Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

is home to various traditional martial arts of which

Boli Khela Boli Khela or Bali Khela ( bn, বলীখেলা) is a traditional form of wrestling in Bangladesh, particularly popular in the Chittagong area considered as a national game of the district. It is a form of combat sport involving grappling ...

and

Lathi Khela Lathi khela ( bn, লাঠি খেলা) is a traditional Bengali martial art – a kind of stick fighting practised India and Bangladesh. A practitioner is known as a ''lathial''. Etymology The word ''lathi'' is the Bengali word meaning s ...

are popular and historically significant. Other martial arts are mainly hybrids.

History

The genesis of Bangladeshi martial arts has been attributed to the need for protect villagers for

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

. During British period, lathial groups were sent to forcibly collect taxes from villagers. The farmers and youth people also made their lathial group to defend the zamindars lathial group. In the char (shoal) lands, people still take possession of chars through stick fights.

Butthan

Butthan is a Bangladeshi martial art and an approved combat sport included by the National Sports Council (NSC) under Ministry of Youth & Sports, Bangladesh. Butthan was founded by Superhuman Mak Yuree Vajramunee. It is a system of self-defense and personal development rooted in South Asian heritage. As a combat sport, the martial art is practiced in different parts of the world under the International Butthan Federation. It aims to transform the human body through balance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual spheres and thereby attaining self-mastery and beyond. Butthan characterizes 'Co-competition' system to depict the non-aggressive, cooperation-based path of empowerment.

Lathi Khela

Lathi khela is a traditional martial art of Bangladesh that emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks and other weapons. Lathi made by bamboo and other materials. Lathi khela teaches self-defense with sticks. One who specialized himself in wielding lathi and who lived on the martial art came to be known as lathial.Lathial
''

Banglapedia ''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The f ...

''. The Lathial Bahini (group of lathials) performed various acts on the Eid or Puja occasion. Lathi Khela have a remarkable history but the popularity is on the wane now.

Boli Khela

Boli Khela is a traditional form of

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

which includes

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling ...

-type techniques such as

clinch fighting Clinch fighting is the part of stand-up fighting where the combatants are grappling in a clinch, typically using clinch holds. Clinching the opponent can be used to eliminate the opponent's effective usage of some kicks, punches, and melee we ...

, throws and takedowns,

joint locks A joint lock is a grappling technique involving manipulation of an opponent's joints in such a way that the joints reach their maximal degree of motion and hyperextension. In judō these are referred to as, 関節技 ''kansetsu-waza'', "joint lo ...

, pins and other

grappling holds A grappling hold, commonly referred to simply as a hold that in Japanese language, Japanese is referred to as ''katame-waza'' ( "grappling technique"), is any specific grappling, wrestling, judo, or other martial art grip that is applied to an ...

. Abdul Jabbar who was a renowned businessman in Chittagong introduced the wrestling competition in the year 1899 to organize the youths against the British rule. Since then the event has been organized every year in Lal Dighi Moidan at Chittagong. Every year new participants get a chance to participate in this traditional wrestling. Wrestlers of all ages visit Lal Dighi Moidan to participate in the game. Fans of many countries come here to see Boli Khela.

References

{{Martial arts Sport in Bangladesh South Asian martial arts