The Indian subcontinent is home to a variety of fighting styles. They are collectively referred to in Sanskrit as dhanurveda (from dhanus and veda meaning bow and knowledge respectively) which is the term for the "science of archery" in Puranic literature, later applied to martial arts in general.[1] The Vishnu Purana text describes dhanurveda as one of the traditional eighteen branches of knowledge.[2]
Fighting arts from the Indian subcontinent are diverse in nature and vary according to region and time of origin but they can roughly be divided into northern and southern systems. For example, a number of ancient martial arts came from North India some of them include gatka, thang-ta and kabadi. South India had many forms of martial arts as well. Dravidian martial arts were developed in South India including Kuttu Varisai (empty hand combat) and Varma Kalai (the art of vital points) in Tamil Nadu, as well as kalaripayat (way of the arena) and adithada (attack and defend) in Kerala.[3] Wrestling is practiced throughout the Indian subcontinent and is called mallayuddha in the north and malyutham in the south. Some of the older traditions include the organised martial systems practiced by the kshatriya warrior caste of Hinduism. These systems include armed and unarmed combat, and aspects such as meditation and mental conditioning.Another popular Indian martial art is Gatka which is martial art form of Sikhs. Gatka was highly effective against mughals and other foreign invaders. Gatka helped sikhs to gain control of Punjab
The importance of martial arts in Indian culture is visible in the many ancient temples which have statues of deities and warriors in various combat postures. The theories behind yoga, ayurveda and tantra, such as kundalini (coiled energy), prana (life energy), nadi (meridians), chakra (energy points) and marmam (pressure points), are also present in Indian fighting systems
