Today is Vijayadashami. The auspicious day for Ayudhapooja. After a looooooog break i am back here.
After the pooja on the Mahanavami (Yesterday) I did the Vidya Arambha - for Sasthra and Saasthra. Sasthra is Weapon and Saasthra is Academical studies. I did the " 4, 6, and 8 " of Kathinayoga and the weapon forms. Did the Thekkan Salutation.
Then my inner mind told me "do something right now". After pondering over the "something" for a while I realized that my earlier webpage www.kalariworld.com is down for a long time. Back in 2003 when kalariworld was launched, it started a new era in Indian Martial arts. I was really moved by the overwhelming response and the daily hits. However work pressure kept me away from the Sudarsana Kalari Sanghom for about 3 years. I was in a remote village in the highranges of Kerala. This isolation did wonders for me and I could learn a lot during my solitude. It was unfair from my part to let the kalariworld to fade into history. i have a duty to bring it back to the lovers of martial arts. Ok. I will post the contents of that webpage here. Starting from the history.
Kalarippayattu
The origin and evolution of every traditional art form of India can be traced back to the Vedic period and beyond. The legends say that yoga, classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam and martial traditions like Kalarippayattu evolved from Lord Shiva. The physical exercises practiced by Lord Shiva and other divine beings, were put together to form the base of present day yoga, by the great sage Patanjali. The dance forms were derived from the Ananda Thandava (ananda means pleasure, happiness etc.) of Lord Shiva and codified by sage Bharata in his famous work called Natyasasthra. From the war dance or Samhara Thandava of Lord Shiva evolved the martial traditions of India. Sage Parasurama who retrieved the land of Kerala from the sea was a disciple of Lord Shiva and Parasurama learned all of the martial techniques and the use of divine weapons from Him. (The art of warfare of the Vedic period can be seen in Dhanurveda where it has been codified systematically).
Parasurama is said to have traversed the earth 21 times defeating all the Kshathriya (warrior caste like the samurai of Japan) kings. In doing so he had to kill many of them. In order to get rid of all those sins, sage Parasurama decided to perform tapa (a kind of deep meditation). For this he had to get some virgin land. He threw his battle axe into the sea from Gokarna - a place in the northern most part of present day Kerala, and the axe fell into the sea at Cape Comorin. The sea from Gokarna to Cape Comorin receded and the land of Kerala rose from the waters. Parasurama established temples, towns, Vedic schools and most importantly 64 kalaris or gymnasiums throughout the length and breadth of the virgin land Kerala. He entrusted each kalari to a specific family of warriors and taught them the secrets of the art of divine warfare which in the course of time became to be known as Kalarippayattu - kalari means training center and payattu means warfare or fight.
In the southern system traditions can be traced back to sage Agasthya - one of the seven immortals according to Hindu mythology. Sage Agasthya taught many of the great mythological heroes the delicate art of warfare. The disciples of Agasthya like sage Pulastya and sage Bhoga spread the Thekkan or southern system along with the Marma or pressure point striking/treatment systems.
Slowly Kalarippayattu evolved into the three distinct styles that we can see at present. These are:
· The Thekkan (southern style)
· The Vadakkan (northern style)
and
· The very rare and almost extinct Kathinayoga style (yogic style). (there are no sub styles or versions of this Kathinayoga system)
Hanuman vazhi - way of Hanuman, emphasis placed on speed and agility, Bali vazhi - way of Bali, using the force/strength of the opponent by redirecting and putting him off balance like in judo, Bhiman vazhi - way of Bhima emphasis on physical strength, etc are some of the minor variants of the kalari styles.
Off the above, the Kathinayoga system still continues in its original way. In the other systems changes have been incorporated by the masters as and when they felt and none of the sub styles or variants remain at present in their pure original form.
The kalari system has influenced many traditional folk art forms like Parichakali, Kolkkali, Kambukalai etc ( all have one or the other aspects of kalari e.g. Kolkkali uses a wooden staff, Parichakali uses a shield and small wooden sword and so on).
Detailed history and background of Dhanurveda, Parasurama, sage Patanjali etc will be given later.
