Tahtib- Egypt’s Ancient Fighting Sport
By Lyric Ludwig / Arab America Contributing Writer
When most imagine armed fighting sports, it’s easy to imagine collegiate European fencing, Kendo and Japanese swordsmanship, and Filipino martial arts, which have all been in the public eye for decades. Imagine, for a moment, a martial art so ancient that it precedes most known systems of fighting by many thousands of years. The peoples of the great ancient Egyptian empire practiced such an art, known today as “Tahtib” (تحطيب) in Arabic. Tahtib is not only continually practiced by the people of the Middle East and North Africa to this very day, but it is seeing a revival across the globe, with not only Arabs, but everyone who appreciates Arab culture.
Tahtib has its origins in the bronze age, with the earliest evidence being art discovered from the second millennium BC, dating to Egypt’s Old Kingdom period. Within Egyptian society, stick fighting served many important societal functions. On one hand, stick fighting, practiced alongside wrestling was a way for young men to express themselves with a leisurely yet athletically challenging activity. Ancient Egyptians are also well known to have lived in a society where death and warfare were a fact of life. War itself was a very physically involved activity at this time, so fighting would have demanded immense physical fitness from young men who had to draw bows and wield a blade against the enemies of the great Pharaoh. To this end, stick fighting competitions and tournaments would give Egyptians not only a chance to exercise, but to demonstrate their skill and valor in a public venue. Nubians (inhabiting the kingdom of Kush) also practiced this art, proving the widespread nature of ancient Tahtib. In this video, martial artist Da’mon Smith explains the modern athletic and cultural applications of Egyptian fighting sport.
In the modern age, Tahtib has taken on a different angle, as a mixture of sport, dance and martial art. The video above represents the use of Tahtib from a martial and anthropological angle, examining the historical context and applications. Tahtib as a dance is famously performed in Egypt, where it is accompanied with music (much like gladiator fights of ancient Rome) and treated as a game where each opponent is a player. At weddings, two Tahtib dancers spin and strike with rattan sticks with incredible control and coordination, striking at each other to score points, as the video below demonstrates. Though it is practiced as a dance, events such as this still have a practical athletic aspect. The community is brought together as people of all ages gather to fight and spectate.
Tahtib is also gaining popularity in an official competitive function. In 2016, Tahtib gained recognition by UNESCO as a vital aspect of global heritage. Tahtib master ,Abel Boulad, continues to promote the revival and practice of the sport in Egypt, where women are free to participate in stick fighting. It is in this aspect that Tahtib begins to connect ancient Middle Eastern culture. Being from France and being a student of Japanese swordsmanship, Boulad has begun to codify much of Tahtib’s fluid movement into a system of “forms” or “katas”, like what is seen in many East Asian martial arts, creating a new dimension of appeal to the art. Currently, Boulad is promoting Tahtib all around the globe, from South America to Europe, with the hope that one day this important cultural legacy of the Middle East becomes an Olympic sport.
This video shows Tahtib in action during its 2017 debut tournament in Paris, since this one, there has been a tournament in Egypt as well. Overall, the legacy of this martial art can’t be understated. Tahtib has had an amazing journey through history, from military training for the Pharaoh’s army, to a traditional Arab sport and dance, to a competitive martial art that can be enjoyed by men and women around the world. With global enthusiasm growing, it is only a matter of time until Tahtib becomes an Olympic sport.
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