Zurkhaneh Tour 2014 Part 1 한국어 번역

Tehran

As part of my Indian Clubs World Tour 2014, I made a booking with the Iran Tour Center for a Zurkhaneh Tour which seemed like a perfect opportunity to learn more about the traditional training methods of Iran and soak up some of the rich ancient histories of this country.

Zurkhaneh Tour Details

Tehran  >  Shiraz  >  Persepolis  >  Yazd  >  Isfahan  >  Kashan  >  Tehran

Zurkhaneh Tour 2014 Map

Zurkhaneh Tour 2014 video has two sections:

  1. Mr Ali Shahidi’s Mil Workshop
  2. Pahlevan Pour Zurkhaneh, Tehran

Part 1 – Mr Ali Shahidi’s Mil Workshop

Ali Shahidi's Meel Workshop

The first part is a series of photographs taken inside Mr Ali Shahidi’s Mil Workshop. This workshop is hidden from the view in the basement of a private house, concealed by a very high outside wall.

Smell Freshly Turned Wood Shavings

To access the basement you have to walk down a very steep stone staircase with no handrail, on entry, your eyes slowly re-adjust to the dimly lit workshop. Your nose picks up the smell of freshly turned wood shavings that cover the floor.

Photographs of Proud Pahlevans

As your eyes adjust to the light, you are confronted with piles of clubs, some with broken handles, and others intact. Plus enormous quantities of wood that has been left to dry out before being made into clubs. The walls are covered with the new and old photographs of proud Pahlevans, some black and white and some colour.

Ali Shahidi Tea Kettle

Tea is drunk everywhere, and of course, there is the obligatory kettle in the corner ready to make the next brew.

Shahidi makes the Meel Body First

Mr Ali Shahidi makes his clubs, by turning the body of the club first, and making a separate handle. The handles are then glued and jammed into the neck of the club. The handles are roughly shaped on the lathe first, and dry fitted to each club, from scrap wood. Then they are put back on the lathe for final shaping and finishing.

Ali Shahidi Lathe

Walking deeper into the workshop, you can see the green lathe, and the chisels lying ready for the next job, plus the all-important tape measure.

Repairing Natural Damage and Cracks

Ali Shahidi Meel Repairs

The cracks in wood are filled with wedge offcuts, which all firmly glued and hammered into place, once this is done, repaired sections will be put back onto the lathe to be finished.

Part 2 – Pahlevan Pour Zurkhaneh – Tehran

Pahlevan Pour Zurkhaneh

Sign of Respect

On entry to Pahlevan Pour Zurkhaneh, you step through a very low door which forces you to bow your head as a sign of respect.

Shoes and Tea

You immediately remove your shoes and get escorted to a small seating area, where you are served a small glass of black tea and lots of sugar cubes.

Pahlevans Start Warming Up

In the meantime, the Pahlevans start warming up for training. Some of them with the Sang shields, and others with Meel clubs, the atmosphere is very friendly and relaxed.

The Morshed Heats the Drum Skin

The Morshed arrives and prepares his drum, he turns on a small electric fire, which warms the stretched skin of the drum and improves the sound.

Morshed heats the drum

Sitting in front of an electric fire is no easy feat when the outside temperature is 35°C.

Pahlevans Enter the Goud

As the drumming and singing starts, the Pahlevans step down into the Goud (pit) to begin their training. The song and drumming are mesmerising as the Morshed leads the training.


Read More…

Yours in Club and Gada Swinging

How to use Drum Beats for Training with Indian Clubs 1

Paul Taras Wolkowinski

0 comments… add one

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.