Mastaba is a form of Jaffa martial arts and conditioning, which apparently relies on acrobatic movements based on spacing, timing, rhythm, and positioning, as opposed to blocking, checking, deflecting, parrying, or trapping. It is very similar to the Tau'ri martial art of Capoeira. Imhotep made proficiency in this fighting style mandatory for all of Imhotep's Jaffa. It was later taught to the Jaffa rebels on Cal Mah, becoming a somewhat trademark form of combat among their ranks. In 2002, Imhotep, who took a human host and pretended to be his own Jaffa First Prime, K'tano , used well-honed Mastaba skills to defeat Teal'c during Joma secu. Had Teal'c not resorted to using a broken Bashaak, Imhotep would surely have killed him. (SG1: "The Warrior")
Trivia[]
The word "Mastaba" may refer to a type of Ancient Egyptian tomb, probably due to the fact that this kind of structure was used as a tomb for pharaohs before the historical Imhotep had designed the first pyramid for the necropolis at Saqqara, which was essentially made of smaller mastabas topped over larger ones, as opposed to later buildings, which were truly pyramids from a geometrical point of view.