 Two practitioners sparring | |
| Also known as | Chinna Ati Chaina Pudi Cheena Adi (Malayalam) |
|---|---|
| Focus | Grappling, Clinch fighting, Stick fighting |
| Hardness | Semi-contact |
| Country of origin | Sri Lanka |
| Parenthood | Chinese martial arts, South Indian martial arts |
| Olympic sport | No |
Cheena di (lit. 'Chinese stepping method or Chinese fist/punch', former in contemporary Sinhalese), or Cheenaadi, or occasionally, Chinna ati / Chaina pudi; and in Malayalam Cheena Adi, is a Chinese-derived martial art in Sri Lanka.[1] Another viewpoint, due to self-proclaimed Cheena di Master Gunadasa Subasinghe is that the word Cheena di comes from Chennai (A)di,[2] a martial art originally taught by Indian Immigrants in Sri Lanka (called "Kallathoni", the people who came to the island illegally in fishing boats from coastal South India and settled in the Southern parts of the island rather than in the Tamil predominant North) to their eventually street-fighting disciples called Chandi (lit. 'Rascals or Goons', in contemporary Sinhalese) of diverse native ethnicities, including the Sinhalese, Muslims, as well as Sri Lanka Tamils, all living in the same poor-ish neighbourhoods.
- ^ Perera, Harshi (28 May 2013). "Angampora should be brought back to the limelight". Daily News. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
- ^ Subasinghe, Gunadasa. "Master Gunadasa Subasinghe: Cheena di Hrda Saakshiya". Angampora Martial Art (Interview). YouTube.