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Ancient wrestling Kalaripayathu (INDIA)
Kalaripayattu is possibly the oldest Martial art still practised in the world. This martial art form that originated in Kerala, India, derives its name from "Kalari" or the arena in which the combatants fight and "payattu" which means practice in Malayalam the language of Kerala. The fighting rink is the theatre where the disciple of Kalaripayattu displays his prowess.
Nowadays Kalaripayattu is practised more as fitness training and as a demonstration sport, which you can see on tours of Kerala with Kerala Backwater. In earlier times Kalaripayattu was practised as a fighting skill by the warriors in the armies of the Kings and warlords of Kerala. Often conflicts between courtiers and disputes between landlords in Kerala, were settled by bouts of Kalaripayattu.
Kalaripayattu is an art of combat, which combines the strength and flexibility of the body with the discipline and focus of the mind. The different stages in the training process of a disciple of the Kalaripayattu martial art form of Kerala are:
Meythari: In this stage the fighter learns jumps, twists and movements of the body that will aid him while fighting. The emphasis is on flexibility and agility.
Kolthari: The first phase of fighting begins with wooden sticks and staffs.
Ankathari: After mastering stick fighting, the student moves on metal weapons including short daggers and swords and shields.
Verumaki: This is the final stage of the Kalaripayattu martial art form taught in Kerala. Students learn to fight with their bare hands. Hand to hand combat involves armlocks, wrestling and attack and defense.
What was very particular in the Kalaripayathu confrontations that cannot be seen in any other form of martial arts in the world, was how high the wrestlers could leap up to the air. They actually gave the impression they could fly. They had such a magical control of their bodies that they defied every rule of gravity and provided us with an unforgettable spectacle.
We later on learnt that he wrestlers wore a traditional clothing called Katcha, which provided firmness to the hips and the abdomen and enhanced the agility of movements and jumps.
It was also very particular to the Kalaripayathu to have their practitioners be massaged with oil before and after the wrestle. We later on learned that the Kalaripayathu practitioners were more that wrestlers, they were reputed masseurs and bone doctors. In fact they were recognized as healers and setters of bones. We were told that this special massage technique was called the Kalari massage and that it revitalised the body by relaxing and opening up energy pathways. The massage was done with feet and looking at it done, was enough to even relax us.
Kalaripayathu training starts from childhood, where the student learns every little aspect of this art together with treating injuries and how to heal wounds and bruises with massage oils. When the student has learnt all the aspects of the Kalaripayathu, he becomes a Gurukal or grandmaster of this martial.
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