Modern Tahtib

Modern Tahtib is a stick fighting martial art that includes jousts, rhythms and codified forms. It is the modern and updated version of Tahtib, an Egyptian art, whose first physical evidences go back to 2800 BC. As a martial art, it strongly differs from the folkloric and festive forms of Tahtib, or other egyptian stick dances that are sometimes performed in Upper and Middle Egypt.
Tahtib was first known and described as a set of fighting and combat techniques in war related contexts of Ancient Egypt. This art has evolved over the centuries and has now taken the form of a martial and festive game, mainly practiced during social events such as weddings, evening gatherings, in villages of Upper and Middle Egypt.
Loyal to its original universal values, the Modern version of Tahtib is developing this martial art in the context of modern, urban societies. The current update concerns the training and transmission method and structure. The dress is now of modern and convenient components with the remarkable three side Egyptian belt. At last, women are part of the discipline.
This martial art activates universal values of the oldest known warrior discipline. The powerful and controlled stick jousting strengthens self-confidence and mutual respect. Modern Tahtib provides a collective, playful, rhythmic and rich personal development ground. It encourages a contributive attitude of for sharing and commitment.
Brief Historical Overview
The oldest traces of Tahtib were found on engravings from the archaeological site of Abusir, an extensive necropolis of the Old Kingdom period, located in the south-western suburbs of Cairo. On some of the reliefs of the Pyramid of Sahure (V dynasty, c. 2500 BC); the images and explanatory captions are particularly precise and accurate in their depiction of what seems to be a military training using sticks. Tahtib, with archery and wrestling, was then among the three warfare disciplines taught to soldiers during their training.
More recent in chronological order, yet no less important, three of the 35 tombs of the Beni Hassan necropolis (XI-XII Dynasties, 1900 - 1700 BC) near the town of Minya, display engravings showing scenes of Tahtib. Similar engravings can be seen in the archaeological site of Tell el Amarna (XVIII Dynasty, 1350 BC), some 60 km south of Minya. Finally, the first traces of the festive representation of Tahtib can only be seen in the New Empire (1500 - 1000 BC), as shown by the engravings on the walls of Luxor and Saqqâra
It is believed that during the ensuing centuries, peasants and farmers from Upper Egypt gained gradually access to this art, developing a folkloric and popular version of it. The early Christian writings mention Tahtib as a leisure activity and a popular art, performed by men, during weddings and celebrations.
Practice of Modern Tahtib
The stick jousting and the rhythm of Modern Tahtib amplify and enhance the usual benefits of martial arts. They foster and accelerate learning and the development of skill and attention.
The Stick
Modern Tahtib is performed with a wooden stick of 130 cm (about 4 feet), usually imported from Asia. The stick is extracted from long branches of rattan, which are cut into sections of 130 cm and 2-3 cm of diameter, straightened by heat and treated with oil to protect it from dryness. During pratice, the stick is firmly held at one of its end, by only one hand (i.e the basis). The practice of Tahtib requires a great deal of familiarity with the stick, so that it must be seen as an extension of the arm and the body.
Training Session
Modern Tahtib training session includes the following modules with emphasis according to the season and the group level:
*Body Development and Strenghtening
*Anchor techniques - Initiation and integration of the rhythm
*Techniques and martial conventions - Fighting techniques and joust preparation
*Key elements of jousts… and Codified jousts
*Free Jousting
*Codified forms (series, sequences) - Stick forms
*Celebration
Celebration
A celebration is a collective event- that could also take part during a training session - involving three acting parties:
*Jousters: in charge of performing the martial art by means of challenging, assessing and fighting their opponents / partners, in a brief assault. They are supported by the musical environment, especially the rhythms set by the musicians.
*Musicians: their role is to create and maintain a musical atmosphere, by orchestrating the various phases of the session. By playing diverse percussions (darbouka, douf, bendir,…) they are able to support and interact with the jousters, maintaining thus a form of dialogue with them. A wind instrument the mizmar, sometimes called the combat oboe, could also be used.
*The audience: creates a circle, monitor fights, and possibly stops a joust or a jouster when it/he becomes too aggressive. The audience’s role is hence twofold: supporting jousters and preserving the good spirit of the event. Also, knowing that they could possibly challenge a jousters, they remain respectful.
Techniques of Modern Tahtib
Protecting / Attacking the head
The main goal in a Tahtib assault is to reach the opponent’s head with the stick. Since the head is considered as being the most important, fragile and vulnerable part of the body, most combat techniques in Modern Tahtib revolve around the protection of one’s own head (managing the door, “el bab” i.e maintaining a constant guard) and reaching the head of the partner. This implies for instance the necessity of maintaining the arm and the fist that hold the stick at the same height than the head to ensure an efficient protection of the head.
Rasha
Alternating between “protection” of one’s head and “attack” of the opponent’s head, leads to a sort of circular movement known as “rasha”. The “rasha” is a fundamental pedagogic tool as it allows to harmonize with the other and to work on some key points, such as distance, timing, breathing, movements of the body, quality of the protection, etc…In its more advance forms, “rasha” can be typical seen as a basis or a platform, from where will spring a break (change of pace or rhythm, change in the rotation, a fall, a jump, or more generally a change of paradigm) that will ultimately lead to a victorious attack.
==Codified Forms or "Kata" in Modern Tahtib==
The art of Tahtib has survived over thousands of years in Egypt and has spread through popular rural traditions, from father to son, uncle to nephew, elder to younger brother, within family bonds, as well as during weddings and other celebrations. Egypt’s racing urbanization since the 1950s directly challenges the transmission of Tahtib in the modern environment. The need to reach a wider urban audience in Egypt and abroad, and to ensure the continued existence of this martial art, had led Adel Paul Boulad, a highly experienced martial art expert and the main animator of Modert Tahtib, to develop and codify five forms or katas.
* NAKHLA: The Palm Tree. The form displays basic attack and defense techniques, diverse attitudes and various body movement types, including “penetrating” and “absorbing” rotational step forward. This form can also be executed with several jousters in circle and with sticks clanging together at the two converging points.
*NOQTA: The Point. A rapid and rhythmic form, which leads to a strong final point with a standing strike to the head. There are 4 types of elementary rotations with a change of base (a change of the hand holding the stick) at each rotation. This form is recommended for an intermediate level.
*GAWLA: Loop, walk, journey. In this long form, the stick is held from end to end with the right hand. Gawla is a loop with several loops within, inversions and counter-inversions in order to uncover the other jouster. It starts with the staff on the shoulder, as if one went for a walk!
*LAFFA: Rotation. Originally designed for advanced trainees in order to develop their skills in their top-down techniques and horizontal and vertical rotations, the form was later expanded to include original rotational and counter-rotational forms and emphasize one of the essential Tahtib rules : the systematic protection of the head.
Schools of Modern Tahtib
Modern Tahtib is being developed by Adel P. Boulad, through his Nonprofit Organization "Association Seiza", based in the 14th Arrondissement of Paris. Association Seiza has been promoting and developing Tahtib since the early 2000s, with key achievements such as the demonstration of Tahtib during the International Martial Arts Festival of Paris-Bercy in March 2010. Weekly courses of Modern Tahtib are delivered in the Parc Monstsouris, located in the south of Paris.

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