Malla-yuddha such a wrestling match against a visiting champion in Singapore. Traditional Indian wrestling first began to decline in the north after the medieval Muslim invasions when influences from Persian wrestling were incorporated into native malla-yuddha. Under Mughal rule, courtly fashion favoured the Persianate pehlwani style. Traditional malla-yuddha remained popular in the south, however, and was particularly common in the Vijayanagara Empire. The 16th-century Jaina classic "Bharatesa Vaibhava" describes wrestlers challenging their opponents with grunts and traditional signs of patting the shoulders. Sculptures at Bhatkal depict wrestling matches, including female wrestlers. As part of his daily routine, the king Krishna Deva
Indian martial arts flexible sword. The Marathas developed their fighting style based on the state's hilly geography. [[Mardani khel]] today teaches armed techniques for use in single combat as well as defense against several opponents. Other weapons include the sword, shield, spear, dagger, kukri, double deer horns, and bow and arrow. The Manipuri art of "huyen lalong" was once practiced by the state's indigenous hill tribes who would engage in duels governed by strict rules of conduct. The armed component called [[thang-ta]] is named after the system's main weapons, the "thang" (sword) and "ta" (spear). Practitioners spar through "cheibi gatka" in which a