Waves

Its been about 2 and a half months since I started going to the Kalari classes and I’m still going. Stamina has improved by a good extent and I’m able to note the difference between now and then. I have also started losing fear of sharp weapons such as daggers and vett aruvals. Overall, its been a very nice time every alternate morning for two hours at YMCA Nandanam.

So, what’s been the main driving factor to get me to join Kalari apart from other fitness activities such as gym, yoga etc.?

1. Yoga and gym are a few days activities at the teacher’s place, which means I have to practice it on my own afterwards. That requires tremendous mental toughness & moreover, altering your schedule to fit in yoga or gym in place of sleep is a tough. Hence, I needed something which would take a long time to master but at the same time I needed to learn the techniques fast enough. Kalari fit this bill easily. For full-time Kalari practitioners, it takes about 13 years to master it. For me, it will take even more, considering that fact that I practice it for just 6-10 hours a week. So, I can learn it for a decade slowly and surely. You also need a master at most times to correct you always. Many programmes disconnect you after the 10 day ritual. For e.g. in Kalari, you need to do a combination of punches, kicks and jumps. First you have to learn to do it. Then, you have to learn to do it well. Then, you have to improve your speed of doing it & fourthly, you have to perfect it & you need the master’s help in all these phases. Otherwise, it cannot be done.
2. I have this tendency to ask lot of questions during the early days of learning something & I needed a master who will answer those patiently Fortunately for me, the master under whom I’m learning now, is very patient and answers in detail about whatever questions I ask, even though they are stupid/silly for most of the time.
3. I needed a flexible schedule. 10 day programmes are useless here. For a programme to be flexible, it has to happen over a period of time, so that you can always catch up. Here, we have flexible timings ;-). So, if I miss a class or two because of office or anything else, I can catch up during Saturday or Sunday.
4. I needed a team. Jogging alone or doing yoga alone will seem awesome for a few days. But not for long. You will get bored soon. With Kalari, it doesn’t happen. Three of us (myself and 2 of my school friends) joined & every class is exciting. A fourth person joined & soon, we started practicing in groups of two. During weekends, we have a few experienced guys coming in, who have learned & practiced Kalari for 5-6 years. With them around, it will be awesome!

There are actually lot more reasons for joining Kalari. But I won’t bore you with all that so, if you wish to join, contact my master Kumar at +91-98418-97119. He will be able to help you.

P.S. I have honoured Google Chrome by using writing this post on Chrome hehehe…

Kalari a.k.a Kalaripayattu is a form of traditional martial art that is believed to have originated in Kerala and then spread slowly across the world. Legend says it that, when Saint Parasurama (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu) threw the axe into the Arabian sea, the water receeded until the point of the axe and Kerala was born. To protect this land, Parasurama taught Kalari to 21 saints across the state who have been spreading their knowledge through dedicated disciples since then.

I have been learning Kalari since the last 2 weeks. I have attended five classes so far & I must say that its absolutely great. The best part of learning Kalari is that its fun. And the most basic lesson you get to learn is how to control your mind and get it to a meditative state, where you don’t have to “do” anything and everything happens automatically. Well, you have to be there to understand what I mean

There are essentially tons of other ways to keep yourself fit and this is one of those amazing pieces that very little people get to learn, very very few get to expertise level and even fewer become true masters. I found an interesting website when I was searching for Kalari videos. The website is http://www.kalari.in/. Go visit it and definitely check out their videos section. Its truly amazing!