The fiercest warriors Alexandra the Great faced in all his campaigns were up against Hindu mace warriors

Looking for a new workout? How about one that was used by Hindu warriors over 2,000 years ago and still used by Pehlwani wrestlers today?

The gada, or heavy mace, was the weapon of choice of Hindu soldiers as well as the Hindu deity Hanuman, an who can lift mountains with a single hand. According to the book Encyclopedia of Indian Physical Culture, warriors during the Puranic age would engage in mace training early in the morning along with wrestling, archery, and swordsmanship. Besides dueling one another with gadas, warriors would swing heavier versions — usually made with a bamboo stick with a heavy stone at one end — behind their backs in order to strengthen their backs, chests, shoulders, forearms, and fingers. Because of their rigorous physical and tactical training, Hindu warriors were some of the fiercest of the ancient world.

Today, the gada is used primarily by Pehlwani wrestlers in northern India and southern Pakistan. The most famous gada afficionado was the Great Gama ), the only undefeated Pehlwani wrestler in history. By the looks of it, his mustache also trained with a gada. That thing is a beast!

While the Indian Club enjoyed popular use among Western exercise enthusiasts as early as the 19th century, gada training for some reason didn’t catch on until very recently. Mixed martial artists in the West have taken up heavy mace training as a way to strengthen the muscles involved with throwing opponents to the mat. Functional fitness and natural movement practitioners have also taken to mace training because it provides such an amazing full-body workout.

If you’re ready to harness your inner Hindu warrior, read on. Below, Mr. Know Your Lifts showcases six different exercises that you can perform with a heavy mace.

Mace Grip Basics

mace workout how to grip basics

To make an exercise harder, grip both hands near the end of the handle. To make exercises easier, move at least one hand closer to the weighted end.

360

The 360 has been used by Hindu warriors and Pehlwani wrestlers for ages. It works the shoulders, chest, back, and forearms. Begin by holding the mace directly in front of you with your hands gripped closely together at the end of the handle. If your left hand is above your right hand, you’re going to push the mace ball over your right shoulder. The mace ball should swing behind your back. When it reaches your left shoulder, pull the mace over your left shoulder so that the mace is once again directly in front of you. Repeat several times. Switch up your hands so that your right hand is above your left, and push the mace ball over your left shoulder. Repeat swinging the mace in this direction several times.

To see this exercise in action, check out this video of Diesel Crew’s Jedd Johnson performing the 360.

Barbarian Squat

The Barbarian Squat is a great full-body exercise. You’re working your upper as well as your lower body in a single movement. Begin in a standing position with the mace behind your neck. Start lowering your body into a squatting position while simultaneously bringing the mace to the front. You’ve successfully completed the exercise if you’re in a full squat and the mace is in front of you. Return to your starting position by standing while simultaneously bringing the mace back to its original position. Repeat.

Dynamic Curl

The Dynamic Curl works the forearms and biceps.

Hold the mace with a mixed grip — one hand overhand and one underhand — with the hand near the mace ball-end holding the handle with an underhand grip. Lift the ball end with the hand closest to the mace ball. When the ball reaches the middle of the arc, switch your hands up by sliding the hand that was near the ball down towards the end of the handle and bringing the hand that was near the handle up closer to the ball end. When you’ve finished, the ball end should be on your other side and your mixed grip should be reversed — the hand that was originally overhand should be underhand; the hand that was originally underhand should now be overhand. Swing the mace back and forth like this for several repetitions.

Spear Stab

Hold the mace like you would a spear. Thrust as if you were an ancient Pauravaian warrior stabbing an a member of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army in the Battle of the Hydaspes River. The closer both hands are to the handle, the more difficult this exercise will be. Switch up your hands and your stance to work the other side of your body.

Grave Digger

It’s time to bury all those imaginary Macedonian soldiers you just killed. Hold the mace like you would a shovel and pretend like you’re digging a hole in the ground with the mace ball. Repeat for several repetitions. Switch up your hands to work the other side of your body.

