I like this trailer a lot. May be I will watch it sometime this summer. Kung fu cult says, everything is Kung fu, just like the Yoga cult.

This move is called IruttiKaal in Malayalam. This clip is filmed in my Kalari Institute CVN Kalari, Thiruvananthapuram (as complicated as Massachusetts!).  This is one of the toughest basic sequences for me. The hip joints have to be completely flexible to sit down completely like in full splits. I could not do it completely and my Gurukkal Rajasekaran Nair asked me not to do it. Children learn this easily and adults who are already flexible can do this, for others this is quite difficult. The spine turns around 360 or feels like it. And the gurukkal will pretty much manhandle the students. He would pull the kids’s hair to twirl around. It does not look too difficult while watching it. But one gets to do this, it is extremely demanding. One needs to coordinate the right and the left, twirl and change direction. When it is time to twirl, the brain needs to adapt so quickly as to where the body is and the control is important. The gurukkal would never be happy with the students. He would always complain and sometimes hit the children mildly to ask them to keep the focus. This is something I will have to practice next time I go to my Kalari Institute.

In a Kalari class, one can often hear the gurukkal say that one must embody the spirit of an animal. It is so beautiful to watch the students who have been practicing for a few years to see this in action. The way they stay and move in a pose is exactly like an animal, ready to charge. There are a lot of poses in Kalari based on animals. Sort of similar to yoga in that way, but it is done with more vigor and precision is given a lot of importance. After all, one is getting trained to fight, not meditate. One of the poses is based on the form of a lion called Simha vadivu.

I happened to come across this clip on Kalari, where Gitanjali Kolanad takes the advice too seriously. The Kalari move is being demonstrated with a real lion. I am not really sure if Leo, the lion is needed to get this done. See for yourself.

A lot of Kalari sequences look like a combination of dance and yoga. The first video is called Poothra Thozhuthal. This is one of the beginning sequences taught in Kalaripayattu. The second video shows some poses of the meipayattu, which means body control. Check these out.

I have been reading up about Kalaripayattu from the book called ‘when the body becomes all eyes’ by Phillip B. Zarrilli. I thought the title was tacky but then I read that it is a literal translation of a Malayalam phrase meyyu kannakuka like Lord Brahma, the thousand eyed. I do not like this book as there is no flow in the way it is structured.  I bought it as this was the only book that I found on Kalaripayattu and has some historical tidbits. This post is mainly sourced from this book.

Kalaripayattu is derived from two major traditions, Tamil traditions dating from the early sangham culture and the Sanskrit Dhanur Veda traditions. Although Dhanur Veda means science of archery, it encompasses all martial arts. Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana follow Dhanur Veda for the specifics of combat and warfare. Although many martial arts and a form similar to Kalaripayattu have been practised since ancient times in India, Kalaripayattu as a form primarily to Kerala is said to have been established during the eleventh or twelfth century AD. This style of Kalaripayattu is also practised in adjacent Tulu speaking Coorg district of Karnataka.

In Malayalam kalari refers to the special place where martial exercises are taught. Paytukka means ‘learn, to exercise in arms, practice’. Specific exercises performed in a kalari are meipayattu, which is the body exercise, kuntam payattu is the spear fight, val payattu is the sword fight and many others.

Sage Parasurama, an avatar of Vishnu, is believed to be the founder of the art and the first kalari. He is also the one to have created Kerala. The system of treatment and the massage of Kalaripayattu is closely associated with Ayurveda. There are quite a few styles and lineages of practice as these are family traditions. All these families have instructions written on palm leaves and these are guarded secrets. All of them have common elements, where the preliminary techniques of body exercise, meippayattu which when combined with seasonal full body massage and application of oils, prepare the practioner’s body and mind for advanced practice and fighting.

Practising at advanced levels with combat weapons was an exclusive right and privilege designated to serve a ruler or master. This duty was associated with specic subgroups of castes and it involved fighting in duels,disputes to the death, as Chavarpada has observed on my previous post. Some castes of hindus, muslims and christians were selected to train to be kalari warriors.

Kalaripayattu lost its popularity once the firearms were introduced. I also read on the internet that the British did not allow this practice and hence it was practiced secretly. Not sure how true that information is. Back to the current times, Kalaripayat had to compete with other martial arts like karate. In Kalaripayat, it takes a while before the student will be introduced to fighting and weapon training. In karate and other martial arts, the student gets to learn the self defence tactics in the first class. Kalaripayat takes it own time before such an act. The students that are impatient to learn the self defence and fighting switch to the others. But even so, Kalaripayattu has its followers who see meaning in taking it slow and steady.

