Mudgar, Gada and similar ancient tools: History, Purpose and Evolution

The Origins of Functional Strength

As mentioned earlier, physical activities in earlier times were less about aesthetics and more about movement for survival. There was no modern equipment, no machines, no apps that counted every movement or measured our internal processes. There was one body that needed to survive, and the only tools readily available to them were wood and stone. From this basic need came many of the oldest forms of physical training used across different cultures, such as the mace, Mudgar, Gada, Persian Meel, Jori, Bulava, Karlakattai, etc. Their names were different. The shapes and rituals were different, but their common purpose was to prepare the body for the daily necessities of life. People used this natural equipment for hunting, combat, movement, labour, and survival. Over time, these objects became part of wrestling traditions, warrior training, physical culture, and eventually, modern fitness. It is not about proving that one country owns these practices more than another. Every region has its own history, and that history deserves respect. For example, the Gada has a deep connection with Indian tradition, specifically in the way Lord Hanuman is depicted. The Persian Meel holds a prominent place in Persian culture. The Mudgar carries its own unique identity in the ancient practices within the Indian subcontinent. However, the basic understanding is that earlier people trained to survive and thrive, not for weight loss or to post on social media. Strength and endurance came as positive side effects of their practices, not as a result of making fitness our entire personality.

Strength Born From Survival

Since the beginning of time, human beings have coexisted with nature. From nature, two of the most common materials, wood and stone, became the most revolutionary tools that changed the game of evolution for us. Before any organised use of metal equipment, human beings relied on very simple resources, and the most important of them all was their own bodies. The ‘fight or flight’ survival instinct, and the materials they could easily find around them. Most of those materials came from nature, especially wood and stone. The basic need of any living species on earth, including humans, is to survive and, if possible, reproduce. Early humans had to fight to find food, protect themselves and their tribe, and survive against animals, weather, and sometimes other human groups. Conflict was not rare in the early evolution of humanity; they either had to fight for survival or flee to save their lives. They hunted animals not as entertainment or sport, but for mere survival. There were no advanced weapons at the beginning, so humans used practical, easily accessible tools. For instance, a long, heavy wooden stick could become a weapon or help a person walk, hunt, and fight. Or a sharp stone could be used for cutting or striking. A stone tied to the end of a wooden handle could make the strike stronger, and so on.

When wood and stone came together, human beings began shaping simple yet powerful tools for survival. These objects were a prominent part of their day-to-day life, and they served practical purposes. This is exactly where the story of Mudgar, Gada, Persian Meel, Jori, Bulava, Karlakattai, and other similar ancient techniques begins. Their final shapes and names came much later, as did the rituals, methods, and traditions across different regions and cultures. Reiterating the older idea, humans learnt that the body could become more capable by handling weights, carrying heavy loads, swinging objects, striking forcefully, and controlling movement. In their world, training was not separate from life but a part of daily survival: hunting, fighting, carrying, and using a heavy wooden log trained the body in their own methods. A person did not need to structure their day around their workout or “gym time”. Instead, life itself demanded movement from the body. Before these practices became part of broader social activities, they were the foundation of their emergence; after that came the wrestling houses and the warrior traditions, which belonged to a much older human need to survive and protect the community or tribe.

From Weapons To Training Tools

Over time, human beings discovered metals. This changed the way they hunted, fought, and protected themselves. Wood and stone were still useful, but metal gave human beings stronger and sharper possibilities. Swords, spears, axes, shields, and other hand weapons slowly became part of battle and protection. But even as weapons became more advanced, one thing did not change: a weapon was only as useful as the body holding it. A sword required strong hands, a shield needed strong shoulders, a spear needed timing and control, and an axe needed power and coordination. The weapons may have changed, but the human body still had to do the work with precision. A war or a battle did not depend on one clean movement or one perfect strike. A person had to fight for a considerable period, all the while holding a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. They were required to move in all directions, strike, defend, breathe and continue no matter how tiresome it may have been. This needed more than raw strength. It required grip, endurance, mobility, control, and the ability to keep moving under pressure. This is where the relationship between weapons and training started to develop. The same wooden objects that were once used directly for hunting and protection slowly became useful for training the body. A heavy wooden club could train the hand and shoulder. A long stick could train reach and control. A mace-like object could train the body to handle uneven weight, rotation, and force, etc.

