Kalari payat - The martial art of Kerala

Kalarippayattu or kalari payat is a martial art from Kerala, India. Possibly one of the oldest fighting systems in existence, it is practiced in Kerala and contiguous parts of Tamil Nadu.

The word is spelled variously as kalari payat, kalarippayatta, kalaripayatt and many others depending on the dialect and romanisation system used. It includes strikes, kicks, grappling, preset forms, weaponry and healing methods.Regional variants are classified according to geographical position in Kerala; these are the northern style, the southern style and the central style.

Northern kalari payat is based on the principle of hard technique, while the southern style primarily follows the soft techniques, even though both systems make use of internal and external concepts. Some of the choreographed sparring in kalari payat can be applied to dance and kathakali dancers who knew martial arts were believed to be markedly better than the other performers.

Some traditional Indian dance schools still incorporate kalari payat as part of their exercise regimen. The term kalari payittru is a tatpurusha compound from the words kalari meaning school or gymnasium and payattu derived from payattuka meaning to "fight/ exercise" or "to put hard work into".

Various kalari styles

Various kalari styles as specified in Vadakkan Pattukal,
Karuvancheri Kalari
Kodumala Kalari
Kolastri Nadu Kalari
Kurungot Kalari
Mathilur Kalari
Mayyazhi Kalari
Melur Kalari
Nadapuram Kalari
Panoor Madham Kalari
Payyampalli Kalari
Ponniyam Kalari
Puthusseri Kalari
Puthuram Kalari
Thacholi Kalari
Thotuvor Kalari
Tulunadan Kalari
Kalari Techniques
Techniques Techniques (atavu) in kalari payat are a combination of steps (chuvatu) and stances (vadivu). There are five steps and northern styles have ten postures (Ashta Vadivukal). Each stance has its own power combination, function and set of techniques. All the eight postures are based on animals.

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