The gurukkal has asked the students to start the warm up in malayalam.  I notice that he is already criticizing some students to put in more energy in those legs, kaal kondhanum mone. The warm ups themselves look spectacular, with students having to kick the leg so high up while walking that it should touch the shoulder. Like a military parade, but the leg goes all the way up, like a standing splits. That is the aim and most students look very close to doing it.

There are plenty of warm up sequences where the students walk back and forth in the rectangular kalari. Each one of them is a treat to watch. The students are sweating even before the actual sequences begin. The gurukkal is so talented that he needs to work the entire class with students in various levels and experience. The gurukkal knows every student by name and the practice is structured to a student as to what the student is capable of doing. He knows exactly where one is beginning and how the practice needs to be built over time. The students are advised to begin learning kalari at the age of seven. The children at this age are flexible and easier to train. It also needs many years of training to be a kalari warrior, so starting early makes sense. But one is allowed to start at any age if the student is physically fit without any medical conditions or injuries.

Almost every single action in kalaripayat requires the hip joints to be super flexible. The body needs to be stable, always in control even while kicking or in mid air. The body requires intelligence, balance and control to perform any of this. I think the stability is provided by the hip joints and that could be why all the starting sequences concentrate on the hips. All the actions in kalari is a fighting action. A lot of them look like animal poses, crouching tigers and hidden dragons. The essence of the animal has to be felt in a pose. A few poses remind me of yoga like the virabhadrasana the warrior. But very animal like with the readiness to pounce and attack.

The picture is from Nicolas Chorier’s book “A Kite’s Eye View: India: Between Earth and Sky”.

Gurukkal is very knowledgable, experienced and talented. One gets to be gurukkal only after years of work. No wonder the gurukkal automatically commands so much respect. The word gurukkal is plural, meaning you honor the guru and the lineage of his gurus. The guru assumes the title only when he has reached a sufficient age of mastery, ability and accomplishment.   Since kalari is a high energy, action filled martial arts, the teacher needs to be extremely qualified. I can see how the gurukkal is constantly assessing what the students are doing and what they are capable of doing. If such a knowledge is missing, there sure will be lot of injuries.

This reminds me of a saying in India, monkey with a garland. This is what will happen if the teacher is inexperienced and teaches kalaripayattu. I cannot help thinking how easy it is to be a yoga teacher today. Just a month’s training or a six months weekend course makes one eligible to teach yoga. I hear there are yoga teacher trainings that can be done from home! Me, my grandpa and my dog are yoga teachers! But, I guess teaching basic poses in yoga is not as complex as martial arts and as long as the yoga teacher does not behave like a monkey with a garland, it is ok.

Coming back to kalari, there is a slight fear among the students. There is plenty of criticisms, the student cannot proceed in a sequence having done it wrong or sloppily. It has to be done right, with focus and the correct understanding. Shraddhikanum, is a word I hear so much in the class. It means faith, focus, hardwork and dedication. I can also see the love of kalari in the gurukkal, that he does not get tired of repeating how to do an action so many times, until the student gets it. The distance between the feet, how low the hip needs to be, how much the body needs to be extended, how to use the entire body in a pose is told so many times. It is by repetition that the student learns. The student needs to attend the class every day and hear it from the gurukkal. That is the only way to learn kalaraipayyatu and I am so happy it has not been diluted just to fit a western audience.

There are so many levels for a student to go through before the weapons can be used and then it starts to look a like a fight. Until then, the students have to prepare their body and this process can take years. I found it interesting that all students are wearing white langottis. The langottis are worn snug and is supposed to apply some pressure in the lower abdomen. Reminds me of uddiyana bandha of yoga. Unlike karate, there is nothing visually that can tell if a student is a beginner or a senior. When the gurukkal thinks the student is ready for the next level, then the new sequences of the next level are taught. I am fascinated by this system of teaching, where you learn from the gurukkal every day.

Although kalaripayattu was used for warfare and duels, it also helped kathakali performers help with the body awareness that helps them while performing. From what I see, kalari is popular among people that wants to use this art for fitness, by dancers for body awareness, by yogis and other martial arts followers to learn a complementary body art. A few will continue to become the gurukkal after many years of work.