KALARIPAYATTU , THE OLDEST AND THE DEADLIEST MARTIAL ART- CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL

KALARI OF KERALA , THE MOTHER OF KUNG FU-  BODHI DHARMA AND SHAOLIN TEMPLE

This is in response to a request from one of my readers 3 months ago--about the 108 Marmas of Kalari.


Kalaripayattu is NOT a sport.

It is a LETHAL method of fighting , which is 6000 years old and was introduced to Kerala by Lord Parashurama ( an avatar of Vishnu )

Quite often we have western fighters coming to Kerala to learn Kalaripayattu , and then after a week they want to fight.

Gentlemen, be aware that this form of Kerala Martial art does not leave two men standing. Only one remains--the other is dead, or severely crippled.

Let me digress--

About 15 years ago, my ship was going up a South American river. The pilotage was long and tedious, with the river swollen due to floods.

The pilot was a tall and handsome guy of German descent. He was nice to talk to.

I noticed that his knuckle boneheads were smashed up-- and the tendons displaced into the recesses -- so this means he could punch into concrete slabs without hurting himself.

In between I had to go down to sort out a machinery problem caused by human carelessness , and by the time I got back on the bridge , I was in a nasty mood.

I resumed my conversation with the pilot-- then I told him " You appear to be a trained fighter!"

So this dude starts off with the degree of the black belt he holds -- etc . And then I could see the inherent arrogance surfacing.

I stopped him when he said " I can whip anybody on this planet!" ( the way Mike Tyson had told on TV before ).

My Chief officer and Quarter master were listening to all this in silence. I winked at Chief Officer, took out my key chain from my pocket, and told the pilot to hold it in his hand.

Then I stepped back by about 6 feet , and told him to press the black button on the handle. A small sharp box cutter blade snapped out. I told him " I know where your jugular vein is-- if I am half the distance closer, it just takes me less than a second to kill you"

The pilot's face became white, and my Chief Officer and Quarter Master nearly fainted.

Then I said " Now press the red button on the side"

A compass divider snapped out-- only difference was it had fish hooks at the end.

I told him " If I decide to be kind and not kill you , then I can make you give any crew member of my ship a blow job on your fuckin' knees for the next 2 hours ! "

And then immediately I apologised --told him I am very sorry .



---with an added advise " Never ever under estimate your opponent ".

Then I instructed my Chief Officer to take my key chain from the pilot and throw it overboard, into the river.  It had a plastic handle-- OK Marpol Annex 5 plastic pollution--never mind!

Then I offered him a stiff drink, noticing he needed to steady his nerves  . He immediately grabbed the offer. 

Hard drinks are NOT allowed on the bridge-- but then here was an extraordinary situation-- which needed an extraordinary solution"

The next day my Chief Officer remarked " Bloody hell, how many times I sat opposite to you peacefully having a chilled beer,  with your key chain right in front of me -- you are a dangerous man!"

I do hope my readers have got the drift-- Kalaripayattu is NOT a sport!

So what makes me competent to talk on this subject?



In Kerala daughters are sent for dancing and boys are sent for learning Kalripayattu--at a young age. This is a timeless tradition.

Dance is graceful dance --not mini skirted and mini pantied cheerleader type jumping around or acrobatics or gymnastics --

You don't get to handle weapons till you are mature. 



And only if the Asan ( gurikkal ) feels that you are devoid of arrogance and worth it, only then will he teach you the 108 MARMAS-- or the vital Prana points. 


All marma point do NOT have the same effect.  Some kill instantly ( bindu points ) ,  some incapacitate , some immobilise (vaikalyakara ), some give vertigo and loss of sensory ability.

In some if you leave the invaded object as it is you will survive, if you remove it, you will die.

Till then you are literally going through the grind-- the Asan or Guru is in total control of you. You have to do rigorous training for neuro muscular co-ordination , flexibility , stamina and balance of the spirit level in your inner ear cochlea.

At the end of the daily session is a tedious oil foot massage to stretch the ligaments. Probably it was more to see if you have sustained some injury.

Initially only wooden weapons are allowed.

Mind you this teacher-student relationship is a spiritual one , as you have to prostrate and touch his feet everyday, before you enter the Kalari ( arena ).

Modern Reiki of Dr Mikao Usui is taken out of 6000 year old  Kalari, the martial art of Kerala, India.  You have to lose your fear of injury, pain and death before this “hands on” healing can be effective.  

He teaches you how to predict an opponents next move- by reading his face and body language.  Some amount of  Tantra and aura reading is involved here.

Payattu means weapon fight in Malayalam and Sanskrit.

Till the white man came with their superior fire arms and canons , Kalari warriors protected Kerala from invaders. The first thing the British did was to ban Kalari and imprison all the Kalari teachers.

The weapon of my choice used to be the Urumi. Now Urumi is a 3 metre long sword, and it is double edged . This serrated tapered lighter and flexible end is saturated with mercury and arsenic poison at the metallurgy stage. You just need to get nicked and draw blood-- you go home and die.

Urumi could be 3 pronged . Wielding a 3 pronged Urumi is a very skilled art. For the end of the sword goes faster that Mach 4 . Mach 1 is the speed of sound or 1221 kilometers per hour.. The crack of a bull whip is a sonic boom.

In Kerala bullwhips are used to scare elephants during the training period.

The accuracy of a trained bull whip wielder is amazing. Last year I saw a circus in Calicut with Russians artistes performing. A gorgeous Russian girl would hold a lit candle on her head and a Russian guy with a long whip would extinguish the flame. Just when we were thinking that this is a fake, he make her hold a apple and sliced it horizontally into two, with her still holding the lower half. This is extremely dangerous as the whip end can slice her wrist off along with the arteries and veins.

