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10th March 2024, 15:02
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| Common man’s guide to Kalarippayattu | My experience learning the art form IntroductionChennai, March 2018. My final exams just got over. I heaved a huge sigh of relief. Finally, I thought, I can get back to living a free life for two months. A few days later, my dad called me and said, “I have a surprise for you. Let’s go out in the evening today”. 12-year-old me was left wondering as to what the out-of-the-blue surprise could be. Since I had no idea about what it was, I wasn’t excited. It is just a matter of time before I know, so might as well wait, I thought. At 6 pm, I found myself on the bike with my dad heading towards our destination. Now I was curious. I asked him, “Where are we going, dad?”, to which he replied, “You’ll see!”. Soon, we stopped at the gate of an independent house and went in, but instead of ringing the bell, he went around the house and climbed a flight of stairs. A confused me promptly followed him. When we finally reached atop, I was intrigued by what I saw. It was a well-lit terrace with a roof, decorated with pieces of red cloth all around. There were also many weapons kept on one side and a lamp on a corner. The place had an ancient and calm mood to it. There were many people who were following exercises shown by who I thought looked like a master. We slowly walked in and sat down. Seeing the confused look on my face, my dad said, "This is kalarippayattu, Kerala’s very own martial art form. And yes, you’re joining from tomorrow”. This was my first taste of kalarippayattu. The first few days of classes were hard and the body pain was real. I had never experienced body pain with that intensity before. However, it was only a matter of time before I got the hang of it. Little did I know then that kalarippayattu would play a significant part in shaping me as a whole… In this thread, I will give you a basic overview about kalari in simple language, right from its origin to its health benefits. I will also share my learning experience so far, the impact it has had on my life, and whether you should consider joining kalari classes. Do stick around till the end!  Last edited by CentreOfGravity : 11th August 2024 at 11:42. |
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10th March 2024, 15:22
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| Re: Common man’s guide to Kalarippayattu | My experience learning the art form What is kalarippayattu?Kalarippayattu, also called kalari in short, is India’s oldest martial art form and is widely considered as the mother of all martial arts. Kalari is to India what karate is to Japan. It originated in Kerala in the 11th-12th century. According to a legend, Parasuram, a devotee of Lord Shiva, learnt the martial art from Him and taught it to the natives of Kerala. Various historical evidences suggest that Kung-Fu and similar martial arts were conceived from kalari. The word kalarippayattu is a combination of two words - ‘kalari’ meaning ‘training ground / battleground’ and ‘payattu’ meaning ‘combat’. Typically, a kalari is situated lower than the level of ground. The floor of every kalari consists of red sand which is mixed with specific herbs like turmeric and in some cases, jaggery, that are said to aid in the treatment of small wounds suffered during training. Traditionally, the entrance of the kalari faces the east while the deity faces the west. Every kalari must have a poothara, which is a seven-step raised platform with a lotus-shaped kumbha or figure, at its apex. The seven steps represent the seven chakras of the human body. The teacher, or gurukkal, gives oral commands, or vaithari, for the kalarippayattu exercises which the students must follow. In most kalaris, the students must wear a special red cloth called kacha which is worn around the waist while practising. A kacha is of great importance in a kalari. It is awarded to the student as the first stepping stone if he/she is found competent in the first few months of training. The kacha is also important in providing support to the waist in case of a fall or injury.  Kalari ground; notice the various weapons and the poothara Wearing the kacha around the waist: Kalari can be broadly classified into two styles - the northern style (vadakkan kalari) and the southern style (thekkan kalari). The northern style, regarded as the original style of kalari, is primary practised in the Malabar region of Kerala. This style focuses on elegant and flexible movements, and weapon training. Usually, a public performance of a northern kalari is more enjoyable to watch for this reason. The southern style, true to its name, is more prevalent in the southern region of Kerala. It is based on hard, impact-based techniques and hand-to-hand combats. Within the northern and southern styles, there exist many more sub-styles of kalari. There will be slight to drastic variations in each exercise / sequence in different kalaris even of the same style. Do note, kalari was practised in other parts of South India like Udupi / Mangalore too (formerly known as Tulunadu - link). Here I will focus on kalari in Kerala since that’s where my knowledge is concentrated. Northern Style (Vadakkan kalari)As mentioned earlier, the northern style is considered to be the original form of kalari. This is the style that I have been learning. Training is broadly classified into two: body conditioning exercises and weapons training. After receiving training in some basic kalari exercises, a student is taught meypayattu, which is a combination of flexibility exercises with offensive and defensive techniques. There are two stages of weapon training - kolthari (wooden weapons) which involves long stick, short stick, tusk-shaped curved stick and mace, and angathari (metal weapons) which involves dagger, spear, sword and shield, flexible sword (urumi) and axe. Finally, we have bare hand combat (verum kai) which, as is evident from the name, involves two students fighting with their bare hands. Southern Style (Thekkan kalari)The exercises of the southern style are more combative in nature and place heavy emphasis on hand-to-hand combat, hard impact techniques and footwork. It starts with the training in chuvadu, a system of various combinations of fighting techniques which improves body stability and balance. This is followed by sparring with a partner as part of the training. After a basic proficiency in unarmed combat is established, weapons training begins with a small stick. These are primarily defensive techniques. A point worth mentioning is that weapon training is given in the southern style (the only weapons