Kol sanat

An Uyghur fighting system built on strikes with hand and foot, strangles and painful holds.

About

Kol sanat (kulsinat in Russian-language sources) is a combat system of the Uyghurs: an applied system of attack and defence, little known in the modern world of martial arts, said to have been practised in Central Asia and Xinjiang since old times. It rests mainly on strikes with hands and feet and on chokes and joint locks; the system is made up of seven basic movements, from which 49 combinations of techniques are built.

The old Uyghur lineage Chai Fu Shan is named as the keeper of the tradition. By legend the system was used by the personal guard of Tamerlane.

As S. Seydekhanov writes, the Russian name kulsinat is an altered form of kul sanaty, "the art of the hands". The system is built on the number seven: seven basic movements, the 49 combinations made from them, and seven principles — three "of the earth", three "of the sky" and a middle one that balances them. The pupil learns to balance hardness and softness, steadiness and mobility, smoothness and suddenness. An unsigned Russian-language description also names seven styles: the Ram — hard strikes and blocks, the Cock — whip-like strikes and work at a distance, the Snake — holds and strangles, the Eagle, the Woman, Satan and, at the centre, the Buddha.

History

Little is known about kol sanat, and what there is rests mainly on popular writing. By legend, in the 14th century Tamerlane's personal guard of sixty men used this system to bring him out of encirclement by an army of three thousand; S. Seydekhanov himself notes that the chroniclers may have exaggerated.

According to an unsigned Russian-language description, the art was kept by the Chai Fu Shan clan, who lived in the north of China; the last of the line passed it on to his adopted son Abo. Abo's pupil is Mikhail Arshavsky: in 1993 he won the championship of Israel under sanda rules in the class up to 80 kilograms — counted as the school's only appearance in competition. By the same description, kol sanat is taught today in Israel and in St Petersburg.

S. Seydekhanov also recalls a conjecture: Anatoly Kharlampiev, one of the founders of sambo, may have met the striking technique of kol sanat on his journeys in Turkestan. The author gives this as a version, not as a fact.

Kol sanat is connected with the family teaching called Sir sanat. Abo, who is named as the keeper of the art, is Alexander Akilov, living in Jerusalem; his pupils call him "teacher Abo". In 2005 the magazine Patron called kulsinat a component of the Sirsanat teaching, and Mikhail Arshavsky gave his classes in St Petersburg under the name "Sirsanat fighting system". Sir sanat is described on a page of its own.

Peoples

Uyghurs

Research: Vasif Namazov, Turan Games Concept

Kol sanat

About

History

Peoples

Sources