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Kurunthati or Short Stick – The Way of Bhima.
Author : Mr.R.Venkatachalam
Date : 09/10/2005
Email your comments to : kathinayogi@hotmail.com
There are a number of traditional weapons used in the kalari training. Among them, a versatile, convenient and can be easily carried around one is the kurunthati or short stick. The vadakkan system calls it as the muchchaan vati and in the southern system it is called the kurunthati. Kuru means short and thati means wood or stick. The measurement for this weapon in the southern system is slightly different from that of the vadakkan or northern and so is the fighting techniques and application. Another name in the southern system for the short stick techniques is Chiramam. Again this is classified into two subsystems – the Neduvadi Chiramam and kuruvati Chiramam. Neduvadi Chiramam is a stepping-stone for the more complex and effective kuruvati Chiramam. Neduvadi means slightly longer stick than the kuruvati or kurunthati.
Why this is called the Way Of Bhima (Bhiman Vazhi)?
Legends say that the fighting principles of this short stick were first taught to Bhima, the strongman warrior of the epic Mahabharata by Lord Hanuman. Both Bhima and Lord hanuman are sons of Vayu. While searching for the divine flower Sowgandhika, Bhima meets Lord Hanuman in the forest at the foothills of Mount Gandhamadana. Ignorant of the fact that Lord Hanuman is his elder brother, Bhima engages himself in duel with the great warrior of the Ramayana. Lord Hanuman defeats Bhima. Bhima prostrated before his elder brother. Revealing his identity, Lord Hanuman teaches his younger brother the secret techniques of martial science.
A part of this teaching, related to the science of the short sick has been recorded in a beautiful Tamil poem called Bhiman Vazhi Kurunthati. This technique of Kuruvati Chiramam is a closely guarded secret of the southern style kalarippayattu. At Sudarsana Kalari Sanghom, Asans kathinayogi and Nalakumar, who have underwent training in this ancient training system, now teaches the same exactly in the traditional way to prospective students. The short stick is cut branches of special species of wild trees about the thickness of the practitioner and 12 finger spans plus two chaan (the distance from the tip of the thumb and the little finger when the fingers are out stretched). The raw stick cut from the tree undergoes special treatments to season it and if properly done will last the lifetime of the student.
Present day training
The student, after being initiated into the training, will have to undergo the usual solo forms, (empty hand and with the stick) and then the different sparring sessions are slowly introduced. As with any other kalari weapon, the sparring sessions start with prearranged forms. Here the student learns to use the different strikes and defenses with the stick and then comes the highly effective but dangerous free sparring. In the next stage attack and defense against multiple opponents are included. At Sudarsana we have many different types of solo and paired drills that will enhance the practitioner’s ability in using the short stick in real life combat. When one reaches the highest stages of the training, he /she will be taught the striking of the vital points. This addition of the vital points makes the stick fighting extremely effective in close quarter combat. You can see the big elephants are controlled by just a tapping at the vital points of the animal with a slender stick. If the stick has such effect on an elephant, just imagine the effect on poor humans!!
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