Cultural Roots

The kalari tradition is at once a cultural experience too. The folk-lore of Kerala is woven around legendary exponents of Kalarippayattu and their exploits. The vocabulary of the rural people, especially of northern Kerala, is studded with Kalaripayattu jargon.

Though Kalaripayattu's existence in the present form can be traced to the early 12th through 16th century AD Kerala society, the exact references of many of the techniques practiced today can be found in much earlier historical and cultural source of all  knowledge of India.The 15th century travelogue of Duarte Barabosa, the Portuguese traveler shows that Kalaripayattu was the integral part of the Kerala society between 13th and 16th centuries. It was a part of the education of the youth, where daily training in a Kalari was considered as important as learning to read and write, thus forming an important element of the culture of the land Kerala and erstwhile southern parts of Karnataka then known as Tulunadu. During this period, it was a compulsory social custom to send all youngsters above the age of 8 to a kalari for training.

The Indian buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, trained in this art as a youth. After traveling through Tibet and into China, he taught the monks at the Shaolin Temple this martial art so they could defend themselves against highway robbers and bandits during their long journeys on open, deserted roads. As the monks traveled teaching Buddhism, the knowledge of Kalarippayattu spread as well and became known in China as Kung Fu.

Back in Kerala, as Kalaripayattu's evolution took shape as a comprehensive physical culture and martial training tradition, these unique methods of body training was adopted as a highly developed tool for the training of actors of Kathakali, the famous dance theatre of Kerala. Kathakali, imbibing the richness of Kootiyattam, the centuries old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala, in story telling, acting (abhinaya) and costumes used Kalaripayattu movements as the foundation of choreography. The actor's body and gestures became the primary tools of expression.

Kalaripayattu is believed by many historians as one of the oldest traditions of martial training in the world. In Malayalam, the mother language of Kerala, India, Kalaripayattu means repetitive training (payat) inside an arena (kalari). It is a scientific and comprehensive system of training for the body and the mind with an elaborate repertoire of weapon training, which in the ancient times lead to the making of a proficient warrior.