Talk:Outdoor Sports:Malkhamba
By Vishal Agarwal and The Hindu Society of Minnesota
To enable lay Hindus to become strong physically and defeat the imperial military Mughal armies, two exercise routines were developed that exist even today. The first was Mallakhamba, an acrobatic sport that is thousands of years old. The name Mallakhamba derives from the terms malla, meaning wrestler, and khamb, which means a pole. Literally meaning "wrestling pole", the term refers to a traditional training implement used by wrestlers.
Mallakhamba, or mallakhamb, is a traditional sport, originating from the Indian subcontinent, in which a group of gymnasts perform aerial yog and gymnastic postures using wrestling grips in concert with a stationary vertical pole. The word mallakhamb also refers to the pole used in the sport. The pole is usually made from śiśam (Indian rosewood) polished with castor oil. Other popular versions of mallakhamb are practiced using a cane or a rope instead of a pole. The origins of pole dancing can be traced back to the sport of mallakhamb.
