A really interesting article by Roman Sieler that was published in the Journal of Asian Medicine. I came across this on a site for academic papers and was fascinated by the study of these two arts, one a healing and the other a martial art. The author talks about the way in which the two are completely intertwined and can not be separated. All the way through I couldn’t help but see parallels to TCM principles and Tai Chi. In fact the author recognises this parallel himself but focuses the article on the South Indian practice.
I think the article is worth a read just because it is interesting to see that the same principals are rooted in both Chinese and Indian medical/martial practices i.e. vital spots/meridian points, internal energy, trapping external energy and the range of training techniques. I have pasted the articles abstract below along with some links to where you can download the full article and read for yourself.Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download
Kalạ ri and Vaittiyacālai: Medicine and Martial Arts Intertwined
by: Roman Sieler
Abstract
Varmakkalai, ‘the art of the vital spots’, combines therapeutic and martial techniques: Varmam spots are of combative relevance, but also applicable in curing ailments. This paper depicts how far this South Indian practice figures simultaneously in the kalạ ri, the training ground where combat techniques called varma aṭi, ‘hitting the vital spots’, are taught, and in the vaittiyacālai, the dispensary for varma maruttuvam, ‘vital spot treatments’. Injuries incurred in the kalạ ri are addressed in the vaittiyacālai, and apprentices’ learning progress in one surrounding can be measured by their prowess in the other. Both physical and mental skills acquired combine in a kind of psycho-somatic intuition—the medical and martial competence of practitioners. Such intersections of medicine and martial practices are not normally recognised by ‘Western’ taxonomies or educational models, which tend to segregate such aspects, labelling one as ‘arts’ or ‘sports’ and the other as ‘science’. However, this paper describes the very combination of medically and martially relevant aspects of varmam as not only complementary, but as the most decisive feature of varmakkalai.
Keywords
martial arts, indigenous medicine, Siddha medicine, South India, Tamil Nadu, varmakkalai, vital spots
Sieler, R. 2013. Kalạ ri and Vaittiyacālai: Medicine and Martial Arts Intertwined. Asian Medicine, 7, 175–206
Academia.edu page: HERE
Download the file: HERE
The image is a fine art print titled Kalari Payattu by artist Vineeth Nair from Kerala, India. You can buy a copy of his print and see more of his work: HERE
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