Back in the early 1980s, as I was going through the initial stages of training in the "Jodi" - practice fighting in southern Kalarippayattu, I was quite often wondering about the following.  When I sparred with one of my friends Sugathan, I almost always found that it was very difficult or impossible to block the punches and strikes of Sugathan.  My body, especially my forearms would become bruised in no time.  This Sugathan was 6 years junior to me in kalari training and my skill levels in the solo forms, weapons and empty hand training were far superior to that of him. Still I almost had to run away from his blows. Why?  This question often made me sick. At last I approached my Southern style Kalari Guru. Sri. Thankappan Asan. When he heard about this he laughed at me and said, "Hey, your hands are accustomed to holding a pen while his hands hold a thumpa." (Thumpa means a heavy hoe/pickaxe like implement used to dig hard soil).  Then the revelation came to me! In spite of the far superior skill level that I had, I just didn't possesses the strength that made Sugathan the winner. He is a carpenter by profession and me - a clerk in a bank!

After about three months of bruising at the hands of a junior, who was far less skilled than I, I learned the importance of strength training for a martial artist.  I was very young then and was foolish enough to believe that superior skill alone would make me invincible in combat situations.  Then I began a well thought out strength training and soon was able to match up with everyone in the kalari. I was fortunate! I was really lucky to have a training partner like Sugathan and a Master like Thankappan Asan. Without them I would have lived with the belief that skill training alone is sufficient.

Today I am bringing out a part of my training past because I strongly feel that the kalari training system lacks in the aspect of strength training. Nobody,  let me stress this,  NOBODY - except the late Kathinayoga Guru Sri Kumaran Asan and his disciples -   is giving any attention to strength training. (In the case of Kathinayoga system the strength training is a part of the solo forms and the grappling training.)  But all other variants of kalari systems neglect this particular aspect of martial training. Let us look into the matter:

The most prevalent misconception is that the person with the superior skill will always beat a less skilled opponent and you must dedicate your entire training time for the development of skill. Theoretically true. But in practice, usually the less skilled but stronger opponent will beat the highly skilled but weak person easily. The possible exception is when the arms like swords, knives etc are involved. (This is the main reason for the northern style kalari practitioners to refrain from strength specific training as their system heavily emphasizes the swords and flexible sword). The northern system is mainly designed for duels in a specially constructed arena and the emphasis is on the weapons training.

The next one is that strength specific training will make you slow and muscle bound.  My dear folks, just look at the physiques of modern day sprinters.  They all possess bulging, rock hard muscles. Still they are the fastest athletes. As long as you don't forget the flexibility training and as long as you use a full range of movement in strength training exercises, you will not become slow or muscle bound.  If you are not flexible, then the fault is with you. You must do the stretching exercises. In "old days" everybody practiced Sun salutation which gave them wonderful flexible physiques.

Another lie propagated by the martial artists in general and kalari practitioners in particular is that "We do not need any strength training because we do not meet force by force. our techniques are so effective and the evasive/blocking movements will help to counter any type of attack". May be this will bring in more number of students in to the classes that prospective students may believe that some easy method is offered here and this particular style of martial training will make them super warriors without breaking any sweat.

Then the classic argument against strength training: The old masters did not do any specific strength training and still were able to perform feats of strength. Nothing can be far from true.  The "old masters" who are being cited as example lived in an era where manual labor was the norm. In "those days" there wasn't any machines to do the chores. No automobiles for transportation.  People had to use their body strength for almost every thing. The great masters of Southern kalari - the Nadar community were (and are) hard working people. Just imagine climbing up and down a palm tree to get the nuts and toddy, that too, many times in a single day, carrying loads that would weigh 100 kilograms and more on one's back or on head and walking over the unpaved undulating roads of ancient Kerala - if this wasn't sufficient for developing strength then let me know of anything else that would make me strong. In addition to the above one had to cut down trees and chop wood for cooking to fencing to lighting fire for the preparation of herbal medicines.  The bronze vessels in which the herbal oils were prepared would weigh more than 100 kilograms. Then digging the hard earth with hoes and pickaxes that would weigh as much as 15 kilograms. Everything that the "old masters" did was strength training in one way or the other.

