Martial Arts of India: Episode 4 - Thang-Ta (Manipur)

In this part of our series on the Martial Arts of India, we head to the north-east of India and learn about an ancient art form that spawns dual roles - just like the car (a Hyundai i20 N Line) we took there
By Girish Karkera
Manipur, one of the farthest states of India is nothing of short of a visual delight. As the airplane descended at the Imphal International airport, the fresh green landscape and water bodies studded with unique fauna kept us seated firmly, more than what the seat belts could manage. While every state of India has something unique to offer, Manipur is among the few that also has a martial art form to boast about.
To know more about this, we met N Jiban Singh. Born into a family of farmers in a small village of Tangkham on the outskirts of Imphal city, the 58-year-old is a Thang-Ta coach. An old but sturdy one-room cottage functions as the Eastern Thang-Ta Organisation’s school where many youngsters turn up to train practically every day. Being on the Eastern-most edge of India, sunset is a bit early here in terms of Indian Standard Time so the young Thang-Ta warriors assemble later in the afternoon and continue till early evening practicing their routine in their colourful attires.
It isn’t fancy - their clothes and their weapons. Thang-ta, also called Phunachei is actually a stick that during the olden times saved the locals from foreign invaders. While there are many theories on its origin, local folklore attributes three warriors to have started their own form of martial arts - one of them is said to have fought Britishers with it - that then merged to become Thang-Ta of today.
As in many martial art forms in India and around the world, a humble stick is what students start with. Some of them start pretty young. “We have students who are five years old and even 50,”says Jiban even as he watches the students practice the warm-up drill. The vast farms at the foothills of the mountains surrounding Imphal whip up a romantic picture cut sharply by the war cries of the senior-most student leading the drill.
"Young people these days have a lot of distractions," adds the coach."They are also very talented, but to channelise their energies they need discipline. That is something one learns through Thang-Ta - how to use your mind to control your body and how to make a decision in a split second. All those things are very important for young minds."
And discipline is paramount to master this art form simply because it uses some real weapons as students graduate. They also have to be precise with their body movements, which almost looks like a dance. Interestingly, over the years Thang-Ta has got many add-ons that go beyond the core self-defence agenda. This is one of the few art forms where there is rhythm to the fights too. Not surprisingly, lesser aggressive rituals and drills are now part of Thang-Ta and even accompanied with music.
Just like the sport toggles between two roles, we found the i20 N Line easily plays the dual role of an everyday city car and a hot-hatch kind of fun car that loves being shown the stick. Our drive to the home of Thang-Ta threw a mix of arrow-straight highways, curved hill roads and extremely crowded market streets. The car seemed ready for all, never breaking into a sweat as it smothered bad roads and reveled on hairpin bends to showcase its advantage as a sharper car in the hatchback pack.
Having an edge over the rest is what Thang-Ta preaches too. This also comes not by seeing the martial art form as something to fight and defend with but also to preserve the heritage of the land that is passed down from generations. “Several Thang-Ta routines were created just to be performed as religious rites. It takes efforts to take your culture into the future. That’s also one of the purposes of our school," says a proud Jiban as he stands next to his octogenarian and now retired coach who has also turned up to see his best disciple in action.
History has shaped Thang-Ta to its current form. It goes beyond being just a martial art form but one that also preserves the Manipuri culture and enriches the lives of its followers by making them disciplined, healthier and more aware of their surroundings. It won't be wrong to say that the i20 N Line has also been shaped by the history of Hyundai's years of efforts in acing the performance game. Its headquarters in Namyang has now given birth to quite a few N cars that speak the language of power and honed at the famed Nurburgring where they get tuned or rather disciplined, in Thang-Ta terms. The i20 N Line gives us a genuine glimpse of the evolution of the brand’s legacy.
So, we ask Jiban what would be a testament that Thang-Ta’s legacy survives? And he says: “If my future grandchild asks me ‘pupu (grandpa in Manipuri) what did you do when you were young?' And if I answer it by saying ‘I was a Thang-Ta teacher’, they shouldn’t be asking me what Thang-Ta is. That would mean my job is well done."

[@kvmeitei]

Besides Thang Ta, a Manipuri warrior on a Horse with Arambai (a weapon) was feared most by the Burmese .... The arrival of british and guns changed everything.... Othewise these military tactics and artforms were what
kept the chinese and burmese at bay even though Manipur was a smaller kingdom....

[@ushnishdas4596]

When will you come outside of your home land Manipur and open academies all over India?
Why are we learning exotic forms like karate etc, inspite of having such noble heritage and tradition?

[@ДмитрийЦарьков-м1п]

Привет из России благодарю за видео

[@thinktank4481]

Awasome contain about the thang ta....the beautiful martial art from Manipur India

[@manipurvlogkangleipak.4440]

Wow on seing this videos am very proud to be an manipuri.

[@shivanijastwal6844]

Not Manipuri an indian from Uttar pradesh

[@sacklunch.]

Feels good to know about hidden gems of our country

[@girishkarkera4482]

😀

[@victory_is_ours22]

I really llve this traditional form of martial arts called THANG TA which has been practiced since time immemorial. ❤❤

[@chonoake]

Beautiful documentary and martial art 🫀

[@sougrakpampipiksana9237]

Wow

[@binaph8300]

What a nice Video collection for Thang Ta 💝💝💝

[@tomjeff1743]

See Khilton Nongmaithem

[@coachtamil9442]

Wonderful

[@ankitanath7418]

Superb

[@DrHanjabamBarunSharma]

superb

[@yashwantanandgupta7636]

Plz highlight the subtitles … very difficult to read

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyx4075]

how can i learn it being in himachal

[@Konkonponponsonson]

I heard there are Thang-ta organizations even in Himachal too.

[@gracetantanga]

Eisu thang ta sanaba yam pamjei adubu eidi sanaba phngkhide 😔😔

[@frankrice9520]

Yeah Thang ta mixed with HYUNDAI 😒

[@Konkonponponsonson]

Car company?