Sqay is a South Asian martial art created by the Kashmiris from the former state of Kashmir. The early history of sqay is limited to mythology. Folklore traces it to remote antiquity several thousand years ago, as far back as the ancient Kashmiri flood myth. The Shaivite snake-worshipping Naga people are said to have created the art prior to the Indo-Aryan invasions and was later patronised by kings. The first written evidence of sqay dates to the Muslim period when writings told of sabre-fighting (shamsherizen) in Kashmir. The word sqay itself is first recorded in this period, and is said to mean knowledge of war in Persian. Sqay first began to decline in the colonial period but its popularity suffered more during the post-independence border conflict. Armed sqay makes use of a curved single-edge sword paired with a shield, while unarmed techniques incorporate kicks, punches, locks and chops. In the 1980's, the sqay grandmaster, Nazir Ahmed Mir feared that the art would go extinct, and so introduced modern types of competition influenced by karate and taekwondo. The subsequent founding of the International Council of Sqay and the Sqay Federation of India has allowed the system to be promoted on a national level, and it is now taught in twenty Indian states. It is today practiced mainly in what are now Azad Kashmir in Pakistan and the Kashmir Valley in India.