Kalaripayattu – 3,000-Year-Old Indian Martial Art From Which Kung Fu And Karate Emerged

A. Sutherland  – AncientPages.com – We use to associate martial arts mainly with the Far East, China – Kung Fu, and Japan – Karate, but the truth is that India is the cradle of martial arts.

Today’s article is about Kalaripayattu (or kalari), an ancient South Indian martial art that in the past was considered so dangerous that is was banned by the British. Nowadays, many understand the health benefits of Kalaripayattu which now is empty-handed practice without the use of any weapons.

Credit: Public Domain

Kalaripayattu’s variety and form of techniques resemble and pre-dates the Chinese Kungfu (‘Wushu’), Tai Chi, and Karate.

Sage Spread Knowledge Of Kalaripayattu

According to Chinese legend, the Buddhist sage Bodhi Dharma (also known as Bodhidharma) was a semi-legendary monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He came from India to the Shaolin Monastery, the main temple of the Shaolin school of Buddhism to this day.

As an expert in Kalaripayattu, Bodhidharma spread both knowledge and practice of this martial art in China, where it eventually evolved to Kung Fu and later to karate.

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