Kalaripayattu – Legend traces this 3000-year-old art form to Sage Parasurama- the master of all martial art forms and is believed to have been inspired by the raw power and supple strength of the animal forms – Lion, Tiger, Elephant, Wild Boar, Snake, and Crocodile. Today this art is emerging in a new avatar for all its holistic benefits. Viki Shah meets Vipin Kazhipurath to know more.
Kalarippayattu is an ancient martial art from Kerala. There is no other martial art practice in the country to compete with its training system and application techniques.
Kerala is a beautiful stretch of land in the southern most part of India, entitled ‘God’s Own Country’ in the tourism map of the land. The state of Kerala has made rich and varied contributions to the topmost performing art styles in the country, being Kathakali and Kalarippayattu.
Kalarippayattu is an ancient martial art from Kerala. There is no other martial art practice in the country to compete with its training system and application techniques. These have been compiled over many decades by the great Gurus or Masters of the land. It has a continuity that spreads over centuries and is based on the idea of a sound mind in a sound body. Kalarippayattu is a rare combination of martial training, physical culture, self-defense practice and physio-therapeutic treatment. It has a high reputation as an art with highly developed body language and expression.
HEALTH BENEFITS AND TRAINING METHOD
Kalaripayattu increases the strength and energy in one’s body. It also enhances flexibility and levels of endurance, and the body and mind start to become more balanced. It brings down stress and develops within your body and mind the power of relaxation. It boosts stamina and the functioning of the immune system. It bestows greater power of concentration, self-control and enhances posture and muscle tone. Cardiovascular improvements and improved blood circulation are long term benefits. There is no strict diet to be followed while learning this art.
Training in defense and attack techniques with traditional weapons used in Kalaripayattu, cultivates abilities like absolute physical control, unbelievable speed in physical movements, leaps and jumps and helps the student achieve perfect neuro-muscular co-ordination. The philosophy of this intense martial art stretches the limits of the human body to a degree where non-ballistic weapons from wooden staff to spear, sword and shield become extensions of the body thus making the entire body a weapon.
The criterion to train in this art form is simple – the student should be above 7 years of age. But more importantly, the student should have great respect and interest towards the art with the foremost ability to believe in himself.
Benefits of Kalaripayattu:
• It boosts suppleness with the help of its several flexible moves.
• It helps boost strength levels, making you strong inside out.
• It helps you become nimble and quick with your bodily responses, which is necessary in a combat mode.
• It helps eliminate the sluggishness in
your body.
• Kalaripayattu helps you to focus and concentrate on the moment.
• It instills calm and patience in you enabling you to not make quick judgments and moves.
• It de-stresses you because of the yoga asanas incorporated in its learning.
• It improves your focus and concentration along with your presence of mind.
• Kalaripayattu helps boost your survival instincts in physically and mentally demanding situations.
KALARIPPAYATTU IN CONTEMPORARY PERFORMING ARTS
Training in Kalarippayattu is the latest trend catching up amongst performers across the country. Actors and dancers are seeking training in this traditional Kerala martial art to make their bodies stronger and more agile and mind alert. The body is an essential element for a performer and a simple hand gesture or even an unassuming turn of the body can express what words may need several pages to communicate. But to achieve this amount of sensitivity and attention in the body, one must go through intense training of both, the body and the mind. Kalarippayattu does exactly that and a little more.
While Kalari, like any other martial art, engages in intensive body training, which requires a strong determined mind, once the initial stage of learning the basics is achieved, focus moves towards ‘expression’. It’s one of the only martial arts that focuses on ‘bhaav’ or ‘expression’ of the body through the movements. It synchronises the physical energy and the mental energy, ultimately producing a body that is spontaneous, yet full of aesthetic expression. All of which makes Kalarippayattu the perfect training medium for a performer.
THE PHILOSOPHY
Kalaripayattu is witnessing a revival in recent times due to the beauty of the form and its immense physical benefits. It incorporates powerful leg swings, swift jumps and kicks and exhibits the intense energy and extreme physicality of its practitioners.
It is basically a philosophical system aiming to nurture a precise way of ‘non-violent life’, structured more towards introspective self-analysis and self-control. The final goal of a Kalarippayattu practitioner is not just to know exactly all the techniques of defense and offence or the proper use of the various weapons, but also to overcome and rationally tame the anger and any kind of impulsive and violent behaviour, which can have extremely dangerous effects on oneself and others
Vipin Kazhipurath is a “Celebrity Trainer/Instructor” and “MeiMovement” is his academy that has a Health Wellness Program for Corporate Employees.He also conducts workshops and retreat programs and is visiting Dubai in September.
Email-contact@meimovement.com, learnkalaripayattu@gmail.com | follow on: vipin_lagarto
Visit: learnkalaripayattumumbai@blogspot.com | Images on pages 22 & 23 are courtesy Vipin Kazhipurath.