U.S. Marines in India for intensive kabaddi training

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Most of us recognize that the growing strategic relationship between the U.S. and India is necessary to counter the increasing influence of China and also to help combat the terrorists that seek to do both our nations harm. In pursuit of such an unstated policy, a contingent of Marines is in Belgaum in northern Karnataka right now for some hard-nosed training:

The joint exercise saw around 160 troops from India and the US train in sharing of intelligence, communication, weapons and equipment.

After a joint anti-terrorism exercise with the Indian Army at the Commando Training Centre here, US soldiers will take back not just experience of rigorous commando training but also a quintessentially Indian sport — kabaddi…

Kabaddi fascinated them, one of the American platoon commanders, Lt Lee, said. “My troops are playing kabaddi in barracks too. They are impressed with the game and the agility of the Indian troops.”

The only hitch — as an Indian officer put it tongue-in-cheek — is that the Americans pronounce kabbadi as “cup of tea”. [Link]

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p>Hmmmm. Not as hard-nosed as I assumed at first, but agility is important. What other skills will they learn? Jungle warfare? Hand to hand combat?

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Snake charming course (part of jungle warfare).

The “Shatrujeet 06-1” scenario is set in an urban insurgency environment and will cover the development of drills and techniques for use in joint counter-terrorist operations, including survival training, combat shooting, rock climbing, navigation and unarmed combat techniques.

Planners hope that the operation will enhance interoperability of both the armies.

The American contingent will consist of approximately 160 Marines, who will work together with and an Indian army battalion. [Link]

“Urban insurgency environment?” Hmmmm.

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p>These exercises were code-named “Shatrujeet,” or “Victory over the Enemy.” I have no doubt that the skills learned here will deliver us victory.

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p>On a closing note, take a look at another picture below from the training exercises. The “targets” that the Indians bring out look an awful lot (to my eyes at least) like…well, Marines. Isn’t that a little disturbing? We are learning counter insurgency techniques by firing on pictures that the Indians use that resemble our own troops. I wonder who the targets that we use here in the U.S. resemble.

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Does it count as friendly fire if the Marines hit their mark?

54 thoughts on “U.S. Marines in India for intensive kabaddi training”

  2. kabaddi! kabaddi! kabaddi! no, can’t picture a bunch of marines shouting that out loudly without someone wondering why they don’t get a bloomin’ cuppa tea!

  3. i love how in wiki it states: Two teams of seven, mostly naked players (consisting of socks and boxer shorts, sometimes briefs)

    is there a mostly naked? i thought it was all or none.. hmmmm…

  4. s there a mostly naked? i thought it was all or none..

    More importantly are there any co-ed leagues in the U.S.?

  6. It is just me, or does this game seem to share some features with “red rover”? I think I played that as a kid, but there was no nakedness 😉

  7. Venture Capital Alert:

    We are looking for funding for co-ed kabaddi on Indian TV as a 24/ 7 channel*, similar to beach volleyball. We might even have celebrity/ bollywood kabaddi as special events (there was a Rishi Kapoor-Neetu Singh movie that had co-ed kabaddi). Think of playing kabaddi with Kabaddi with Priyanka Chopra. Please contact us for funding, and we will present the business plan.

    *It will also be aired to other South Asian countries, middle east, and even UK. Jai Singh will be our front man in UK for talent scouting.

    In keep the tradition of fair play, Abhi T. will get 20% of the profits.

  10. I can’t zoom in, but from the helmet type, those targets look like the other Marines. From the former colonial ruler of India and US. Limeys.

  11. Think of playing kabaddi with Kabaddi with Priyanka Chopra.

    Kush, are you trying to set a new record for how quickly comment thread gets shut down? 🙂

    I had never even heard of this sport before this post. Where have I been?!?!?!

    Amreeka?

  16. Marines playing kabaddi? Interesting! The game is believed to have links to self defense training and the military.

    I had the privilege of being in charge of the sports booth at the Houston International Festival ’05 and introduced Kabaddi to the Houston folks. To my surprise it generated quite a lot of interest among the visitors desi, non-desi, kids, adults, men and women! It just took a little effort to explain the rules and get the game starting. Check out some photos here.

  17. …introduced Kabaddi to the Houston folks. To my surprise it generated quite a lot of interest among the visitors desi, non-desi, kids, adults, men and women!…

    kabaddi is football without ball

  21. no my friend. football is kabaddi WITH ball.