"The objects that once helped humans survive also started helping humans train and prepare."

This became an important point in the history of Mudgar, Gada, Persian Meel, Jori, Bulava, Karlakattai, and other similar forms. They were not merely about lifting weights. They were used dynamically to prepare the body for real movement. A straight weight can only make the body strong in one direction, but a club or mace-like object challenges the body to move differently and in all directions. It pulls, swings, rotates, and demands control through leverage, making these practices incredibly versatile and dynamic.

Such traditional objects made sense for people who lived close to combat and hunting, and faced the challenges of the physical world. The way they trained their bodies was closer to the demands of the real world. Over time, different societies developed their own methods. Some used heavier forms, some used longer handles, some used them in pairs, some used single mace-like forms, some became more connected to battle, and some became more connected to wrestling and cultural practices of their regions. Again, the fundamental idea remained the same: "If life demanded strength, movement, and control, the body had to be prepared before the need arrived. This preparation of an integral life-skill came to become a daily practice."

Different Lands, Shared Human Need

As human societies grew in different parts of the world, their lifestyles began to take on unique shapes. Language, food, climate, clothing, rituals, fighting methods, and daily habits varied across cultures and regions, yet the human body and its needs were the same everywhere. Every land shaped its people based on internal and external factors and conditions. The human body was still the same. People everywhere had to hunt, protect, fight, and survive. Life demanded a body capable of warding off predators effectively. No matter which part of the world someone lived in, the basic need for survival was that the body had to be made useful in everyday life. This is why similar-looking objects started appearing in many cultures: it made sense logically and practically. Although these objects differed in their names, shapes, sizes, weights, and methods of use, the underlying idea behind their use was similar across regions, binding them into a single idea: the body had to be prepared for life. Never before has the world been so connected as it is today. Common folks of one society were oblivious to the lifestyles and cultures of another. Even with limited exchange of ideas, similar ideas still appeared. It was not as if one culture plagiarised the practices of another; it could simply be that human beings were trying to solve similar problems with the resources and traditions available to them.

When wood was available, people shaped wood; when stone was available, people used stone tools; when the body needed to handle force, weight, movement, and control, people created objects that helped the body prepare for those demands. The exact history of many such objects is difficult to trace. They lived through oral traditions, wrestling houses, martial cultures, and through day-to-day life long before they were formally documented. It seems unfair to reduce the story of these tools and instruments to a single country, a single inventor, or a single fixed date.

"As mentioned earlier, every region had its own history, and history should never be ignored. For example, the Gada has its connection with Indian tradition; the Persian Meel has its own place in Persian physical culture; and the Mudgar carries its own identity in the Indian subcontinent. The Jori, Bulava, Karlakattai, and other similar forms also have their own regional stories. Before we study each branch separately, we have to understand that while the branches were regional, the root was human."

These objects may carry many names, but they all speak to an old human need: to build a body that can move through life, protect what matters, and respond when life demands it.

From Battle Preparation to Sport and Physical Culture

The purposes of these tools and weapons changed as human life moved forward. For a long time, swords, spears, axes, shields, and other hand weapons were essential in war, hunting, and protection, and the body had to be trained for the direct physical use of these tools. A person had to hold, strike, defend, move, and continue even when the body was tired. Gradually, the nature of warfare changed with the invention of firearms and gunpowder in the early 13th-14th centuries. Over the next few centuries, guns, rifles, and other modern weapons deeply influenced combat. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the concept and execution of war and battle were no longer the same as in the use of swords, spears, shields, and close hand-to-hand fighting. Weapons could be operated remotely to target a person or object. The military and army operated in specific, organised ways. Eventually, technology and intel began taking over the job of communal safety and protection, doing more of what the body once had to do directly.

