Zulu Stick Fighting, Kalinda, and Kali in Austin, TX

[Raposamandinga]

"You gonna get your knuckles smacked"- "That keeps you humble" good point. I think the african slaves, from Angola and Congo, in Brasil had developed a similiar style which is nowdays extinct. Good vid. P.S. I APOLOGIZE to SANTOURE, I pressed the negative button instead of the positive one in your comment, I'M SORRY.

[santoure]

The two stick Kalinda is known as Kalinda Dé Baton [French Creole for two stick Kalinda] this form of Kalinda is disappearing from the island and it is now only known to the oldest batonyè warriors. In the old days a youth willing to learn Kalinda would visit a La Court [yard] were her would be taught by a Mèt [master] all of these tradition have been fading from the culture of Afro-Trins but along with a revival of the French Creole language of Afro-Trinis came a revival in our martial art.

[santoure]

in the Kalinda martial art, a stick fighter is known as a batonyè. It is said by Trinidadian anthropologists that the Kalinda came to Trinidad through slaves arriving from Angola, in Trinidad the slaves used Kalinda as a form of self defense and also as a highly effective method of intimidation for their French, Spanish and English masters.

[santoure]

The song in the background is called pwizonyè lévé [prisoners arise!] it is about an old Trinidadian slaver who was the terror of the slave, his name was Congo Bara.

chorus

pwizonyè lévé mété limyè bay kongo Bawa li sé léwa!

[Prisioners arise and put a light [prayer] for congo bara he is the king!

[santoure]

In Trinidad where this martial art comes from it is not called stick licking, it is known as Kalinda or Bwa Batay [French Creole for stick fight'] a jump is called janbé a block is called bloké. defensive movements are called kawé [squaring] they are meant to make your opponent look stupid. A "busted head'' is called pété tèt. The arenas where these battles take place are known as gayèl [guy+elle] want to know more? just ask.

[xenopoet]

Thanks for the info. We know it's called Kalinda, just to clarify, Amy Hadley calls it by name in the video above. We would love any info that you have on the subject and thank you for taking the time to add what you've already added to our on going discussion. Seriously, thank you.

[amandablogger]

@santoure Trinidad is not the only country in which this art is practiced and it is called stick-licking elsewhere for example in Barbados.

[Liberate006A]

Very similiar to Philipino stickfighting. Did these 2 peoples meet each other in the historical past?? There is a region called negros occidental in the Philipines. Something to think about I guess!

[carbonlaminate]

@Liberate006A No. Most everyone has boxing and wrestling in their culture. There are only so many ways you can run, throw, punch, kick, swing a stick; so it isn't surprising that some African martial arts resemble Asian arts.

[WarriorBlackBanner]

i guess the double sticks are the zulu aspect of his stick fighting art, but the single stick looks like trinidad stick fighting for sure.

[xenopoet]

You are correct!

[WarriorBlackBanner]

god willing, one day i would love to learn the trinidad stick fighting. my dad told me in the old day the fights use to be fully contact.

[zuluboogieno1]

where can i learn zulu stick fighting, note im not in south africa lol.

[streetkunedo]

Justinkennethmail, good information and I agree with what you say. I know I have studied stick forms in SA.

You are also spot in that the moorish saber forms influenced not just spanish sword (la destreza) but also its knife forms.

[bigjheazy]

cool vid check out kemetian fighting

[bigjheazy]

pretty cool vid. you should also check out a video here on youtube called kemetian fighting

[fyzo79]

Kalinda is still practiced in Trinidad today and there are yearly competitions around carnival time. The rules for the legal competition have been toned down to avoid serious injury, so you can only bust the opponents head once. Like all African martial arts Kalinda is accompanied by music singing and dance (and no it was not disguised as a dance to hide its martial aspects)

[justinkennethmail]

this is not zulu based. the afro carribean arts are based on west african forms from Angola and Ghana not from the Zulu land of South Africa. This form is also influenced by portugese and spanish sword fighting. But zulu and angola = two totally different ethnic groups with different languages and customs. American blacks believe that all Africans are one group, when they are actually hundreds and thousands of distinct tribes, many of whom hate each other.

[xenopoet]

We are well aware of this. Thank you for your observation and information. We american blacks do not believe that are africans are one group. The statement that you made generalizes us the same way you believe WE generalize native africans.

[nomadicstar]

Thank you for your observation. We never stated that the two were the same. We were merely showcasing the two. The actual interview focused on Kalenda/Konba Baton but during the showing we also demostrated the Zulu based stickfighting. I understand how that can be confusing but we never equated the two. As a matter of fact the video title states very clearly that we are showing three distinct forms of stick fighting.

[nomadicstar]

As far as the carribean arts are concerned I know that it is generally accepted that the major contributor to the martial,spiritual, cultral heritage comes from the area that corresponds with modern Angola but let's not forget that there were groups that could have influenced the development of these arts as well.

[nomadicstar]

Perhaps the influence starts even before these groups even left the continent. There are a number of people on the continent that practice a form of stick fighting that were not part of the two groups you named but were victims of the slave of trade and contributed cultrally to the identity of the Diaspora.

[nomadicstar]

What evidence do you have for a Iberian influence on Kalenda? I have never heard that before but I guess that that isn't impossible. It just seems like an old argument used explain away Indigeous creativity.

