Kalaripayattu
കളരിപ്പയറ്റ്The art of Indian Kerala, joining acrobatics, weapons work and knowledge of vital points with Ayurveda. Banned by the British in 1804, it survived in hiding.
Quick Facts
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Training
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Organisation & Competition
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Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
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About Kalaripayattu
Kalaripayattu is the martial art of the Indian state of Kerala and is often described as one of the oldest surviving in the world. Its written traces reach back to the period of classical Tamil literature, and it formed part of the training of warriors of the Nair caste. Under British colonial rule it was banned in 1804 and survived in hiding; it was revived only in the 1920s. The name joins kalari (training ground) and payattu (exercise). The training ground is sunk into the earth, oriented to the compass points and governed by its own ritual order — it is not a gymnasium but a space with rules. Training follows a fixed order in four stages. Meithari is body conditioning and sequences for flexibility and balance, including high kicks and jumps. Kolthari is work with wooden weapons — the otta stick, the long kettukari staff. Angathari adds metal weapons: dagger, sword and shield, and the flexible urumi sword, considered the hardest of all. Verumkai is the final unarmed stage. A distinctive component is marmam, the study of vital points, tied to ayurvedic medicine; masters traditionally treat injuries as well. Kalaripayattu has no competition and is passed on in a direct teacher-to-student line. Its influence on acting and dance (kathakali) is documented and is one of the reasons the art survived.
Styles & Branches
The northern circle of kalaripayattu. It trains in a kalari sunk below ground level, with Ayurveda; weapons are taught before bare-handed fighting.
Unarmed component of ancient South Indian Silambam focused on strikes and kicks.
Central geographical branch of Indian Kalaripayattu famous for circular motion and jumps.
Most famous traditional branch of Indian bamboo staff martial art Silambam.
The southern style of kalaripayattu from Kerala. It trains in the open, draws on Siddha medicine and stresses empty-hand fighting.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.