About Me
- fitnesstravel.asia
- I enjoy doing random things overseas. In this big, wide world in which we live, we are unable to find the same type of disciplines back home as we are able to in other locations. This is what I have done thus far... there are many to go - I'll get there, slowly and surely
Hi, I wanted to share an experience. I was doing some travelling in Asia the last 3 months. And besides going to a gym in Bangkok, which I am shure many of you guys have done, I did some Practise in Indian Martial arts in Kerala, India.
ReplyDeleteKalarippayat, or short Kalari, is a very old Indian martial art, practised in the south, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It is a very acrobatic style, maybe a bit similar to brayilian Capoeira or Indonesian Pencak Silat. It is said to be the mother of all asian martial arts. It also incorporates stretching routines from Yoga and the use of weapons.
Since there are Kalari shows for tourists everywhere in Kerala, I started to ask where I could practise. So I found a guy who did some phone calls, and after 40mins of waiting a very short but still intimidating guy, maybe about 17 years old strode into the backyard I was waiting. He went off to his Dojo and me and my girlfriend struggled to follow him. We took a rickshaw through the backalleys of Cochin, passing a river that smelled like foul eggs, and finally arrived at another backyard. Here the students, mostly young boys around 12 where already practising with their master.
So we started the drills in the backyard, with a steady drip of the evening rain and a also steady breeye from the nearby river. Cats screaming and fighting nearby, and people looking out of the windows, staring and wondering about our presence. A very special athmosphere!
The drills where a mixture of combined attack blocking and stretching routines, with a lot of jumping and even attacking from the squat.
Kalari is very athletic, but not as straight forward as Muay Thai, more flowing like Silat.
The Master and his students where very friendly and respectful. Unlike usually in India, my Girlfriend didnt get hit on, altough we had to say we where married like always in India :)
I would recommend this experience to everyone travelling south India, since it is one of the rare possibilities to interact with Indian people without any hassle about business.
The Style might seem not as intriguing and powerfull as Muay Thai at first, but it teaches a very good body control, flexibility and is a unique experience. Especially since in my opinion India is a much more foreign country for westerners than for example Thailand or Vietnam. It is harder to get in contact with the people other than bargaining about prizes and stuff. So this is a good way to connect to people and feel an authentic Indian way of life.