kalari payat

By Filex Mark Lewis - North America

Can you briefly explain the origin of Indian Martial Arts?

Many Singaporeans are very surprised when I tell them I teach Indian Martial Arts. Although Singaporeans are familiar with East Asian arts such as Karate, Tae-Kwan-Do, Kung Fu and regional arts such as Silat practiced by the Malays/ Indonesians, unfortunately they are not aware that Indian Martial Arts even exist. When informed most mistakenly presume that it has only been recently introduced or established.

Incredible as it may seem it has actually been in the existence for more than two thousand years. Several historians have claimed that it was already practiced during the time of Buddha. Infact a Buddhist monk named Bodhidarma from Kanchipuram in South India helped to spread the practice of Indian martial arts to China and Japan. However with the passage of time modifications of the original art were inevitably made based on personal personal preferences, experiences esoteric requirements or specialized refinements leading to the evolvement of what popularly known today as Kung Fu and Karate. Several postures and techniques commonly used in all three martial arts verify and confirm this observation.

Why are the East Asian martial arts more popular?

This is primarily because of general reluctance by native practitioners in India to divulge or commercialize what they considered to be a sacred and " secret weapon". Actually the East Asian martial arts only achieved popularity very recently. Before the second world war aside from East Asia, very few people around the world especially the West knew about the Karate and Kung Fu. It was only around the sixties that the West noticed and paid more attention to the East Asian martial arts although some analysts believe that this interest was initially kindled during the involvement of veteran troops in the Korean Peninsula War and other Asian conflicts.

However it is without doubt that Hong Kong movie legend Bruce Lee greatly heightened this interest and popularity, not only in the west but also the rest of the world . Similarly famous Indian stars such as M.G.Ramachandran helped to popularize Indian martial arts through their movies, unfortunately these movies did not enjoy world wide distribution but were restricted only to India and her neighboring countries.

Is Indian martial arts better than other martial arts?

Although there are some similarities, all martial arts have developed their own unique character, style and technique making it rather difficult to make comparisons. Anyway I believe this is not paramount importance nor does it really matter as the individual with the strongest passion , discipline and character will always rice above the rest . In the end it is the individual and his attitude to training that matters for his success. Remember it is not always the fastest car that wins the Grand Prix. Constructors realize and are fully aware of the importance of the individual driver .

What made you to decide to start a school?

when I was a teenager, there were no training facilities or school for Indian martial arts in Singapore. Although my late father was an exponent and taught me a few techniques, I took up Chapkoondo instead mainly because of the facilities , recognition and social structure. However later on my interest in Indian martial arts was suddenly revived where by I decided to go to India and learn from experienced, dedicated and highly qualified teachers. Having qualified to teach, I was keen to share my knowledge and experience so that this cultural heritage and art form could be passed on from generation to generation.

Can you briefly describe the training of Indian Martial Arts?

There are several types Indian Martial arts but Kalari Payat and Silambam , which I primarily teach comes from South India, mainly from Tamilnadu and Kerala. Kalaripayat focuses specially on unarmed combat but like other arts also teaches combat using a variety of ancient and unique weapons.

Silambam or stick-fencing is the art of combat using a stick . In addition to these two arts, there are other art forms such as Madavu, Madpor and Kuttuvarasai, which I intend to introduce later for advanced students.

Do you think Kalari Payat and Silambam will become popular in Singapore ?

I firmly believe that we have a place in Singapore but promote continual support and funding is necessary not only from the students but also from the wider Indian community . Essentially it is not about numbers, I would be saddened and disappointed, If several hundred people joined the classes but gave it up with in a short period. I would therefore rather have fewer but more serious students who are committed and determined to train until they succeed. This will enable us to churn out better exponents rather than the occasional "trendy".

I am also proud to announce that our classes presently include not only Indians but also students of other races as well. I would like to see this trend continue so as to promote our multi racial policy. Courses are all conducted in English. And there are absolutely no religious understones during the training . I would especially be pleased to welcome more students of both sexes and of all races and ages.

Finally I would like to clarify we prefer to be referred as a centre for Kalari-Payat and Silambam, rather than a centre for " Indian Martial Arts" which I believe to be too generalized a term . Judo and Karate are "Japanese martial arts" but exponents are only referred by their specific art. Similarly exponents of Shao Lin and Choy Le Fatt will specify their art instead of saying they practice " Chinese Martial Arts".