Kalarippayattu

Current Context : Recently, Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has recognised the Indian Kalarippayattu Federation as the Regional Sports Federation to promote ‘Kalarippayattu’ in the country.

About Kalarippayattu

• It is considered one of the most ancient martial arts in the world.
• Developed and popularly practiced in
• It is composed of two words, kalari means “place of exercise” and payattu means “fighting” in Malayalam.
• There are mainly two main styles of Kalarippayattu:
  • Vadakkan or Nothern style – practiced in the Malabar region of Kerala.
  • Thekken or Southern Style – practiced mainly in the Travancore region.
• The practice of Kalaripayattu is divided mainly into four stages;
  • Maithari – Body Control Exercises
  • Kolthari – Practise of wooden weapons
  • Ankathari- Practice of metal weapons
  • Verumkai – Bare hand fighting techniques