First hand knowledge of Kalaripayattu?

[Sasori_Te]

Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of this Indian art? I'm looking for insights that I can't find on the web. Not to mention, there isn't a great amount of useful information that I can find there anyway. It seems as though this style may have been the forbearer of Chinese martial systems. This may have been the art that Da Mao brought from India. Any help in my research would be wonderful. Thank you.

[White Warlock]

I studied it, and yes it is. What are you trying to figure out?

 

edit: After a little thought, i feel obligated to mention that it's been almost 15 years since i studied it. My knowledge is somewhat intact, but there 'will' be gaps.

[Sasori_Te]

Were you able to study it as it is traditionally taught in India? If so, How far were you able to advance in the system?

[White Warlock]

Bah! Yet another missed post.

 

I studied enough for my tastes at the time... a little less than two years, approximately once or twice a week, excluding the summer months, in which the instructor/naturalist healer stated i was not to practice (i was informed it had to do with tradition associated with India's dry heat summers). But, I cannot say that my studies were traditional.

 

At the time of my entry into the studies, i did not have sufficient flexibility (my instructor could pretty well turn himself into a pretzel). At least not sufficient enough to satisfy my instructor. It was introduced to me as a 'natural' means to complement my healing. I must say that the massage warm-ups were a huge positive but, that stopped at after a little over a month, and i understand that it is traditional for it to be a 'regular' part of training. Regardless, it did help me to loosen up and heal a bit, although it didn't do much to increase my overall flexibility.

 

What is it you were hoping to gleen, oh Sasori san?

[Sasori_Te]

I was hoping to find out about the empty hand aspects of the art that aren't started traditionally until after the weapons have been studied.

[White Warlock]

I was hoping to find out about the empty hand aspects of the art that aren't started traditionally until after the weapons have been studied.

That is not what i experienced, nor is it the case traditionally, from what i understand. This would be the case with silambam.

 

What needs to be stated right off the bat, is that kalaripayit is mostly a study in Indian spiritualism (not the right word, but it's what most people associate these things with). We spent a significant amount of time talking, postulating, and warming up. The majority of the training, when we went into it, didn't really feel like a martial art training in the normal sense of the word. After a full month of blissful massage, i spent an exhorbitant amount of time posing (wish i could all it something else, but that's what it felt like and that's what it is called) and performing motion drills (doing so helped strengthen my knees, as most of it was with bent knee). Eventually () we began the drills, which felt more like yoga on steroids, with aggressive exercises (obviously, i'm simplifying... but not by much).

 

There are two styles of kalaripayit. Northern and southern. Northern is more flashy and incorporates high-flying kicks and such. I was told that silambam branched off of this style. I practiced southern styles, which is cruder and more focused on muscle/power. Using my range comparisons, northern empty-hand would be 2-5 and southern would be 1-3, with a little bit of 0. Weapon ranges, of course, cover almost all ranges.

 

Warm-ups, motion exercises, animal stances (poses), footwork drills, a very low center, far too much stretching for my liking (i do not like stretching, mind you), and controlled, but full-contact sparring were the norm. I did not encounter any katas, although i understand some masters teach them.

 

There was some good learning from all of it, in that it opened my eyes to many things i had not previously perceived. I'll get into that more later, as it really doesn't have to do with kalaripayit, per se. More like my interpretations of things i learned in that time, which i find universally applicable and 'different' than what is generally taught in other systems. Suffice it to say, kalaripayit is 'real,' in the sense that what they practice does work.

 

I also found this site, http://www.indiatraveltimes.com/kalarippayatu/ , which gives interesting information on kalaripayit. A lot of what is being discussed there i don't recognize, which causes me to think i didn't learn enough, or what i learned wasn't entirely traditional. Doesn't bother me though. What i learned was beneficial to me at the time.

[Sasori_Te]

What they discuss there is what I was asking about. That's why I was hoping that you had more traditional training. Thanks for all the information though.

 

What I read from the Indian sites that i visited (and there were a few) was that you started with weapons training and advanced to empty hand at a later time. They did mention the massage you were talking about as a very important part of the warm up. It's suppposed to align the body's energies to make it stronger and more flexible. It seems like a very interesting style.