Silambam is the famous stick fight practiced in Tamil Nadu. It is also known as Kuchi Vilaiyattu and Kambu Vilaiyattu. It was originally practiced with bamboo sticks; later, steel swords and shields were used. Silambam Meaning The word ‘silam’ means hill and ‘bam’ means bamboo or ‘perambu’ out of which the staff (stick) is made. Silambam History The 3,000-year-old martial art, perhaps one of the oldest has evolved from being an art employed in warfare, combats, competitive sports, performance arts to being a fitness regime. Known as the pride of Tamil Nadu, Silambam was earlier used as self-defense by tribals and was eventually mastered by our ancestors to prove their vigour and masculinity. Like how Sage Patanjali is to yoga, Sage Agastya is to Silambam. We can find information about the martial art in palm leaf manuscripts under the topic Kambusoothram. Silambam was practiced predominantly during the period of Chola, Chera and Pandyas. Eventually, through Bodhi Dharma, the awarene