The state of Kerala which lies in the southern most part of India can be considered as the birth place of Oriental martial arts. Legends say that this piece of land was retrieved from the ocean by Parasurama, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He established Kalaris (kalari means training place or school) at various places along the length and breadth of Kerala and imparted the secret training methods of the martial art of Kalarippayattu to a selected number of families. The tradition still continues and Kalarippayattu in various styles still flourish in the land of Parasurama. For more information of Kalarippayattu please visit www.kalariworld.com

The origins of art forms of India like Bharatanatyam (classical dance), Yoga, various martial arts like Kalarippayattu and many forms of India wrestling can be traced back to the great Vedic period. It is believed that Lord Siva taught Lord Parasurama the secrets of warfare and these techniques were then passed on to a handful of ancient families of Kerala by Lord Parasurama. In the course of thousands of years many training methods went to obscurity and many new and some ineffective techniques and training methods were added to the ancient system.

Slowly Kalarippayattu began to lose some of its core principles and many schools either closed down ore became centers that taught Kalarippayattu as an art better suited for demonstration on a stage. This was the state of Kalarippayattu at the beginning of the twentieth century.