Silambam Double Black Belt Holder Wants All Women To Know Martial Arts

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Durga Devi Thamoodran was bestowed a second black belt at a special graduation ceremony - 16th Arangetra Vizha - held by Persatuan Kesenian Adithada Silambam on March 25.
A lifelong exponent, she firmly believes that all women should learn martial arts for self-defence.
This young lady who works for a tech company took up silambam when she was five years old. Her father - a silambam grandmaster - had taught her and her younger brother to master this ancient Indian martial art.
Durga previously won two gold medals at the 2013 Second International Asian Silambam Championship. Over the years she has been busy helping her father coach students and she also recently graduated with a degree in political science from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas).
The 25-year-old received her first black belt in 2017.
Silambam is a weapons-based martial art which originated in India’s Tamil Nadu and records show that it was practised as far back as the 10th century.
While bamboo staffs are often used as a weapon of choice, other weapons include the maru (deer horns), or the surul khathi (a flexible sword). Essentially exponents are taught how to use anything they can get their hands on as a weapon.
Durga recalled how she and her brother would follow their father who gave silambam demonstrations across the country. This made them curious to take it on themselves.
When asked what she plans to do with her double achievement, Durga said, “I want to be a silambam coach and train my students.”
Three of the 22 people who got their black belt at the 16th Arangetra Vizha were trained by Durga, who has been assisting her father in coaching for years.
She now wants to be a coach in her own right and recommends age five as the minimum age for training.
“Because at this age they can understand instructions and what they are doing. But there's no age restriction; if you want to learn at age 50 or 60, it is still possible," she told Malaysiakini.
Martial arts a critical tool
Durga urges all to learn martial arts as self-defence is a need.
“There is so much crime everywhere and most of the time people do not know how to defend themselves when they are attacked.
"Martial arts can help us in case we are attacked.
“As women, we always carry an umbrella with us and we also carry a bag all the time. We can use these as weapons to defend ourselves. We can attack them (the attackers) and defend ourselves from them," she added.
Most of those who seek her out to teach them are women.
“Especially housewives. Some students are foreigners from India who are working here.”
In Tamil cinema, silambam was made popular by the late actor Jai Shankar and also Rajnikanth who often took on 20 men in an attack. Though what is depicted in films is over the top, Durga said it makes people curious about this defence art form.
“When they watch it, they will wonder if this is real, and they will try to find out more about it. I think movies are another platform that can help us to promote silambam," she said.
Durga looks like your girl next door and naturally, people are surprised to learn that she is a double black belt holder.
“I remember a boy saying are you for real? Is this true?” she said, adding that unless someone sees her practising silambam they find it hard to believe she is an expert.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, she and her father started training people online.
“It's quite hard when we know that we cannot train anyone physically, but we took it as an opportunity to teach them online."
Durga said there are different levels of training ranging from those who just want to learn self-defence and those who want to earn their black belt. She has also helped her father train children, so she knows how best to provide her students with the kind of training they need.
“I plan to become a full-time master in the future. I have received a lot of emails, especially from housewives. When I see these, I feel like I need to help them.
“I want to help these people to know silambam and understand it better," she added. - Mkini

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