When I mention these facts the usual response is that "Oh just shut up. If strength training is such a necessity then let us do some dands and bethaks (Pushups and squats)". Yes this same idea is now getting worldwide accolades in the name of the Great Gama and other Indian wrestlers. Do a few thousand Hindu squats and Hindu pushups and you will become some one like  Gama.  Unfortunately the people who propagate the dand/bethak syndrome seems to be ignorant or that they pretend ignorance when it comes to the strength training principles of the old time warriors of the Indian subcontinent.  Without exception all of the old time wrestlers and the practitioners of Southern kalari system incorporated weight training of various kind in the strength training system of theirs. The Great Gama and the others of his time did thousands of dands and bethaks. But then wrestling of that era demanded inexhaustible reserves of endurance. Thousands of dands and bethaks gave them the supreme endurance. But they did some strength specific training. Gama used to wear a 60 kilogram granite ring around his neck while doing pushups and squats. Then he swung some very heavy karela or mudgar (Indian clubs). No. Not the puny cola bottle club bells now being promoted as the all singing all dancing fitness equipment, but really heavy ones weighing from 20 kilograms to 60 kilograms. In addition to all these , Gama used to dig the wrestling pit with a pharsa (a heavy hoe like implement) weighing as much as 30 kilograms. Not for fun, not because he could not find something lighter. But because the added resistance helped him to strengthen the forearms. The superior skill and the strength Gama possessed made him the greatest wrestler in the world.

Certainly  the old timers didn't use weights in the modern day sense. But did enough resistance training - let me repeat resistance training, and became very strong . Just remember - the advocates of modern bodyweight exercises, who cite Gama as the example, advice you to refrain from using weights. But at the same time they ask you to use some rubber contraptions over your shoulder to increase the resistance while doing pushups and squats!   What does those rubber strips provide with is resistance! Even today you can see in some old Silambam schools and in museums the  stone dumbbells and huge spherical stones used by old time Southern Kalari and Silambam masters. Many of the stone dumbbells called as samtulakallu - kallu means stone, tula means balance and sumtulakallu means weight used to make the two panes of the balance even.  Lifting the stones in the market during the course of daily sales and then as a competition lift made the old-timers really strong. So it was  added resistance that made the old timers strong.

There are hundreds of weight training exercises and crude, but effective weight training implements used by the shaolin monks and the practitioners of Goju ryu karate and other Okinawan martial systems. You might have heard about and seen in 'shaolin films', young, prospective martial artists being forced to do menial jobs like fetching water in heavy buckets and so on. All this menial jobs ensured that the daily chores of the shaolin temple were taken care of but the most important thing was that the monks developed almost super human strength. It is the same in the Okinawan karate systems. Supplementary weight training was the rule - not the exception. The scenario was much the same with Kalarippayattu and other Indian martial arts like wrestling and vajramushti. Every village had some sort of vyayam mandir or gymkhana (gymnasium/health centre), and people who thronged there lifted heavy stone balls, did squats with  heavy stone rings around their neck, swung heavy mudgar or Indian clubs, used sandbags, did exercises on a pole (mallakhamb) and then practiced their martial arts. These exercises were in addition to their menial jobs like chopping wood, fetching water from deep wells. carrying head loads over 100 kgms and walking to the market and the manual labor on the agricultural fields.

Every kind of athlete uses one type or another of strength workout in his/her day to day training. If the kalari system lacks the resistance training then it can be attributed only to the ignorance of the present day Masters of Kalarippayattu and their disciples. The Southern style Kalarippayattu has a long tradition of resistance training unlike the northern one but that system is now lying in its deathbed and it is the duty of each and every practitioners of Kalarippayattu to revive the same.

If you folks are still not satisfied with my ideas then please find an Olympic weight lifter or a wrestler and if they are not available then go to some old style lumberjack or fisherman and try some of your "highly skilled fancy kalari arm lock" and you will know the truth.