Kalarippayattu Training in Kerela India!

[Brian R. VanCise]

Hello All,

While not specificly IndoChinese martial art I thought that this forum
would be the best place to talk about the Indian Martial Art of Kalarippayattu! Recently while visiting India, specificly the state of Kerela. I was not only
able to watch a Kalarippayattu Demonstation that I arranged but also able to
train with the Head Gurukal of this specific Kalarippayattu group. Kalarippayattu is a martial art native to the Indian state of Kerela and believe it or not it is very hard to find active practitioners any where else in the world! Kalarippayattu is purportedly a forerunner to the Shaolin Martial Systems and is believed to have been brought to the Shaolin Temple by the India Monk/Prince Bodhidharma! Having experienced this martial art first hand I have little doubt that this is true. There are alot of similarities between the Shaolin systems and Kalarippayattu. This martial system is both athletic and deadly with a very large variety of weapons practice. I was specifically impressed with similarities that I found not only with the Shaolin systems but also with Indonesian, Philipino martial arts and Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu. They practice empty hand techniques both against empty hand and weapon. They also practice weapon vs. weapon training. Kalarippayattu is dynamic and practitioners generally start fairly young around twelve years old or so. Their Training Hall is called a Kalari and is traditionally in a dedicated building just to their martial art and they dig it down and train on a clay floor. Some of the weapon training consists of : Knife, Stick, Sword, Sword & Shield, Sash/Sarong, Flexible Sword, Long Stick, Spear, Club, with and assortment or weapons in each area. I was impressed with their ability to move and also with the methods of training. Kalarippayattu is certainly a beautiful and deadly martial art that is thousands of years old!

Brian R. VanCise

 

[still learning]

Hello, You may be right? After all he ( the buddist monk) came from India to China. Where did he learn figthing skills? Watching animals? or both home (India) and watching animals? Note every country has had their own way of fighting too. I think the first two man on earth must the fought each other? If there was only one woman? ............History is just that.....today we need to meet the modern way of fighting....is it the same as the old way?........take the other person out of the fight?......Aloha

 

[java man]

hey brian,
what group did you train with? Sounds like you did northern, which kalari?

I spent a bit of time there training in central, southern and northern. Its a good art. I found that a lot of the kalari guys there dont know too much of the applications with a few exceptions, as there are a couple who can really fight. Did you get to learn any marma adi?

best wishes

 

[Shogun]

I just watched a show on this art on FIT TV.

a lot of people compare it to Kali, but I dont really think it was Kali-like. More like Aikido. from the long staff to the empty hand.

good stuff.


kyle

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Javaman,

So sorry for taking so long to post to this thread. I studied with
a group in Kerela that is very, very good. The teacher had trained
both in the Northern and Southern styles and I was impressed
with his skill. He definately was able to translate and teach the
combative applications of his art. We went threw multiple joint
locking techniques and he showed multiple variaitons each time.
That portion was a lot of fun because I was able to see the
similarities between Kalaripayattu and Silat, Budo Taijutsu and
Modern Arnis. It was a very interested training experience and
next time I go back to visit family I plan on training with them
again. If you are interested in their contact info for a trip or
training pm me and I will be happy to share it with you.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[GuruJim1]

I have a good site for India's Martial Arts. It was sent to me sometime ago and now I will be happy to share it with everyone.

http://www.shastarvidiya.org/

I hope everyone enjoys.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

GuruJim1

That was a great link to the Sikh warrior arts. The Sikh have a
fierce reputation as warriors and their culture is a warrior culture.
Awesome link to their arts. Kalarippayattu is definately different
but the weapons used are very similar in many ways. The Indian
arts have had little exposure but they certainly are dynamic and
will gain more and more exposure as time goes on. Thanks again
for the link. Here is a link for a Kalarippayattu website:
www.kalarippayat.com ! Here also is a link to a Silambam website:
www.silambam.com ! The Silambam website has some stick
videos that are worth taking a look at. The Kalarippayattu link
unfortunately does not have any multimedia. Let me hunt around
for some video footage for you.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[GuruJim1]

Thanks they were great links loved them.

 

[sansoo]

Here are some other websites

Southern Style(Thekkan Sampradayam)

http://www.kalarippayatt.co.uk/
http://www.kalariworld.com/

Northern Style (Vadakkan Sampradayam)

http://www.kalaripayattu.org/index.htm.
http://www.vallabhattakalari.com/whats.html


http://www.angelfire.com/az/ceylon/kalari.html
This is an article about Kalaripayattu(I.D.S.D.K.) by Raymond Miranda .I.D.S.D.K.( International Dynamic Self Defense Kalari) is a kalari started in Malaysia by Mahaguru Ustaz Haji Hamzah Haji Abu.This school follows a belt system like in karate.

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

I trained and lived with a high level southern master who was a southern kalari master, ayurvedic doctor and siddha master in Kerala. How it was interlocked and woven from yoga to healing to pressure point training to the very fabric of day to day living was extraordinary. It was hard work but every minute was as enjoyable as can be and I never felt better in my own skin.

 

[sansoo]

I trained and lived with a high level southern master who was a southern kalari master, ayurvedic doctor and siddha master in Kerala. How it was interlocked and woven from yoga to healing to pressure point training to the very fabric of day to day living was extraordinary. It was hard work but every minute was as enjoyable as can be and I never felt better in my own skin.

