The Indian state of Kerala is renowned for its varied martial arts. Amongst the many forms of martial arts of Kerala are Kalaripayattu, Parisa Kali, Velakanni, Valeru, Kunderu and Njaninmel Kali.

Kalaripayattu is one of the oldest martial arts in the world. The original martial art form evolved in north Kerala. In Malayalam, Kalaripayattu means 'the fighting art of the Kalari'. In ancient Kerala, Kalari was a place of learning subjects such as medicine, philosophy, architecture, astrology and geometry, besides, combat arts and yoga. Translated into English, kalari means: the battlefield, and payat implies training in the art of combat. The technique is based on the science of yoga for its forms and exercises, and its medical treatments are based on the science of Ayurveda.

The origins of kalaripayattu are obscured by time, since it has been nurtured from the oldest martial traditions of South India, with influences that came in with time from north Indian Aryan martial traditions, which have links with Dhanur Veda-the science of the art of war in ancient India. Kalari in its present form has existed, for over 1,500 years, according to the traditions of the masters. Today the martial arts form is a fusion of north and south Indian fighting traditions, embodying the martial and spiritual practices of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islamic Sufism.

The Parija Kali of North Malabar and Velakanni of Travancore are two other martial arts forms of Kerala, which involve considerable physical training and knowledge of the use of the arms. Velakanni represents the battle between Pandavas and Kauravas at Kurukshetra, and is played out during the temple festival at Cherthala and Ambalapuzha as well as Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple at Thiruvananthapuram. There are also other martial arts forms of Kerala like Valeru (sword throwing), Kunderu and Njaninmel Kali (tightrope walking), which are performed in temple festivals. In recent times, the field of martial arts in Kerala has given the basis of circus training. The Kannur and Thalassery area of north Kerala are known as the "home of the circus in India".

A Single Force of Three

Anything in Hinduism that smacks even remotely of divine intent and occasional intervention has to choose between the numbers 3 and 7. Kalarippayat chose 3-beginning with its division into three distinct parts: Meithari, Kothari and Ankathari.

Meithari (The Physique)

The initiating procedure is designed to enhance the meippayat (physical fitness) of students. Preparation entails wearing the kaccha (loincloth), smearing the body with oil, and prostration before the gurukkal and the complex pantheon of deities he arbitrates on behalf of. It highlights the Vedantic philosophy of surrendering abjectly to the Supreme Being. Says Govindankutty Gurukkal: "Our body, mind and spirit are the gift of God. Every movement in this world is planned and performed by Him alone. Kalari teaches the students to grasp life's contents, using them to attain strength and tranquility of mind and body. They work together".

To prepare the body for a punishing routine, students learn leg stretching movements that lead to proper balance and the stability of a sphere, basic body postures, the flea jumps (or flying leaps, if you will) so beloved of photographers and tourism PR personnel, and flexibility exercises that can stymie the most crooked of chiropractors. In its advanced stages, meithari helps to understand and control at will the balance and flow of energy in the body.

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Kothari (weapons of wood)

This is where the student is introduced to the first of his prostheses in battle: wooden weapons like the kettukari (the long 12-span staff), cheruvadi (three-span staff) and ottakkol (a curved wooden weapon). The ottakkol serves as a training instrument for perfecting the coordination of the intricate movements of spine and feet, and is also a stepping stone to learning the proper execution of kalarippayat's advanced fighting techniques, some that can permanently disable or kill a man with the jab of a finger.

The first lesson the use of these weapons teaches the student is that anything can be used as an extension of the body, making it a potent fly-by-wire instrument of control.

Ankathari (metal weapons combat)

The final stage begins with mastery of the kattaram (short dagger) used for close combat. Ankathari ranges from very artistically crafted, almost choreographic, sequences of mutual respectful salutations between the combatants to the hyper kinetic movements of puliyankam, the greased lightning leopard fight where the bones seem to melt away. Says Muraleedharan Gurukkal: "Combatants start fighting only after mutual consent. It is a convention of giving respect to the enemy as a person and to the payat for the purpose. It reflects the patience and steadiness in the character of combatants, attained after long years of practice".

Research has revived some of them (but more priceless weaponry is said to have been lost than recovered). The urumi (a paper-thin flexible sword), mace and spear are weapons that demand niggling training because they can easily turn back upon the unversed user. As for gum: it is said-and no master will either refute or verify it-that broken weapons are joined with vajralepavidhi (a special paste made of precious stones), which lasts for more than 1,000 years.

What is less obvious is the joinery between tradition and modernity in kalarippayat. A kalari school is a living anachronism, a piece of the past caught in a time warp. In the 60s, a couple of kalarippayat schools did try to tie in with the short-diploma mayhem of modern tutelage, with unfortunate consequences. Suryaprakash, who has been a kalari student for 12 years now, likens this futile go at adapting to changed circumstances to "dancing the Bharatnatyam to the beat of disco music".

But Ramachandra Gurukkal is firm about the virtues of being shackled to tradition: "I am practicing and teaching my students in precisely the manner my own gurukkal had taught me. My responsibility-which I feel I am fulfilling -is to sustain it for our next generation without any modification or revision".

This sounds simple but it isn't. Compounding the problems inherent in bridging a time gap, kalarippayat is being taught in what is scientifically called a "biosphere", a hot house shut away from the rest of the world but for experimental purposes. Intrinsic to the threat of kalarippayat is a sublime moral and existential agenda from a tradition that died in the vast world outside long ago. Today's kalari students are as canny and "with it" as MBA students-both plan their lives in the cold light of reason. The difference between the two is not that their battlefields are different-for the former, the arena of the spirit, for the latter the marshland of finance. The lesson that today's kalari students aim to learn is almost entirely metaphysical a thing made of the phantom values of war like chivalry and compassion (unless they plan to use it to disable urban muggers, which would be an utter waste of precious and backbreaking tutelage).

Kavalam Says: "In theater, it's not only dialogues that are important, it's action as well, action latent in the script. If you let it, kalari will first show you then teach you the body language of metaphysics". Combatants can use the power of mind and body to either communicate or annihilate. Kalarippayat gives you that choice, and then makes it clear that only one option has the gurukkal's blessings - communicate.

Kalari also opens the door to a lifelong, fulfilling chat with the demon who knows you best: yourself. This cosy tête-à-tête is said to be the moving force behind some of Kerala's famous art forms like the ritualistic Theyyam and Padayani, and more sophisticated dance and drama forms like Koodiyattom and Kathakali.

Student says: "I had a very careless, rude and stubborn character in my childhood, But after joining Kalari my self-confidence, patience and humility have increased tremendously. More than that, I remained healthy throughout my training".

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