, charioteer, elephant rider, swordsman and boxer.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Keay |author-link=John Keay |year=2000 |title=India: A History |publisher=HarperCollins |page=131 |isbn=0-00-255717-7 |quote=[Rudradaman] was also a fine swordsman and boxer, and excellent horseman, charioteer and elephant-rider ... and far-famed for his knowledge of grammar, music, logic and 'other great sciences'.}}</ref> The ''Gurbilas Shemi'', an 18th-century Sikh text, gives numerous references to musti-yuddha.

The French General Allard commented on the boxing practiced by the early 19th-century Lahore army that "Duelling is not known in the army of Ranjit Singh. The soldiers settle their disputes with their fists; a brutal, and equally un-Christian, method of adjusting differences."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Parker|first=John William|title=Runjeet Singh, Chief of Lahore| journal=The Saturday Magazine|volume=12|page=248|year=1838}}</ref> The particular form of boxing he referred to was loh-musti, practiced primarily in the northwest.

The British colonial introduction of western [[boxing]] in the 1890s caused a decline in native musti-yuddha, until only muki boxing survived in [[Varanasi]]. A city considered holy to [[Hindu]]s, Varanasi has a tradition of annual boxing festivals dating back more than 300 years. Injuries were frequent and often severe. The colonial government once attempted to ban musti-yuddha from its last refuge, but the one-on-one matches were revived by a European police commissioner. The most famous post-independence fighters include Narayanguru Balambhat Deodhar and Lakshmanguru Balambhat Deodhar, both of whom were said to have been able to defeat 12 men at once. Musti-yuddha has become increasingly rare over time and by the 1960s was already being pushed further underground. Illegal matches are still held in [[Kolkata]] today and are frequented by gamblers.

==See also==
* [[Malla-yuddha]]
* [[Vajra-mushti]]

==References==
<references />

{{Indian martial arts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musti Yuddha}}
[[Category:Indian martial arts]]
[[Category:Pakistani martial arts]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi martial arts]]
[[Category:Sports originating in South Asia]]

Musti-yuddha - Revision history

imported>Baal Nautes: /* History */