Splitting Wood

You’ll need a tire for this one. Just pretend like you’re splitting wood like a lumberjack. Start off with your non-dominant hand near the butt of the handle and your dominant hand placed near the mace’s head. Bring the mace head above your head. Swing down. As you swing, slide your dominant hand down the shaft of the mace for extra power. Switch up your hand placement to work the different sides of your body. Art of Manliness

Illustrations by Ted Slampyak
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/04/23/train-like-an-ancient-hindu-warrior-the-steel-mace-workout/

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Training at Suria Akhara

This video is a collection of training footage recorded at Suria Akhara, Varanasi, India.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone Training at Suria Akhara for allowing me to record this video footage during your training. Most of the video was recorded early in the morning, the temperature on the day was between 28 and 30 degrees celsius, with very high humidity at around 80%, in other words, stinking hot.

Suria Akhara – Varanasi – India

The visit to Suria Akhara started as a passenger on the back of a motorbike, weaving through the tiny streets and alleyways of Varanasi. On arrival we had to squeeze past a cow tethered to a wall before walking through the gates, I have to say that I would have never have found this place without the local knowledge of my guide Prakash Sahani who had arranged for the members of Suria Akhara to put on a display of traditional exercises.

Nagota

All the members of the akhara were dressed in the traditional cotton nagota, the colour predominately red in honour of the God of strength Hanuman. It has to be said that some previous visitors have laughed on seeing the nagota, which is to my mind very disrespectful considering that this is the customary and traditional dress code inside the confines of the akhara. It goes without saying that it is also customary to remove your shoes on entry, luckily Prakash had warned me and I arrived wearing sandals that could be removed easily. The beaten earth inside the akhara has a very nice feel to it.

Training

The training was already in progress as we arrived, so on asking Prakash to take photographs I switched my video camera on and began filming. The workouts consisted of gada, hand nal, head nal, dumbbells and jodi clubs. Followed by a display of body weight exercises. Finally I had a quick tour around the buildings a was shown the ceremonial jori clubs that are used during jori competitions and festivals.

Best Training Footage

The following videos contain some of the best training footage I recorded in Varanasi, and has inspired me to return next year for the Cobra festival, which features the swinging of the ceremonial jori clubs mentioned earlier. Although I am not a wrestler I do train with clubs and gada mace, and found the events on this day awe inspiring.

This video is about my visit to Suria Akhara in Varanasi. It starts with a quick motorbike drive to the location, which would have been difficult to find without local knowledge. You will see gada-mace swinging, both one and two-handed. Dumbells, heavy Jori Clubs, hand and neck Nal and a selection of traditional body weight exercises.

Highlights from a Dumbell and Gada Competition held during the Gandhi Festival in Varanasi.
The Dumbells are swung in an alternate motion across the front of the body, the arm has to straighten on the downward path before the weight is pulled up.

Indian Jori Clubs at Suria Akhara are large, tall and bulky, the height often reaching mid chest, roughly the same length as a Gada.Have you ever wondered how the JORI Clubs are loaded onto the shoulders?

At Kaali Baari Akhara
Demonstrations of three Jori Club swing styles, and two Gada swing styles by Gyanshankul Singh.

British Army

It would seem logical that the British Army were impressed on seeing the local Pahlevans training with clubs and gada. By all accounts all the athletes were very well developed, especially in the shoulders and back.

Maybe a creative army physical training instructor modified the Indian Jori Clubs by shortening them to roughly 22″ inches. In doing so they developed a new and very effective training system. The newly created clubs were then put to good use in drilling troops, building upper body strength with particular focus on carrying arms.

Inward Swings good

Many Pahlevans tried swinging Indian Clubs that I had brought with me from Australia, and many performed inward circles without much difficulty, which stands to reason as both Jori and gada are both inward movements. What was surprising was that none of them could swing in an outward movement, no doubt with time and instruction outward swings could have been mastered.

Mace Grip Basics

360

Barbarian Squat

Dynamic Curl

Spear Stab

Grave Digger

Splitting Wood

Training at Suria Akhara

Suria Akhara – Varanasi – India

Nagota

Training

Best Training Footage

British Army

Inward Swings good

Barbell Press and Squat

Dumbbell traditional exercise used in competitions

Indian Club try outs, using two pairs of my clubs.

Gar Nal (stone neck ring)

Parallel Bars

Rope Climbing