Ancient Indian Martial Arts -- Kalaripayattu to Malla-Yuddha

When the Western world discusses martial arts, the conversation invariably centres on East Asia -- Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, Judo. India is almost never mentioned. This is one of the great oversights in global cultural history. India possesses the oldest documented martial arts tradition on the planet, the most diverse regional fighting systems in any single country, and a living tradition that has survived colonialism, modernisation, and cultural amnesia to remain practised today in gymnasiums, temples, and village grounds from Thiruvananthapuram to Tarn Taran.

The Dhanur Veda -- literally 'the science of archery,' but functioning as a comprehensive military science treatise -- is referenced in texts dating to the Vedic period. The Agni Purana devotes multiple chapters to martial training. The Vishnu Dharmottara Purana describes 32 types of combat training. Kautilya's Arthashastra (4th century BCE) mandates systematic military education for all Kshatriyas and describes training regimens for infantry, cavalry, charioteers, and elephant corps.

What makes Indian martial arts distinctive is not just their antiquity but their integration with other knowledge systems. Kalaripayattu is inseparable from Ayurveda. Malla-Yuddha is intertwined with Yoga. Gatka is embedded in Sikh spiritual practice. In India, learning to fight was never just about combat -- it was about understanding the body, controlling the breath, and channelling discipline into a form that could protect dharma when words failed.

Kalaripayattu, practised primarily in Kerala and parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is widely considered the oldest surviving systematic martial art in the world. Tradition attributes its founding to Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who is said to have established 108 kalaris (training centres) across Kerala after reclaiming the land from the sea. The historical record is more measured but still extraordinary: references to organised combat training in Kerala appear in Sangam literature (3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE), and the art's integration with Ayurvedic marma therapy (targeting the body's 108 vital pressure points) places it at the intersection of medicine and martial skill.

A kalari is not merely a gym. It is a temple. Students begin training with a prayer to the Poothara (the seven-tiered platform representing the guardian deity of the kalari). The floor is dug below ground level for temperature control and injury absorption. Training begins with Meippayattu (body conditioning), progresses through Kolthari (wooden weapons), Angathari (metal weapons including the Urumi -- a flexible whip-sword unique to Kerala), and culminates in Verumkai (bare-hand combat). The highest level of training is not fighting at all -- it is Marma Chikitsa, the ability to heal the injuries you now know how to inflict.

The CVN Kalari in Thiruvananthapuram, founded in 1945 by C.V. Narayanan Nair, remains the most respected institution. Today, kalaris in Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod train thousands of students annually. The Kerala government has integrated Kalaripayattu demonstrations into its tourism calendar, and performers from the Kerala Kalamandalam regularly tour internationally.

Malla-Yuddha -- literally 'wrestler's combat' -- is the Indian wrestling tradition that produced the akhara system, influenced Mughal-era Pehlwani, and ultimately contributed to the global sport of wrestling. The Mahabharata contains the most famous wrestling match in Indian literature: Bhima versus Jarasandha, where Bhima -- on Krishna's strategic advice -- tears Jarasandha's body in half along the seam where he was originally joined at birth.

The Malla Purana (13th century) classifies Malla-Yuddha into four styles named after mythological figures: Hanumanti (emphasising raw strength), Jambuvanti (emphasising locks and holds, named after the bear-king Jambavan), Jarasandhi (emphasising breaking and joint manipulation), and Bhimaseni (emphasising raw power and intimidation). Each style maps to a body type and temperament.

The akhara -- the traditional Indian wrestling gymnasium -- is a living institution. In Varanasi, akharas like Tulsi Ghat Akhara and Sankat Mochan Akhara have operated continuously for centuries. The floor is prepared with ghee-mixed red earth. Training begins before dawn with surya namaskar, followed by bethak (deep squats, 500-3,000 daily), dand (Hindu push-ups, 500-2,000 daily), and rope climbing. The diet is strictly vegetarian, built around almonds, milk, ghee, and chana. There is no protein powder. There are no supplements. The results speak through bodies that have been built this way for millennia.

In Kolhapur, Maharashtra, the talim (wrestling gymnasium) tradition produces national-level wrestlers. Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia, and the Phogat sisters all trained in variations of this akhara-rooted system. When Vinesh Phogat competes at the Olympics, the muscle memory in her body traces back through the Pehlwani tradition, through the Mughal akharas, through the Rajput wrestling pits, all the way to Bhima and Hanuman.

Gatka, the Sikh martial art of Punjab, has a history inseparable from the formation of the Khalsa itself. When Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib, he mandated that every Sikh carry a Kirpan (sword) and be trained in its use. Gatka became the system through which this mandate was fulfilled. The word itself derives from the wooden stick used in training.

Gatka is performed at every major Sikh festival, most spectacularly at Hola Mohalla in Anandpur Sahib -- a three-day martial arts festival established by Guru Gobind Singh Ji as a counterpart to Holi. Nihang warriors demonstrate sword work, tent-pegging, bareback horse riding, and the use of the chakram (steel quoit) that they wear in their turbans. The Nihang tradition is the living embodiment of the warrior-saint ideal: men who are simultaneously meditators and fighters, scholars and soldiers.

In 2010, the Government of India officially recognized Gatka as an indigenous sport. National championships are held annually. The Gatka Federation of India has affiliated units in 15 states. At the Khalsa Heritage Complex in Anandpur Sahib, young Sikhs learn Gatka alongside Gurbani and Kirtan -- warfare and worship in the same breath.

Silambam, from Tamil Nadu, centres on the bamboo staff and has Sangam-era roots. Its influence extends across Southeast Asia, where Tamil traders and warriors carried the art to Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Filipino Eskrima, one of the most practical stick-fighting systems in modern martial arts, shows documented parallels with Silambam techniques. When an Eskrima practitioner in Manila executes a double-stick sinawali pattern, the geometric structure of the movement echoes training drills that were practised in Madurai two thousand years ago.