Silambam Asia where silambam greatly influenced many fighting systems. The Indian community of the Malay Peninsula is known to have practiced silambam as far back as the period of Melaka's founding in the 15th century, and likely much earlier. The soldiers of Kings Puli Thevar, Dheeran Chinnamalai had Silambam army named "thadii pattalam", Veerapandiya Kattabomman and Maruthu Pandiyar (1760–1799) relied mainly on their Silambam prowess in their warfare against the British Army. Indian martial arts suffered a decline after the British colonists banned Silambam along with various other systems. They also introduced modern western military training which favoured fire-arms over traditional
Gatka official matches, the gatka is paired with a leather shield called a "pari". The fixed distance of sparring was introduced from British fencing during the colonial era. Points are scored for hitting or touching ("shu") the opponent with the stick, but hits to vital points are forbidden. Victory by touch is known as "shubaji". While "khel" gatka is today most commonly associated with Sikhs, it has always been used in the martial arts of other ethno-cultural groups. It is still practiced in India and Pakistan by the Tanoli and Gurjara communities. In Manipur, thang-ta practitioners refer to their own sword-practice