which aren’t a part of training here are the curved stick and dagger), however, weapons aren't given as much importance in comparison. As the student gains more experience, the gurukkal imparts a small amount of knowledge about marma points (pressure points) if deemed appropriate. Not all students are given this knowledge as it is not something that can be used on anyone. If the right (rather, wrong) marma points are triggered, the result can be fatal. Point to note - marma training is also given in the northern style. Kalari – Sport or martial art?Kalarippayattu is fundamentally a martial art form, but it has made its way into sports competitions as well. Every year for the past ~65 years, competitions are held at four levels: the first three levels are district, state and national level competitions. If a participant gets a medal in the national competition, he/she is eligible for the Khelo India Youth Games if they are under 18 years of age, and in the National Games if they are 18 or above. District competitions are held only in a few states where the number of participants is substantial. In other states, participants directly take part in the state competitions. It is said that kalarippayattu could make its way to the Olympic Games too, though it is unclear as to when it will be introduced. If this happens, India’s chances of getting more medals will increase as our country produces some of the best kalari artists in the world. The aim is to bring kalarippayattu to the world map for maximum visibility. Here is a video of a group event (short stick) at the 2012 Kerala State Competition: If anyone is interested in knowing about kalarippayattu in much more detail, you can visit Wikipedia. Here my aim was to provide just the important details. Last edited by CentreOfGravity : 11th August 2024 at 13:09. |
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10th March 2024, 17:19
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| Re: Common man’s guide to Kalarippayattu | My experience learning the art form My experience with kalari and some thoughtsTo continue with my anecdote, my mother has a transferable job which means we have to shift places every five or so years. As luck would have it, we got a transfer to Trivandrum one year after I joined the kalari in Chennai when my weapons training had just begun. My master at the time was Shaji K John gurukkal. Currently he takes classes in Madipakkam, Chennai (link). Oh, if you’re wondering, I happen to be a Malayali who had never lived in Kerala until this transfer. Soon after we shifted, we were on the lookout for a kalari which taught the northern style. Trivandrum lies in the southern part of Kerala, so there weren’t many options. Finally, we found VKM Kalari in Kowdiar in 2019 (it is now located in a place called Maruthankuzhi - link). Boy, was the experience completely different! If the training in my old kalari was hard, here it was 'hard pro max'! In the initial days, I simply couldn’t cope up with the heavy training. The body pain was extreme. I tried to find excuses to not go to class. Slowly but surely, I coped up though. Eventually, I started enjoying practising kalari. Then Covid-19 happened. The entire world came to a halt, and so did kalari class. For two months, I had no physical activity. That’s when I started missing kalari for the first time. Soon enough, my sir started taking online classes; something better than nothing, right? This went on for a year until the restrictions eased up a bit. In 2021, offline classes resumed and I was a happy lad! VKM Kalari - My second abodeAs mentioned before, I currently learn kalari at VKM Kalari, under the guidance of Ambareesh K K gurukkal. He has won multiple district and state level prizes and is a three time national level champion. He also conducts training camps across the country to train students for state and national competitions, apart from travelling abroad for shows and programs. He has also performed kalari before the former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. He is a fantastic teacher and leaves no stone unturned to make all his students better versions of themselves. Talking of my achievements, I participated in the 2023 Trivandrum district level competition where I took part in four events. I won three gold medals and one silver medal. I also participated in the state level competition, but it proved too tough for me and I returned empty handed :P. My peers also participated in the district competition and received medals. If not for my master’s constant mentorship and training, I could never have unlocked my true potential. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure (these pictures are of my master):       Some short videos: Here is the link to our YouTube channel and Instagram account. These links will be useful to get an idea of the style of kalari that I practice. Note: I’m not promoting VKM Kalari or Ambareesh Gurukkal in any way, just sharing my experience and attaching useful links so that you can check out what we do. Some thoughts and general adviceAt 18 years of age, I’m not sure if I’m qualified to advise the respected elders reading this, but here goes!
Leaving the best for last. If this doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will! ------- To conclude, the culture, traditions and art forms that India boasts of are aplenty. As Indians, we must do our best to preserve and uphold them, so that the essence of India isn’t lost with time. Take some time out of your schedules and invest in learning one of these; you’ll never regret it! If you still have any doubts or want to know more about kalarippayattu, feel free to shoot your questions. I’ll do my best to clear them. Thank you for bearing with me till the end! Yours truly, CentreOfGravity  Go to top of post Last edited by CentreOfGravity : 11th August 2024 at 13:34. |
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11th August 2024, 20:37
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12th August 2024, 10:22
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12th August 2024, 10:28
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| Re: Common man’s guide to Kalarippayattu | My experience learning the art form Quote:
Again when I started reading your article, it exactly started in Chennai when you were 12 years old. I was very happy. Again when I saw the location of your master’s address, I was super duper happy. Because I stay in the same location (Madipakkam). I can’t thank you enough. The article was really helpful. Will reach out to your master soon  Last edited by TorqueKnight : 12th August 2024 at 10:29. Reason: Typo | |
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