In accordance with the formula (if the work for whipping remains constant) for kinetic energy

 E_k = mv² / 2,

the velocity of the whip increases with the decrease in mass, which is how the whip reaches the speed of sound and causes a sonic boom.

An enemy who understands the nature of this weapon is totally intimidated. Even arrows and spears are no use against a 3 pronged Urumi. The crack of the Urumi mentally saps you-- the ultrasound frightens you.

This is why tourists come to see Kalari performances and say- it looks like drama.  It has to be a drama ,  for real fighting kills!

Kalari warriors wear the Urumi like a hidden belt around their waist. On their knees, they have satchels of coagulant turmeric power based medicine and several tourniquets.

In our ballads the last lines would be how a brave warrior loosened his tourniquet after killing his enemy- to die. TACHOLI OTHENAN KACCHA AZHICHU, MARICHU VEENU--

Zheng He the Chinese Admiral of Ming Dynasty who made 7 trips to Calicut from 1406 to 1433 , had written how hundreds of his large junk ships are vulnerable to Kalari warriors with far reaching rosewood fire arrows, in case of a showdown at sea.

Kalaripayattu has 108 marmas.  Marmas are known as pressure points by the naive. Marmas are actually pockets of Prana or vital energy cross points .  You don't need to strike--you can even frighten a guy to total submission.

Basically unarmed Kalaripayattu deals only with Marma Adi--or lethal blows to vital meridian points.

Sadya Pranahara; - On the spot death causing.
Kalantara Pranahara: - Delayed death causing
Vishalyaghana: - Fatal if pierced
Vaikalyakara: - Disability causing
Rujakara; - Excrutiating pain causing

Trishul ( Trident ) and axe are also Kalaripayattu weapons of choice. Lord Parashurama used an axe. Lord Shiva used trident.

Kalari strikes used very little fist and palm. The wrist has too many bones-- there is a limit to which a wrist can take stress-- after which it pops--and that too permanently  .

The Ulna bone was used as a "lead pipe" to crunch sternums, collar bones in downward strikes ---and jaw-neck junction as upper blows. One good blow and the fight is over.

See the video below

If you see the movie "Enter the dragon" starring Bruce Lee, you will find hundreds of students standing in line and shouting HOOO HOOO punching the air in front of them.

This is bullshit!--with a capital B.

This is NOT what Bodhi Dharma the great Kalari warrior saint from Kerala , taught the Chinese Shaolin monks ( Kung Fu ) in 520 AD.

A punch given by the fist like a boxer is NO use. This is why you find people fighting for hours together.

A punch must involve a WAIST JERK--for transfer of the invisible ball of energy.

Next time you watch an Olympics video--check out how a shot put athlete throws. He will transfer the energy from his right foot to his waist to the shotput--, mentally allow a glowing ball of energy to transfer from his foot ( like in break dance ) to the shot put.

See how the mental ball of energy flows like a liquid, in the video below-.

Same way when you punch with your fist , the waist jerk gives the power. At this time your wrist and elbow is one unit--there is no joint. It is a little of a whiplash action like a Nanchaku. In any case the wrist has so many bones , that unless you are a seasoned expert--you cannot deliver a hard blow to a hard object like a concrete block.

It is pathetic to see people fighting for hours together and still standing. The toughest Sumo wrestler and you both have the same delicate eardrums-- one double slap and you see stars for the next one hour--and you wont even remember your own name .

Bruce Lee and you both have the same collar bone --his collarbone is NOT clad in concrete.

Kalari is an intelligent form of fighting. Before you are trained you are taught to walk away from a fight-- and use your skills only when all other legitimate means have failed.

You can tell a guy to lift you, using a fireman's lift--it will be a piece of cake.

After he has done that just put pressure on a Marma point with your forefinger knuckle on his back side just below the level of his navel and tell him to do it again -- he just cant--  because his brain has shut down certain "business as usual" channels.

You can knock a man unconscious by just kicking lightly on his inner ankle --

I will NOT give away too much information about Marmas-- we don't want dainty girls to beat up tough boys , right?

By the way the best way to end a fight without starting it -- is to trip and heavy opponent so that he falls on his own weight like a lump of shit. He will get the drift that you know the art of tripping and he will keep away from you.

Kalari was a evolved form of anatomy and chakra fighting 6000 years ago, when the whole world were clubbing down animals for food.

First promise ,that you wont try this on your friends-- just scratching the surface for you-- MARMA POINTS

With Kalari Marma treatment , when you have a severe pain on your right buttock -- say from Sciatica Piriformis you massage a spot on the opposite side ( both by height and width )--far away from the area of pain . Surprised? 

The usual rules of Kalari war ( Dharma yuddha ) engagement in 4000 BC

· Fighting must begin no earlier than sunrise and end exactly at sunset.

· Multiple warriors may not attack a single warrior.

· Two warriors may “duel”, or engage in prolonged personal combat, only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot).

· No warrior may kill or injure a warrior who has surrendered.

· One who surrenders becomes a prisoner of war and will then be subject to the protections of a prisoner of war.

· No warrior may kill or injure an unarmed warrior.

· No warrior may kill or injure an unconscious warrior.

· No warrior may kill or injure a person or animal not taking part in the war.

· No warrior may kill or injure a warrior whose back is turned away.

· No warrior may attack a woman.

· No warrior may strike an animal not considered a direct threat.

· The rules specific to each weapon must be followed. For example, it is prohibited to strike below the waist in mace warfare.

· Warriors may not engage in any “unfair” warfare.

CAPT AJIT VADAKAYIL
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