Hi blackdiamondcobra,

Could you please give a brief explanation on the southern style like ,it's techniques etc.I read, it gives more importance on empty hand techniques ,unlike the northen style which concenterate mainly on weapons.
Thank You

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Even though you addressed the question to Blackdiamondcobra,
I will give it a shot since I have trained in Kalarippayattu myself.
First off to Blackdiamondcobra's statement that the fabric of how
the southern sytle is woven together is right on. Pressure Points,
ayurvedic healing, physical training, stretching, massage, weapons,
etc. It is definately a very impressive array of skills.

My experience in training was with a teacher who had trained in
the Northern and Southern styles of Kalarippayattu. He and his
students were supremely flexible, particularly in their spine. There
was high kicking, low kicking, hand techniques, joint manipulation,
weapons of all kinds and varietys from blunt to bladed to flexibile.
Needless to say they are very good at what they do. Ayurvedic
massage is also a part of their training and the teacher generally
will perform massages on his students that promote flexibility. It
is in my opinion a very demanding martial art because of the extreme
kicking skills, however as one ages you could certainly modify that
and the older guru's certainly seemed to be working on other things.
Hopefully this helps. If you are ever in Kerela, India you should
definately do some training. In one of the links earlier on this
page their is a man in the UK who also teaches. However, finding
an instructor outside of India is difficult. Hope this helps.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[blackdiamondcobra]

I trained briefly and documented alot of systems in the northern style in the north too but the training was very different in the south right from the start. It was the way it was woven, alot of time in the north was spent with the high kicks and alot of work for height and depth. The southern style was more about subtle footwork and hand coordination(nothing high or flashy), more work was done on understanding the body and marma and how the marma worked across from your yoga, your health(ayurveda) and desrtruction(martial). Alot of circular movement, always in tight control. Very practical and pragmatic in my opinion. Again as always different teachers and different styles. Theres alot out there in India!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Alot is understated! The martial sciences of India are varied
and have great depth. If you are ever able to train in Indian
martial arts I would advise you to jump at the chance.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[sansoo]

Thank You Brian and Blackdiamondcobra for the information.

I read the Northern style is mainly designed for 'one to one' combat and is mainly practiced by the Upper caste people of Kerala.In the early times ,when there was a dispute between two families,each of them hire a Kalari Parctitioner(Chekavar).These two Chekavar fight(with weapons) in the ring(ankathattu) until death.

The southern style is mainly practiced by the lower caste people and i think it was used mainly in Wars.

There is a Central Style(Madhya Keralam).They give more importance to footwork and it's derived from the Northern style.

I think in kerala, only the northrn style is given more importance by the government and the people.We cant see any demonstration of southern style in The local Tv Channels.

Thank You

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I was fortunate in that the teacher I worked with
definately knew both the northern and southern
styles. What also was remarkable to me was the
training hall. I have attached a picture of the
training hall that I visited. Mind you, these
gentleman were fantastic at what they did and
their training hall was located on an ayurvedic
resort. Hope you enjoy the picture.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[sansoo]

Hi Brian,

Could you give some information about the kicking skill's in Kalaripayattu which you have seen.If possible ,can you please compare to the other kicking arts like taekwondo,Muay thai etc.I think you have practiced and mastered variety of arts( from your website ).With your experience how would you compare the techniques(weapons,empty hands,joint locking,throws,ground fighting) with other arts like silat,FMA's,Karate,kung fu,etc.Could you share your view please

Thank You

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

The kicking techniques that I have witnessed and practiced
from Kalarippayattu are definately challenging. Certainly they have
high kicking techniques similar to Shaolin styles and also similar yet
different from the Tae Kwon Do style. I also observed low line practical
kicking techniques as well. The weapons techniques were very
good and varied with similarity to some of the shaolin styles in that
most of them were practiced with two man sets. There lathi or (4 or
5 foot) stickwork was awesome and I really enjoyed that as it was very
similar to some Filipino work that I have done in the past. When working
joint locking techniques the corelation between their locks and similar
locks I have encountered in Modern Arnis, Budo Taijutsu, Silat, etc
was very similar with just minor variations. All in all I enjoyed the
practice time I had there and would love to go back and get in some
very serious training in 2006 or 2007. I have attached a few more
photos for your viewing pleasure.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instincitveresponsetraining.com

 

[java man]

I trained in northern, southern and central styles in kerala. I trained in applications...i have to be frank...most teachers in kerala despite being physically very able dont really know the applications...i have on tape some of the worst demonstrations of self defense by 'respected teachers and their students i have ever seen.... just terrible. I have also seen some teachers who are tough fighters, and have done it for real.

I was taught that the high kicks are rising kicks to the groin and inner legs with the shins as an application...imagine some of those kicks you witnessed hitting you in the crown jewels!!!

My favourite of the styles for combat is the central style...nice
best wishes

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Javaman,

In my experience you are pretty right on. However, if you look
hard enough you will find those gems in the rough who really
can make their stuff work. I do not think it is alot different
than most martial systems in that regard. Sounds like you were
able to spend some serious time training there. That's great!
I am already looking forward to my next training trip.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com