Kalari literally means school or training place. For the guru and the student the kalari is the most sacred place on earth. The place is as sacred as a temple. These places are constructed according to the principles of vastu shastra ( vedic science of building).

1. Kuzhikkalari

Kuzhi means pit. As the name suggests this type of kalari is a pit dug into the ground to the exact measurements. The widely used measurements for the kuzhikkalari are :

Usually this 42' X 21' area is dug into a pit up to a depth of 3' and the soil dug out is used to construct a wall that surrounds the pit and goes up to a height of 5'. A thatched roof of palm leaf is constructed at a height of 21'. The height of the wall and the roof may slightly vary from kalri to kalari but the length and width of the floor of the pit is exactly measured. This kalari is called as Abhyasa kalari. Abhyasa means training. The kalari is in the east- west direction (lengthwise), and the entrance is at the eastern side. The south - west corner of the kalari is known as the kannimoola and the most sacred place inside the kalari. It is in this corner that the kalari deities are placed and the traditional lamp is lighted.

Another pit kalari known as Ankakkalari or kalari dedicated for duels is constructed like the above one but measuring 56' X 28' and in the north - south direction (lengthwise). The entrance is in the northern side and the sacred corner is the south-east one. These kalaris are sometimes used for training, but mainly they are for staging the duels.

The measurements of the kuzhikkalari varies and one can see different measurements from the standard 42' x 21' to the smallest 18' x 9' for the very private kalari for the individual.

2. Tharakkalari

Thara means floor or ground. This type kalari is nothing but a suitable place cleared and leveled for kalari training. The southern style kalarippayattu uses this type of kalaris. The south-west corner is the most sacred one and the lamp is lit here. Many people wonder why the southern style kalari is not made according to the exact measurements that can be seen in the case of the northern system. The answer is that the northern system of kalarippayattu trains warriors mainly for duels which are held on a specially constructed elevated platform. The southern system on the other hand trains warriors for the real battlefield, where one should be able to defend attacks from any and every direction and from multiple opponents. Therefore the there is no relevance for a place constructed according to a fixed standard. The confines of the pit kalari restricts the trainees of the northern kalari to move mainly forward and backward while training with a partner, but in the case of the southern system, movements can be made in every direction. As there are no boundaries of a pit to restrict the movements of the trainee, one can move freely in any direction and sparring sessions with multiple partners can be carried out. The southern system prepares the warrior to fight in every type of terrain. For this, training often takes place in river beds, hill sides, in waterlogged areas, sand and so on.

3. Kalari for Kathinayoga

Kathinayoga training is done in natural surroundings usually near a river or lake or seaside. The place where training takes place is dug up to a depth of one foot and filled with river sand. The quantity of the sand will often be more than that is necessary to fill the pit. This is very important as the Kathinayoga training system has some brutal movements in which the practitioners slam their opponents/training partners onto the ground with maximum force. On a hard surface this means certain death! The training sometime takes place in knee to hip deep water. Again the sacred kalari lamp is lit at the south-west corner.