    Imagine the quarterback yelling ‘kabaddi kabaddi’ as long as he is holding the ball 🙂

  23. Excellent news. I’m delighted they’re not invading Iran.

    And hey, homoeroticism has been part of military life for as long as anyone can remember.

  24. How IS it pronounced (properly?)

    kuh (pronounced like ‘duh you idiot’)

    +

    bud (bud as in budweiser, buddy, yaar)

    +

    e (‘old mcdonald had a farm e-i-e-i-o’)

    =

    kabaddi kabaddi kabaddi

    Socks?! Corny! If you’re feeling nekkid, you could cover-up. I saw a better one once where the print repeated ‘kabaddi’ around the whole shirt, ’round and ’round.

    My guju buddies tried to make an equivalent game called ‘gundi chuddi’- sheer tonguetwisterness!

  25. Maybe they will play kho next.

    “The “targets” that the Indians bring out look an awful lot (to my eyes at least) likeÂ…well, Marines.“

    They also resemble troops (commandos) from Pakistan.

  26. I had the privilege of being in charge of the sports booth at the Houston International Festival ’05 and introduced Kabaddi to the Houston folks. To my surprise it generated quite a lot of interest among the visitors desi, non-desi, kids, adults, men and women! It just took a little effort to explain the rules and get the game starting. Check out some photos here.

    seems to me that you introduced kho-kho also 😉

  27. They also resemble troops (commandos) from Pakistan.

    Here’s something even crazier… I think it’s a conspiracy…

    Troops from India bear an odd resemblance to…. TROOPS FROM PAKISTAN!

    Seriously – for some reason, Pakistani troops look a LOT like Indian troops. I think this is the ISI at work. They’re cranking out soldiers who are otherwise indistinguishable from Indians. I think this is part of the bigger plan… somehow…

  28. seems to me that you introduced kho-kho also 😉

    Yes I did, was fun till one aunty fell down and got injured. That put an end to the game!

  29. Kush,

    We are looking for funding for co-ed kabaddi on Indian TV as a 24/ 7 channel*, similar to beach volleyball.

    The laydeez should wear beach volleyball-type outfits too ahem

    There was a very famous clubbing song called “Stupidisco” here in the UK a year or two ago, where the music video basically consisted of two girls in bikinis playing kabaddi inside a boxing ring. I’m not going to post the link here since I’m a good boy these days, but it’s on Youtube so you can check it out there 😉

    I actually saw a Middle-Eastern version of kabaddi on some travel show on television recently — I can’t remember if it was Turkey or somewhere further afield, but the guys get oiled up and wrestle wearing just shorts, and (wait for it) they put their hands inside the other guy’s boxers (no not the front) in order to “get a good grip” before trying to wrestle each other to the ground. I’m not joking.

  30. Well, I know the Indian forces might be archaic. But kabaddi as warfare??

    Can’t they atleast do sword fights. :p

  31. What good is knowing Kabaddi going to be for the US or even the Indian forces?

    Good luck with Kabaddi when send us a nookleer gift.

  32. Abhi: Your post brings back memories of “Yesteryears”. When I was growing up waaaaayyyy back in Ahmedabad, India, in my high school years we used to play a game called “HU TU TU TU”. I believe the same sport up North is known as “Kabbadi”. We used to play mostly in sand – but occasionally on bare concrete – and God, as soon you hit the floor or someone drags you across that line it was a total torture, yet worth it. The best time to play this was on full moon night of “Sharad Poonam”. No, the girls would occasionally watch, but were never included as the game can get real rough ! And may I say I was preety good at this game? Playing HU TU Tu Tu i.e.

  33. Your post brings back memories of “Yesteryears”. When I was growing up waaaaayyyy back in Ahmedabad, India, in my high school years we used to play a game called “HU TU TU TU”.

