What is "indian club"

Indian \In"di*an\ (?; 277), a. [From India, and this fr. Indus, the name of a river in Asia, L. Indus, Gr. ?, OPers. Hindu, name of the land on the Indus, Skr. sindhu river, the Indus. Cf. Hindu.]

1. Of or pertaining to India proper; also to the East Indies, or, sometimes, to the West Indies.

2. Of or pertaining to the aborigines, or Indians, of America; as, Indian wars; the Indian tomahawk.

3. Made of maize or Indian corn; as, Indian corn, Indian meal, Indian bread, and the like. [U.S.] Indian bay (Bot.), a lauraceous tree ( Persea Indica). Indian bean (Bot.), a name of the catalpa. Indian berry. (Bot.) Same as Cocculus indicus. Indian bread. (Bot.) Same as Cassava. Indian club, a wooden club, which is swung by the hand for gymnastic exercise. Indian cordage, cordage made of the fibers of cocoanut husk. Indian cress (Bot.), nasturtium. See Nasturtium, 2. Indian cucumber (Bot.), a plant of the genus Medeola ( Medeola Virginica), a common in woods in the United States. The white rootstock has a taste like cucumbers. Indian currant (Bot.), a plant of the genus Symphoricarpus ( Symphoricarpus vulgaris), bearing small red berries. Indian dye, the puccoon. Indian fig. (Bot.)

   1. The banyan. See Banyan.

   2. The prickly pear. Indian file, single file; arrangement of persons in a row following one after another, the usual way among Indians of traversing woods, especially when on the war path. Indian fire, a pyrotechnic composition of sulphur, niter, and realgar, burning with a brilliant white light. Indian grass (Bot.), a coarse, high grass ( Chrysopogon nutans), common in the southern portions of the United States; wood grass. --Gray. Indian hemp. (Bot.)

      1. A plant of the genus Apocynum ( Apocynum cannabinum), having a milky juice, and a tough, fibrous bark, whence the name. The root it used in medicine and is both emetic and cathartic in properties.

      2. The variety of common hemp ( Cannabis Indica), from which hasheesh is obtained. Indian mallow (Bot.), the velvet leaf ( Abutilon Avicenn[ae]). See Abutilon. Indian meal, ground corn or maize. [U.S.] Indian millet (Bot.), a tall annual grass ( Sorghum vulgare), having many varieties, among which are broom corn, Guinea corn, durra, and the Chinese sugar cane. It is called also Guinea corn. See Durra. Indian ox (Zo["o]l.), the zebu. Indian paint. See Bloodroot. Indian paper. See India paper, under India. Indian physic (Bot.), a plant of two species of the genus Gillenia ( Gillenia trifoliata, and Gillenia stipulacea), common in the United States, the roots of which are used in medicine as a mild emetic; -- called also American ipecac, and bowman's root. --Gray. Indian pink. (Bot.)

         1. The Cypress vine ( Ipom[oe]a Quamoclit); -- so called in the West Indies.

         2. See China pink, under China. Indian pipe (Bot.), a low, fleshy herb ( Monotropa uniflora), growing in clusters in dark woods, and having scalelike leaves, and a solitary nodding flower. The whole plant is waxy white, but turns black in drying. Indian plantain (Bot.), a name given to several species of the genus Cacalia, tall herbs with composite white flowers, common through the United States in rich woods. --Gray. Indian poke (Bot.), a plant usually known as the white hellebore ( Veratrum viride). Indian pudding, a pudding of which the chief ingredients are Indian meal, milk, and molasses. Indian purple.

            1. A dull purple color.

            2. The pigment of the same name, intensely blue and black. Indian red.

               1. A purplish red earth or pigment composed of a silicate of iron and alumina, with magnesia. It comes from the Persian Gulf. Called also Persian red.

               2. See Almagra. Indian rice (Bot.), a reedlike water grass. See Rice. Indian shot (Bot.), a plant of the genus Canna ( Canna Indica). The hard black seeds are as large as swan shot. See Canna. Indian summer, in the United States, a period of warm and pleasant weather occurring late in autumn. See under Summer. Indian tobacco (Bot.), a species of Lobelia. See Lobelia. Indian turnip (Bot.), an American plant of the genus Aris[ae]ma. Aris[ae]ma triphyllum has a wrinkled farinaceous root resembling a small turnip, but with a very acrid juice. See Jack in the Pulpit, and Wake-robin. Indian wheat, maize or Indian corn. Indian yellow.

                  1. An intense rich yellow color, deeper than gamboge but less pure than cadmium.

                  2. See Euxanthin.

Indian clubs or meels are a type of exercise equipment used for developing strength. They comprise bowling-pin shaped wooden clubs of varying sizes and weights, which are swung in certain patterns as part of an exercise program. They can range from a few pounds each, up to special clubs that can weigh as much as 50 pounds. They were used in carefully choreographed routines where the clubs were swung in unison by a group of exercisers, led by an instructor in the front, similar to modern aerobics classes. The routines varied according to the group's ability and the weight of the clubs used.

Despite their common English name implying an Indian origin, the so-called Indian clubs were in fact created in the Near East. Properly referred to as meels ( Persian: میل mil), they are first recorded as being used by wrestlers in ancient Persia, Egypt and the rest of the Middle East. The practice has continued to the present day, notably in the varzesh-e bastani tradition practiced in the zurkaneh of Iran. From Persia, the Mughals brought meels to South Asia where they are still used by pehlwan (wrestlers) in South Asia today. British colonists first came across meels in India, and erroneously referred to them as "Indian clubs" despite their Middle Eastern origin.

They were exceptionally popular during the health craze of the late Victorian era, used by military cadets and well-heeled ladies alike, and even appeared as a gymnastic event in the 1904 and 1932 Olympics. Gymnasia were built just to cater to club exercise groups. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries they became increasingly common in Europe, the British Commonwealth and the United States.

Circa 1913/14 the Bodyguard unit of the British suffragette movement carried Indian clubs as concealed weapons for use against the truncheons of the police.

The popularity of meels waned in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s as organized sports became more popular. Regimented exercise routines, like those requiring meels, were relegated to professional athletes and the military, who had access to more effective and modern strength training equipment.

While torches and other stick-like objects have been used in juggling for centuries, the modern juggling club was inspired by meels, which was first repurposed for juggling by DeWitt Cook in the 1800s.

There are current physical fitness enthusiasts who have revived the popularity of meels in the modern day, citing the aerobic exercise and safety advantages over traditional free weight regimens. There are nostalgic replicas of the original clubs being manufactured, as well as modern engineering updates to the concept, such as the Clubbell.