Malla-yuddha

Malla-yuddha

5th-century terracotta sculpture of wrestlers from Uttar Pradesh
Focus	Grappling
Country of origin	India Pakistan Bangladesh Sri Lanka Nepal
Famous practitioners	Siddhartha Gautama Narasimhavarman Krishna Deva Raya Deva Raya II
Descendant arts	Pehlwani Naban
Olympic sport	No
Meaning	Grappling-combat

Malla-yuddha (Devanagari: मल्लयुद्ध,Bengali: মল্লযুদ্ধ, Odia: ମଲ୍ଲ ଯୁଦ୍ଧ, Kannada: ಮಲ್ಲಯುದ್ಧ, Telugu: మల్ల యుద్ధం malla-yuddhaṁ, Tamil: மல்யுத்தம் malyutham, Thai: มัลละยุทธ์ mạllayutṭh̒) is the traditional South Asian form of combat-wrestling created in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles such as naban and is the ancestor of kusti.

Malla-yuddha incorporates grappling, joint-breaking, punching, biting, choking and pressure point striking. Matches were traditionally codified into four types which progressed from purely sportive contests of strength to actual full-contact fights known as yuddha. Due to the extreme violence, this final form is generally no longer practised. The second form, wherein the wrestlers attempt to lift each other off the ground for three seconds, still exists in south India. Additionally, malla-yuddha is divided into four styles, each named after Hindu gods and legendary fighters: Hanumanti concentrates on technical superiority, Jambuvanti uses locks and holds to force the opponent into submission, Jarasandhi concentrates on breaking the limbs and joints while Bhimaseni focuses on sheer strength.