Gradually, the old purpose of these practices began to change. Mudgar, Gada, Meel, Jori, Karlakattai, Bulava, and similar objects were no longer needed only for preparation for battle or hunting; instead, they began to occupy new roles not only in local traditions and competitions but also in sports and everyday fitness practice. Over time, the practice of sports became more prominent, as people were no longer training only because they had to fight; they were training to strategise, become better at their craft, keep their bodies ready, stay disciplined, and continue the practices they had received from their respective cultures. 
Wrestling became one of the strongest examples. A wrestler needed a body that could stay useful under pressure. He had to hold, resist, turn, recover, and continue when tired. They trained the body in a way that matched the demands of daily physical struggle. Such practices were not only for wrestlers; even common people practiced those moves to stay fit and strong, as a way of having fun or playing with their brothers or friends.

"This is how many old practices survived not only through books or formal systems but through people. A teacher taught a student. A wrestler taught a younger wrestler. A father taught his son. A community continued what it valued. One generation passed the practice to the next."

In India, the akhara became one of the most visible examples of this tradition. In Persia, the Zurkhaneh became another strong example. These places were about not only exercise but also discipline, routine, respect, rhythm, and a serious approach to training the body. They were often practiced at homes, courtyards, local spaces, and small communities. The practice continued in simpler ways, and nobody actually made a big deal about it. People did not always write about it, nor did they always call it a system. They practiced what was familiar to them. Later, one part of this practice also travelled outside its original setting through Indian Clubs. British soldiers in India adopted club-swinging exercises, and by the 19th century, lighter Indian Clubs had become part of military training, schools, gymnasiums, and physical education in Britain, Europe, and America. For a time, club swinging even entered organised sport. It appeared at the Olympic Games in 1904 and again in 1932, and American AAU club swinging championships were held from 1885 to 1953. But that global journey of Indian Clubs had a larger story of its own. For this article, the point is that the original purpose of these tools had changed. These objects were no longer used mainly for hunting or war. They became part of sport, physical culture, home practice, and tradition. The tools and weapons changed, the world changed, but the need to keep the body capable remained the same.

Why These Practices Almost Disappeared

Over time, the idea of fitness also began to change. For a long time, physical practice was connected with life itself. The body was not something to display. It was something a person depended on. But in the modern world, fitness largely became trendy and aesthetic.

After World War II, when America became one of the world's strongest powers, it gained not only military and political power but also a cultural upper hand through media. American movies, TV shows, music, business, products, and lifestyle began to influence many parts of the world. What became popular in America often travelled far beyond America. The National WWII Museum describes this post-war shift as the beginning of the "American era." This influence also reached fitness.

The modern gym method became more visible. Bodybuilding became the new face of strength. The idea of fitness slowly moved toward muscle size, body shape, mirrors, machines, transformation photos, and a certain image of looking powerful. Bodybuilding has its own discipline. Gym training has its own value. Every age creates its own method, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, when one method becomes too popular, other methods slowly move into the background.

Arnold Schwarzenegger made this change even stronger. Gold's Gym opened in Venice, California, in 1965 and later became closely associated with bodybuilding culture. The film Pumping Iron helped bring Arnold Schwarzenegger and the bodybuilding world into wider popular culture. At the same time, the fitness industry was becoming more commercial. In 1970, Arthur Jones launched the first Nautilus machine, called the "Blue Monster," and machine-based training became a major part of the new fitness world.

That is how the Gym became the default image and idea of fitness. This did not just happen because the gym method was better. It also happened because the gym method had stronger marketing and advertisements. It had companies behind it. It had magazines, films, machines, celebrities, health clubs, and later, global gym chains. At the same time, the old practices lacked the same support and influence. Mudgar, Gada, Meel, Jori, Karlakattai, Bulava, and similar practices were mostly living in akharas, Zurkhaneh, homes, local communities, and with teachers who continued the quiet legacy. No big companies were presenting them as the future of fitness. There were no large campaigns or various forms of media showcasing the world that these practices were still useful. So, naturally, the younger urban generation started moving toward what looked modern and accessible.

"A gym looked modern. Machines looked scientific. Bodybuilding looked aspirational. Films and magazines made the gym body feel like the new standard. Compared to that, a Mudgar, Gada, Meel, or Jori would look strange and obscure to someone at first glance. This is how many traditional practices began to lose visibility. Not because they had no value but because the world stopped looking in their direction."

