In this video, a young man demonstrates dynamic Silambam exercises using a flexible, lightweight stick. But what would happen if he were given a more substantial weapon — one with the mass and dimensions better suited to an adult practitioner?

The next video features a 92-year-old Silambam master performing with a staff. Not only is he significantly older and physically smaller than the young man, but the staff he handles is also clearly more substantial.

Despite these apparent disadvantages, the master’s performance requires no leniency or allowances for his age. He simply employs a fundamentally different technique.
The key insight is that the path to optimally using one’s limited strength and the path to maximizing all available power are identical: both are achieved through refined technique, not brute force. The old master could attempt the standard, flashy Silambam style, but it would appear slow and unimpressive. At 92, he cannot compensate with the sharp, fast swings of a light staff or with spectacular jumps. Instead, his technique represents a different, more efficient approach.
Consequently, the total combat effectiveness of the master and his staff, while different in kind, does not fall short of that of the young man and his stick. Armed martial arts are, above all, a matter of balance, including the balance of mass and dimension, between the practitioner and their weapon.
Now, consider what would happen if the young fighter from the first video attempted to wield a heavier, more suitable weapon. The inertia of spinning it would likely throw him off balance, forcing him to retrain his movements. He might instinctively try to dampen that inertia with wider stances, hops, and steps — techniques that have little in common with the genuine mastery displayed by the old master.

Finally, it is worth noting that the Silambam performed by the elderly master is nearly indistinguishable from the basic staff-spinning found in the “northern” styles of Indian martial arts, suggesting a set of foundational weapon exercises once common across the subcontinent.

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