Iranian martial art is one of world's oldest sports

(20 Jul 2018) LEADIN
Traditional Iranian martial arts that are part callisthenic and part gymnastics are totally hypnotic to watch.
The exercises are performed to the beating of a drum and athletes use instruments such as large wooden clubs and heavy wood panels as weights.
STORYLINE
For five days a week, the sound of a goblet drum is heard beating out from this traditional gymnasium.
It's a musical accompaniment for a group of men training in Iran's oldest sport: Varzesh Bastani (ancient sport) also known as Varzesh Pahlevani (heroic sport).
The traditional Iranian system of athletics blends gymnastics, callisthenics, martial arts, music, spiritual and resistance training, art and literature.
The sport takes place in a Zoorkhane which translates as "house of strength".
It's inscribed under "Pahlevani and Zoorkhanei rituals" by UNESCO, on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010, as one of the world's longest-running forms of such sport.
The ancient sport has been practiced as a means of training warriors for the battlefield since the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC-330 BC) and was systematised as the sport we see today about 700 years ago.
Having warmed up, athletes enter the octagonal pit, called the Gowd, which is sunken around 1 metre into the floor of the Zoorkhane.
Stone seats are built around the Gowd for spectators. The roof of the Zoorkhane is high, shaped like a dome and has windows.
The walls are decorated with pictures of athletes, holy places, verses and war martyrs.
Athletes must form a circle around a veteran athlete called the Pishkesvat (mentor) or Myandar, they then follow his lead.
The training is usually carried out in the evening after the participants have finished their daily work.
Each training session lasts from two to four hours depending on the course's intensity.
Morteza Ashrafi is a former Varzesh Bastani champion who has been practicing the sport for 35 years and now leads the workout rituals at Zoorkhane Shirafkan.
"It is a sport of chivalry, generosity, respect and politeness," he says. "The entrance of a Zoorkhane is built low so that you have to bend over and leave your ego behind the door when you step in the pit."
There are around 1000 Zoorkhanes around the country and officials are planning to double the number within four years.
Ali Ghassemi works out at the Zoorkhane every other night.
"I have become so addicted to this sport and if I do not work out at least every other night I feel like something is missing. Both officials and athletes should help this sport to grow and become popular again," he says.
The beginning of the ritual is marked by the Morshed, or master, beating a goblet drum. The Morshed is the highest rank in the Zoorkhane.
He sits at the most elevated, altar-like spot of the club and sings religious tunes, heroic poems from Persian literature, verses of Quran or repeats names of Islam's saints to pump up the athletes.
Ali Masoumi, has been the Morshed of Zoorkhane Shirafkan for 18 years and is the son of Majid Masoumi, the owner and keeper of the club.
He says that the heroic Persian sport is the only type of training in the world that is practiced along with live music.
"Morshed is in charge of playing the music and singing to excite and pump the athletes up. Athletes also should coordinate themselves to the lead athlete and rhythm of the Morshed," he adds.
Zoorkhane moves and tools have an exclusive terminology and the instruments used by the athletes symbolise ancient weapons.
Majid Masoumi is the owner of the Zoorkhane Shirafkan who has been managing it for 40 years.

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