In many cultures and families, the memory remained, but the chain grew weaker. A grandfather may have practiced, a father may have seen it, but younger generations often chose the gym because it felt more connected to the new world. Some practices survived in akharas. Some survived in Zurkhaneh. Some survived with serious practitioners, traditional families, and small communities. But for ordinary people, these objects slowly disappeared from daily life. People started forgetting their names, and many had never even seen them in person; if they did, they did not know how or for what they were used.

"However, practice did not die completely, even if it had to stay in the background quietly."

The Modern Revival Of Traditional Strength

When we open social media today and search for mace training, Gada practice, Indian Clubs, or Persian Meels, you are likely to find people from different parts of the world practicing movements that, not very long ago, many young people had almost forgotten. Just a few years ago, most youngsters did not even know what to call these objects. A Mudgar looked strange. A Gada looked like something only wrestlers used, or, as seen, was carried by Lord Hanuman. Persian Meels were almost unknown outside specific circles. Indian Clubs were present in old physical culture books, but not in everyday fitness conversations.

However, the internet, specifically social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, dramatically changed that. For the first time, the practice did not need a big company, a gym chain, or a magazine cover to be seen. A person sitting in India could watch a practitioner in Europe, or someone in America could discover Persian physical culture by connecting online. Someone in Australia could teach the old club methods. Someone in a small town could see one video and become curious.

Earlier, these practices survived mostly through teachers, families, akharas, Zurkhaneh, and small communities. Now they could also travel through the phone screen. This revival and resurrection of these ancient practices did not happen by itself. A few teachers, practitioners, and creators helped make this practice visible once again online.

Harbert Harte Egberts, known as The Flowing Dutchman, helped bring mace, Gada, and club flow to many people through his videos, workshops, and the Dutch Flow Academy.

Kashi Azad, known through Persian Yoga, helped introduce many people to the Persian physical culture of Pahlavani and Meel practice. Tom Billinge of War Yoga brought attention to old martial and mace-like practices.

Paul Taras Wolkowinski from Australia has played an important role in teaching and preserving Indian Clubs and related old club traditions. In India, Nithin Jayaraj, known as The Shredded Farmer, helped bring this practice to a modern audience. Kelly Manzone also became one of the visible modern practitioners sharing steel mace and club-style movement online.

There are many others too. Some of them came from traditional backgrounds, some from movement culture, some from martial arts and some came from strength training. But together, they helped make this practice visible to people who may never have seen it otherwise.

At the same time, many modern people began to feel that something was missing from regular fitness methods and trends. Although the gym helped people build muscle and develop a solid structure and discipline, for many, it was not something they could sustain for long. Hence, they sought a practice that felt more natural, more skill-based, intuitive, and creative, and that provided a mind-body connection. They wanted something where the body was not only lifting but also learning.

This is one of the reasons the old methods of training are gaining visibility once again through tradition, sport, movement culture, home practice, social media, and more. People are trying to reconnect with a training approach that feels more human. This revival also brings about responsibility for the practitioners. When something old becomes popular again, it can easily become just another trend or be tossed aside after the noise is over, or worse, be copied without understanding the history and sources behind the practices. It could also be used and sold just like any other product by mass-producing the equipments, thereby compromising its quality and reducing it to a mere way of making social media content. These practices deserve more than attention. They deserve understanding.

This knowledge makes our work meaningful at Mudgar Club. We do not see Mudgar, Gada, Shena, Persian Meel, and similar equipment only as products. We see them as part of an old relationship between the human body and the practice. A relationship where training is not only about appearance, but about becoming more capable, more disciplined, and more connected to our bodies through movement.

As the world changed, these practices almost vanished, but in the ever-changing world, they are making another comeback. Not because they are something new and pique people’s curiosity, but, most importantly, because they still make sense.

One Human Story, Many Traditions

In conclusion, the story of Mudgar, Gada, Persian Meel, and similar practices is not about claiming them for one culture or one group of people. The truth is that every region had its own history of how such similar tools were used in the past, and beneath the names, shapes, and traditions, there is an older human idea that the body had to be prepared for life.

"Such practices matter because they remind us that training was not always about appearance; it was about becoming useful, disciplined, and capable. The branches were regional, but the root remained human."