    Yeah, in bengal it is called ha-doo-doo (as well as kabadi, I have heard both names when growing up)

  35. mmooaawff kijiega jai… the oil wrestling you refer to is from turkey and the shorts you refer to are leather half-pants. and yes it is accepted practice to reach in them.

    some detail on turkish oil wrestling here – talks about the origin of the pehilvans, the leather pants, the hands in the pants, the oil etc. very informative. no, i havent done oil wrestling – but i have played kabaddi. the cool thing about the sport is that – it needs a balance of strength, agility and endurance. regarding hututututu or kabaddikabaddikabaddi… i was told the purpose of the chant is to make sure the attacker holds the breath through the period he is on the attack. so you can say anything you wish – as long as it is clear to the ref that you arent sneaking a breath.

    there is something about man on man sparring like this that is so pure and liberating – one leaves all the talking heads behind

  36. Amsterdamguy, you’s a phfawckqingg genius. I should think about this a little bit. Never thought of it like that. Hmmm… why should soldiers be fit at all since it’s no good against nukes? Yeah, that’s just pure phfawckqingg genius.

  37. V interesting post.

    Yeah, in bengal it is called ha-doo-doo (as well as kabadi, I have heard both names when growing up)

    Kabaddi is actually the national game of Bangladesh. Though kabaddi provides India with one guaranteed medal at the Asian games, the most significant competition comes from Bangladesh.

  38. AmsterdamGuy:

    Well, I know the Indian forces might be archaic. But kabaddi as warfare??

    You don’t know a thing about the army, do you?

  39. Awww….that takes me back…we used to play co-ed kabaddi and it got pretty rough. There were some tough girls at my school. There were no hands down the boxers though 🙂

  40. I had never even heard of this sport before this post. Where have I been?!?!?!

    If you were born and grew up here you wouldn’t. It’s one of those grassroots old school games in India where everyone plays it when they are mostly kids. I believe there are national leagues as well. Hu tu tu & Kho kho brings back some serious memories. The minute you hit puberty you were pervented from playing it and I never understood why!

    Well, I know the Indian forces might be archaic. But kabaddi as warfare??

    Kabaddi is about teamwork and saving your man, it has everything to do with how a battle is fought.

  41. Used to play Kabaddi and Kho during my school years on my high school’s girls team. I have quite a few scars to show for it :)This brings back memories.

  42. Hairy_d,

    Thanks for the link in post #35. It all seems even dodgier now. Lots of burly guys covered in olive oil, wearing tight leather shorts and grabbing each other…..Okay, that probably sounds like the last SM Meetup.

    Very interesting about the origin of the desi word “pehilvan”, though. So now we finally know !

    I think I remember some kabaddi championships televised here in the UK a couple of years ago. In a very late-night slot, of course.

  43. Jai, you can watch live kabbadi in Southall from time to time. I saw a tournament when I was there in ’98. Whatever those guys do in terms of work-outs, it works, because they get better overall development using age-old, traditional techniques (and traditional daal-roti diet), than I do with my regimen at the gym and the protein shakes I drink (Muscle Milk, anyone?). If you look at hairy_d’s video link in post #8 above, you see that those dudes have amazing physiques. Of course that is a select bunch of very good players, so you would expect that they are among the best.

  44. speaking of awesome physiques amitabh… here’s some snaps for the laydeez – soni, pappu, tunna, toofan … – i bet ismat is fuming somewhere at this meat market, or maybe not. 😉

    but honestly the best part of the vid was the commentator – “ek paasse gurlal tey dujjey paasse khanduwal… vah gabruah vah… sohnee khed kabaddi dee”.

  46. Kurma @#36:

    I guess it’s you who’s the phawking genious. The average US army-walla is sofa-king unfit… oh that’s cos they don’t do no kabaddi!!!

    Yes, you’re denifintly a genious. What next? Dipping the gun barrels in dhoodh-baadam for precision?

  47. Sakshi @#38:

    I didn’t make claims that I know a lot about the army. If you know better, please tell me what value does knowing kabaddi bring to the Indian army … or any army for that matter? Please try not to say fitness.

    Thanks.

  48. Jane… @#40:#

    Thanks. I think I get a clue but not convinced.

    The reason (IMO) the US marines are playing Kabaddi is not that it teaches kabaddi players to be honest soldiers and save a fellow man (I guess this cliche has been borrowed from Black Hawk Down) but because its the sport Indians people (army people i.e.) play.

  49. A similar, but more obscure, Indian sport is Atya Patya. AP is related to both kho-kho and kabaddi, but unlike those two it doesn’t seem to have much traction at the organized level. I recall reading about it as a kid and then stumbling upon actual play while visiting family in Karol Bagh. (This was in the seventies.) However, the local kids did not know the correct name for it, calling it instead, “Badi Game”.