By late Supreme Commander Zentraedi EF Battalion Breetai Kridanik (deceased 2042 AD)
Updated & Edited By Commander Kazianna Hesh-Kridanik, current CO of Tyrolian Republican Guard - Zentraedi Command
Taken from UEEF Officer Manual 2041 Ed. for Robotecha Enyclopaedia - RFS Digest, May 2044 Edition
ANCIENT ART
Just over five thousand (Earth Standard) years ago, on a world where a great Robotech Imperium will be borne - Tyrol, an ancient Tyrolian civilization known as Dev'er Empire was undergoing a renaissance. The first year of the Aeon Lanack Calendar roughly corresponds with the year 5970 B.C.E., was a critical one for the entire galaxy. The Dev'erians, a race whose very name means "Ancient Masters ", would eventually spread their influence across the globe of Tyrolian world, whose ancient civilization inspired great Tyrolian literature works such Lanack Estdo're and Zor'deroma, and even to this day their contribution towards Tyrolian ancient history & civilization continue to carry on in ancient ruins & instrumental in influencing various succesive Tyrolian Classical Era Empires & Dynasties.
It is believed that the during 1st Aeon Lanack Calendar marks the end of a long period of divisive and terrible internecine barbaric warfare among the pre-historic Tyrolian-Dev'erian society. It is almost certain that one of the key elements of the Dev'erian cultural renaissance was the rise of proxy warfare, where duels between slaves decided disputes that might in the past have been solved by open warfare. These gladiators apparently first fought in pairs, unarmed, and to the death; herein almost certainly lies the origins of Diwgadras'U which was written down in the epic scripture Lanack Estdo're .
A detailed examination of Diwgadras'U would seem to confirm this interpretation - the style concentrates on brutal, killing or disabling blows and lacks the "deterrent" or "soft" components found in some comparable terran styles. In proxy combat - differentiated from gladiatorial combat by the lack of an entertainment element - there is no reason to prolong the fight any longer than necessary; to do so invites defeat at the hands of unexpected complications. It is doubtful, of course, that Diwgadras'U originally had all the qualities and refinements of its current form; indeed, this art probably started out as several competing styles that gradually converged into a single "optimized" form.
The optimization of Diwgadras'U may have indirectly started & influenced the escalation that lead to the state of Classical Era proxy warfare by the time Dev'er civilisation collapsed & later successive Classical Age civilisations such as competing Tonvella Empire & Relav dynasty , even northern barbaric invasions in that resulted incessant inter-tribal warfares (believed to be that of Tettelian tribes) that later characterized the Dark Classical Age. Diwgadras'U would later simply redefined & fine-tuned during pre Industrial Age of Forasi & rival Einliba nation-states. The tradition would later on inherited by Su'tonean based rising city-state, Tiresia that would later began its agressive colonial expansion toward one third of Tyrolian surface.
As Tyrol entered Industrial Age, the agressive expansion of several Tyrolian modern nations culminated in 1st - 3rd Tyrol World Wars. Diwgadras'U taken a backseat as modern weapons ultimately replaced this art as mere self-defence art practiced by the Tyrolian nobility as some sort of personal & recreational hobby. However by the time the first Tyrolian nation - Rylac achieved spaceflight, Diwgadras'U was popularised again in Tiresia as a sport entertainment industry, characterising rambunctious pre-Robotech Imperium culture. Through mass media, Diwgadras'U become institutionalised in many major Tyrolian super-power militaries. Hundreds of years before this milestone in Tyrolian history, Diwgadras'U had reached an impressive degree of refinement, to the point that a Diwgadras'U could defeat almost without doubt any lesser opponent.
To counter this, younger patrons began issuing armor and weapons to their T'sendiel (gladiator warrior) - a step that eventually lead to greater and greater divergence from the original ideal of proxy combat. Soon, individual T'sendiel were replaced with armies of well-armed "house troops," fully equipped with the most advanced weapons of the day, a direct effect of integration of this deadly ancient martial art with modern militaries.