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6 • Touchline • Issue 17
f all the rare martial arts, Shaster Vidya must
rank as one of the least known. Until recently
it looked as though the ancient Indian combat
system would become extinct, such was its lack
of adherents.
But now, thanks to a few followers of the code, it is enjoying
a re-birth.
This martial art uses both weapons and punches, and unlike
many martial arts, is designed for larger scale skirmishes,
where warriors fight together. The weapons are specifically
designed for the art, with a range of swords, daggers and
sharpened rings used to maim and kill opponents.
Needless to say, over the past hundred years or so, no one has
been killed during a Shaster Vidya bout, but students of the art
are well aware of the danger of the sport.
Shaster Vidya has roots to ancient times. Indeed, a few experts
claim that martial arts actually began in ancient India and
subsequently spread throughout Asia. The nascent form to
the martial art was formalized and adopted by the Sikhs
of the Punjab some 400 years ago. As a religion competing
O
SHASTAR VIDYA
INDIA’S RESURGENT MARTIAL ART
BY TIMOTHY MOTTRAM
SPORT PROFILE: