A martial art for body & soul

Feet swung upside down, body suspended in mid-air, with just the ankle locked to the rope — this has to be the defining image of kalaripayattu.

To have that power over your body and mind to twist, turn, bend, jump and to perform a yoga split mid-air without fear, dodge an attack and wield a sword with positive intentions embodies the essence of the art form.

As I delve deep into its rich history, I learn that this 3,000-year-old art form can be traced back to Sage Parasuram, the master of all martial art, and as myths show, the reclaimer of Kerala from the Arabian sea. The art that blossomed between 13th and 16th century faced a certain death during the British times, as they saw it as a challenge to their supremacy. But a few dedicated gurus surreptitiously kept it alive for future generations and saved it from definite oblivion.

This ancient martial art form lurked in the shadows for many decades, but kalaripayattu has finally arrived in the mainstream consciousness. As I witness a typical kalari practice session, spellbound, I marvel at the flexibility of the human body, the vigilance of our minds as I see students expertly manoeuvring their swords and shields.

To begin with, a student practises different animal movements and acrobatics to tone his body and mind. In the next stage, students practise with different wooden and metallic weapons such as short stick (muchan), curved stick (ottakol), mace (gada), dagger (kadaram), spear (kuntham) and swords and shield. It is only after perfecting these weapons can a trainee move on to urumi — the six-feet-long flexible sword — the most dangerous weapon in kalaripayattu, a dream for many but very few perfect it! The final stage sees a student geared to disarm and disable an opponent with empty-handed fighting technique called verumkai prayogam.

The training is incomplete without the knowledge of marmas (deadly points) in a human body which is used by a kalari master to balance the mind and body. The stages look intimidating to me and I greet the knowledge with a wee bit of skepticism.

Several kalari workshops and performances have found their way in countries including Russia, UK, Argentina and Spain, and gurukulams in India have seen students from these countries enrolling to learn this ancient art form. And why not?

If the greatest boxer in the world, Muhammad Ali, who visited Kerala in 1989 showed faith in kalaripayattu, was awed by the speed and agility of the kalari performers and agreed that “boxers could benefit if they could learn a bit of kalari”, then we can only bow our heads in reverence and give this art form the due it deserves!