Background, Profile
Hi, I'm Pratap Menon and have been learning the South Indian martial art form of 'kalaripayattu' for over 6 years now (from June 2017), ever since I discovered classes being held in London under the Kerala Kalaripayattu Academy UK. 'Kalari' means 'place of battle' and 'payattu' means 'art/way of', so 'kalaripayattu' literally means 'art of the battlefield'!
As I’ve advanced in my training, I have been teaching beginner and senior student groups over the last 3 years, and also held a number of classes online during the quarantine period.
I’ve always had a love for martial arts and was thrilled to find out I could learn this particular form here in London, especially since it’s so close to my own culture and origins. Also, kalaripayattu being one of the oldest martial arts that combined physical, mental and spiritual aspects; it made for that holistic form I was looking for all along.
Why classes?
One of the main reasons is so that more individuals can benefit from the holistic health and well-being that kalaripayattu imparts through its ancient techniques and fight forms - as with any martial art, these enhance your level of balance, flexibility, spatial awareness and when necessary, self-defence!
Some of the subtle and perhaps more relevant benefits, given today’s lifestyles, are increased levels of energy based on the movements that promote circulation through the body’s energy pathways (called naadis, linked to the body’s nervous system). This also help is reducing stress, improving blood circulation, increase confidence and giving your system a refresh with every session.
Kalari Tradition
The Kalari tradition is not structured, unlike many of the more popular martial arts such as karate/kung-fu. The fact that it is slightly more fluid is one of it’s main attractions to a lot of people, as it follows the path of lineage and tradition, and not obvious gradings.
There is a level of hierarchy though, and although subtle, is very apparent when you are training in Northern Kalari due to the structure of learning weapons., where one's seniority is determined by the level of weapons you are training with.
To clarify, all my sessions are weapons-free and purely based on physical training.
What will the sessions cover?
The training that we will go through will cover elements from 2 of the 3 traditions - Central Meipayattu (body conditioning) and Southern (empty hands fight forms).
Every class will consist of warm-up, body conditioning exercises and fight forms. The one difference that I will be introducing in my practice is the emphasis on building strength and stamina through gradual progressions from easy to intermediate to advanced.
As we progress, I’m also keen to hear feedback from students on which areas you’d like to build further on, so we can pay particular attention to them (for e.g. developing arm/core strength, or balance). So the nature of each session can vary based on where we’d like to focus more on - rest assured, we will progress at a pace that is suitable for all, ensuring that the basics are covered well, and also offering challenge to those who seek it!
Schedule, Fee
For the foreseeable future, classes will be held weekly on Tuesdays from 6.30-8pm in person at The Good Hotel.
Sessions are charged at £10 per person, with an option to bulk-book 4 sessions for £36.