Born at the beginning of the 20th century in Kollam, Sri.K.R.Kumaran Asan had to face many hardships during his early days. In order to defend himself he began to study many martial arts like wrestling, Kalarippayattu and many styles of stick fighting. But none of the training gave him the mystical powers often talked about in the legends. In his quest to learn the ultimate in martial arts he began his journey to the north of Kerala. He studied in many Kalaris and reached at the kalari of Kottackal Kanaran Gurukkal. While training there he met Sri.Vasudevan Nampoothiri and from him learned the secrets of Tantra vidya and the art of pranayama. He then visited the families of many of the kalari legends like Unniyarcha and Thacholi Othenan. He then returned to his home town but his thirst for knowledge drove him to the southern parts of Kerala and from the masters of the southern style Kalarippayattu he learned the art of Marma - striking of the vital points. With the knowledge thus acquired from his early days he developed the superior martial art of Kalarippayattu as described in the Vedas and legends. Since his methods made use of the yogic pranayama he gave the name Kathinayoga™ to the style of Kalarippayattu which he taught. Along with this he developed the most advanced Marma treatment system based on the ancient texts of Sage Agasthya and the Ayurvedic texts of Susrutha and Vagbhata