The Martial Arts of India

[Tom Yum]

Kalarippayattu is a system of martial practice belonging primarily to Kerala, India. Among practitioners of a variety of styles and lineages, the common elements in this martial system include preliminary techniques of exercise combined with seasonal full-body massage and daily application of medicinal oil to the entire body (seems like internal stuff).

The word kalari refers specifically to the traditional roofed pits which served as a temple for worship, a gymnasium for martial exercise, and a clinic for treatments.

I'm guessing the style pre-dates gongfu since many of the postures and excercises were spread to China via Buddhism. Its weapon drills look almost like gong fu; there's an empty hand drill they do that looks like gong-fu and jiujitsu.

[Jiu-fu fighter]

Thanks a lot Tom,

always good to learn something new

much appreciation

[DickHardman]

nice videos tom. india has a rich culture of warefere and fighting arts. remember the only people who almost defeated alexander the great were the hardcore indian warriors led by king porus in india.

[JaredExtreme]

I tried to think of something positive and culturally affirmative to say.... but all I could think of was..... that was pretty "gay".

[Jiu-fu fighter]

ummmmm... can you give us some reasons why

without just writing it off as "gay"...

[DickHardman]

http://www.livius.org/pn-po/porus/porus.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...Hydaspes_River

[Tant01]

[quote=Tom Yum;266829.....
I'm guessing the style pre-dates gongfu since many of the postures and excercises were spread to China via Buddhism. Its weapon drills look almost like gong fu; there's an empty hand drill they do that looks like gong-fu and jiujitsu.[/QUOTE]


The forms were nice Tom. These are clearly rehearsed and demonstrated here as the artistic versions. There are similarities to some Jujutsu kata. I recognize a number of the destructions and disarming techniques as they were presented in both silat and goshin jutsu. If you pay attention you will see some good stuff in there.

It's difficult to inflict much damage with your knife if your arm is broken...

That's a good score buddy.

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by DickHardman

nice videos tom. india has a rich culture of warefere and fighting arts. remember the only people who almost defeated alexander the great were the hardcore indian warriors led by king porus in india.

Thanks for bringing that up. I'm kind of getting drawn into Mideast and Central Asian history.

I take it King Porus was a Sikh, as they are a warrior class in India. Even to this day, they are the ones who work as bodyguards throughout India and South East Asia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sikh males carry a blade, usually hidden within their turban?

[DickHardman]

Originally Posted by Tom Yum

Thanks for bringing that up. I'm kind of getting drawn into Mideast and Central Asian history.

I take it King Porus was a Sikh, as they are a warrior class in India. Even to this day, they are the ones who work as bodyguards throughout India and South East Asia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Sikh males carry a blade, usually hidden within their turban?

i dont think porus was a sikh.

they carry a knife called a kirpan as an article of faith. im not sure if they hide it in their turban or hair though, i think they just wear it on their waist.

yes, middle eastern and asian history is quite interesting. the battles were so crazy back then, it must have been such a sight to see thousands of men gathered on a field with chariots, war elephants, archers, and cavalry all going crazy at once. imagine the scenes.....it must have been so crazy to witness some of those battles.

one of my favorite figures in middle eastern history is imam ali, the nephew of muhammad. his legend as a warrior was so great that even the non religious historical accounts of him embellish his feats.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_the_Warrior

[medic06]

Originally Posted by JaredExtreme

I tried to think of something positive and culturally affirmative to say.... but all I could think of was..... that was pretty "gay".

Well, that's because you are an idiot. . . .

[Jiu-fu fighter]

Originally Posted by medic06

Well, that's because you are an idiot. . . .

I toast to that one!

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by JaredExtreme

I tried to think of something positive and culturally affirmative to say.... but all I could think of was..... that was pretty "gay".

That's because you're Jared...."Extreme"

[PlasmaShock]

I really enjoyed the videos.

[lorenzodamarith]

hello,

gahtka. weaponry. flashy. stylized, but effective technique is still taught. appears to be a predecessor to filipino arts.

marma adi. internal/assassination. fearsome. similar in principle to dim mak. disruption, high degree of anotomical knowledge, poisons, daggers.

(nearly unpronouncable) indian wrestling. badasses. think greco roman in a foot and half of mud. with submissions.

kelari payat. all around gymnastic fitness and flexiblity. tough.

there are many more. check em out.

thanks.

[Tom Yum]

Originally Posted by lorenzodamarith

hello,

gahtka. weaponry. flashy. stylized, but effective technique is still taught. appears to be a predecessor to filipino arts.

marma adi. internal/assassination. fearsome. similar in principle to dim mak. disruption, high degree of anotomical knowledge, poisons, daggers.

(nearly unpronouncable) indian wrestling. badasses. think greco roman in a foot and half of mud. with submissions.

kelari payat. all around gymnastic fitness and flexiblity. tough.

there are many more. check em out.

thanks.

I read up on Pehlwani (Indian Wrestling) on wikipedia, with a particular focus on training, diet and anything on technique.

In addition to training in yoga-like excercises and calisthenics, they used some crude forms of weight training to develop the neck muscles and crude forms of kettle bells. Add to that, the old-schoolers would train in the mud pitts (talk about 'suck') moving through mud is hard work.

The diet forbids tobacoo and alcohol (as expected) and even tries to avoid spicy foods. I found this strange as I've sampled Noth & South Indian cuisines and found them to be relatively spicy for a western palate. But why forbid spicy foods?

As far as I could tell, spicy food has more positive health benefits than negative, including: lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and warding off strokes and heart attacks, speeding up metabolism, treating colds and fevers, preventing cancer and pain control.

Karl Gotch, one of the big boys in Catch Wrestling, sent several of his top wrestlers to learn this style of Indian wrestling - there's something to be said about that. Are the submission techniques in this style native to it or were they added on by Indian practitioners of judo/jujitsu?