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No. 17896
Googling 'obscure martial arts' brought this up:
Tahtib
Disciplined training is all well and good, but sometimes you just want to grab a stick and beat the living hell out of your opponent. That’s the basic idea behind tahtib, a form mostly practiced in the northern region of Egypt.
The full name of the art is “fann el nazaha wal tahtib,” which roughly translates to “the art of uprightness and honesty through the use of a stick.” Depictions of tahtib gestures have been found in tombs dating back to the second millennium BC, when Ancient Egyptians used it as both a dance form and a way of training for the military.
In tahtib’s traditional form, one person strikes at an opponent’s head while the opponent defends, switching roles after each turn. What it may lack in grace or subtlety, tahtib makes up for in entertainment value, as it is often practiced to bass drum and pipe music. At times, tahtib is a performance, but the severity and seriousness of the head strikes often escalate as the action does.
Kalaripayattu
Dating back about three millennia, the Indian practice of kalaripayattu may be the oldest martial art in the world. Kalaripayattu is traditionally taught in a kalari–Tamil for “battlefield”–a 21-by-42-foot enclosure with an East-facing entrance and a seven-tiered platform, called a poothara, in the southwest corner. The poothara’s tiers represent the seven virtues anyone who practices kalaripayattu requires: strength, patience, commanding power, posture, training, expression, and sound.
Beginners in kalaripayattu start with lessons on stance, stretching, conditioning, and basic hand and leg movements. The focus then shifts to core strength, along with acrobatic moves such as flips and kicks. Students then progress to using small weapons such as the cheruvadi, or a short stick, and the gada, a type of mace.
After mastering these, students move on to fighting with a sword and shield, then into bare-handed combat. They must also be able to identify the 64 kula marmas, or deadly spots, on the human body.
Kalaripayattu has a close association with the ayurveda-based kalari treatment system, originally developed to help trainees recover from sprains, cuts, fractures, and other common battle wounds.
Glíma is the Icelandic national style of folk wrestling.
Muki Boxing
Bare knuckle boxing from northern India.
Kutti Varisai
Tamil empty-handed art similar, but older, than karate.
Naban
Burmese folk wrestling art that seems to be the bridge between Indian and Chinese martial arts.
Cornish Wrestling
Similar to judo but developed independently in Europe during the 15th century.
Stav
Norwegian martial art similar to taijiquan supposedly developed in the 6th century.
Egyptian Stick Fighting
Supposedly can trace its roots back to the ancient Egyptians.
Nuba Fighting
From Sudan. Blends stick fighting and wrestling. Neither pinning or submissions are allowed.
Yagh Gures
Turkish oil wrestling. Yes, that's right. Oil wrestling.
Mani Stick Fighting
Native to Cuba, but derived from Africa. Allegedly, Spanish slave owners would watch their slaves beat each other to death doing it.
Also check out Zulu and Filipino Stick fighting...
Important Note: Anon makes no claims as to effectiveness of any listed martial art.
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