[justinkennethmail]

It was a mutual influence. The Portugese form of Jogo de Pao was brought by rural settlers to Mozambique and Angola. Furthermore, the Spanish and Portugese sword forms of the colonial soldiers made a great impression on West African stick forms. Contrast this with Zulu forms which are based on the use of the asagei, as opposed to a sword. This is also the case in the Fillipines where escrima was influenced by Spanish sword forms.

[nomadicstar]

From my understanding zulu stickfighting is based neither on the sword nor the spear but on the mace since stabbing is not allowed.

I would still like to see more substantial proof that the Spanish and Portuguese settlers influence the stick fighting of West and Central Africa.

[justinkennethmail]

The zulu forms teach the catching and parrying used to pull the sheild and spear aside to expose the body for a spear thrust. The techniques of the knobkerrie (mace) are shown in the esowango stick forms which use a single mid length stick.

[nomadicstar]

From my exposure to the art (which is limited) I have only encountered it with nduku and thrusting being against the etiquette. I understand that that was the cornerstone of Chaka's close quarter combat but it seems that that would be fairly recent.

[razorSE15]

justinkenneth has NOOO evidence. To add to this discussion, the Portuguese stick fighting style was influences by Southern Indians. African fithing styles came from being able to combine techniques over the years. WITHOUT FOREGN INFULENCES.

[333vasco]

i'm portuguese and I never heard of a portuguese stick fighting. There is a dance in a small mountain village (mirandela) in which sticks are used, but it's not a fight. And we've already abducted africans for profit many years before Vasco da Gama reached India by sea. (But we were also one of the firsts to criminalize slavery).

[nomadicstar]

East Africa has a tradition of stickfighting long before the arrival of the Portuguese. Isn't easier to assume that there were already preexisting forms in practice.

By your same logic we could assume that Iberian combative culture was borrowed from the Moors who controlled Spain for 700 yrs.

[justinkennethmail]

Yes, Iberian sword forms are influenced by Moorish (actually Berber sabre forms).

[nomadicstar]

Perhaps they were but how did you come to your conclusion?

[nomadicstar]

American Blacks do view Africa as one because that is the reality of our situation. Our Ancestors came from several ethnic groups it makes sense that we would revere the continent as a whole. At the same time we are quite aware that Africa is perhaps one of the most diverse places on earth yet despite the different languages, cultures, idealogies, histories ect the truth of the matter is that Africa's past and its future rest firmly on its unity not its division.

[justinkennethmail]

I agree that unity is essential for progress on the continent, but the historical and biological reality is that Africa has always been a divided place, even before the arrival of the European.  The political history and fragmentation in the past two decades alone shows that unity is a hard sell when tribal affiliations run deep.

[nomadicstar]

I wonder if the lack of unity is because of biology or politics?

[holyknight70]

Only time I viewed africa as one is win I was little and knew nothing of history, any American blacks past the age of at least 13 that view africa as one is niave to there ancestrial home land.

[nomadicstar]

That was the tool of the slavemaster and colonial government, play on our differences... divide and conquer.

Anyways, sorry for the tirade but thank you again for your comment and for adding clarity to the situation.

[justinkennethmail]

Yes, the colonial master tried to play up differences, but this was occuring hundreds of years before white men set foot in Africa. Just as the white men killed one another: Angle against Norman, Roman against Celt, a sad but common fact of human history.

[nomadicstar]

This is true but what is happening in Africa is a direct result of colonialism. Africans have fought Africans since the dawn of time but there were no genocides...(That I know of)I am not saying that we are immune from violence but there is a difference between a war fought for existential purposes a one that is rooted in our hatred of ourselves. A hatred that was forced upon us by the colonial powers.

[justinkennethmail]

Yes there were genocides which are begining to be uncovered with modern archeological processes. Some in my country regard the Zulu unification as a genocide of non Zulu tribes. The empires of Mali also systematically eliminated rival tribes. These wars were rooted in a sense of ethnic/linguistic difference.

[nomadicstar]

I wouldn't call the Zulu unification a genocide anymore than I would refer to Genghis Khan's unification of the Mongol people a genocide. Neighbor tribes were conquered and absorbed some groups may have gone into extinction due to death or adoption but there's a difference.

[shango1963]

@justinkennethmail

...Greeks are never just Greeks when someone is talking about Greco-Roman civilization, but white/Western/European, even though they hated the Germanic peoples they considered beneath them technologically speaking. Africans are to be looked at in the same light as one looks at Whites or Asians.

[xanxiscool]

can anyone give me some help. i have to get info on th Kalinda. Please help me

[xanxiscool]

I need to do a presentation on Calinda (Kalinda, Calenda) for school. Please i need some info!

[JasonHeriford]

I teach Kali-Silat in Austin, Tx. Let's get together and share!

[streetkunedo]

Hey where is there more information about the Kalenda.  I'd like to learn more about studying it.

[poetre]

when did they do this interview?

[BareseMaledetto]

beautiful. Such a flow of movements. I wish there were instructors here in the noth-east who didn't mind teaching whites.

Best of luck to both instructors and students :)

[steeloavenger]

eeeaaahhh profesor DA RUAAAA!!!!