Kalarippayattu is the indigenous martial art of Kerala, India, dating in the form still practiced today from approximately the 10th century ACE. To read more about kalarippayattu, follow the links below for Phillip Zarrilli's essays, 'Actualising power(s) and crafting a self in kalarippayattu,' Journal of Asian Martial Arts (3, 3, 1994), and on 'Traditional Massage Therapies of Kerala, India.' To read more about kalarippayattu in Kerala, see the two attached essays originally published in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and my book-length study, When the body becomes all eyes: paradigms and practices of power in kalarippayattu, a south Indian martial art published by Oxford University Press (paperback edition, 2000).
Left: Phillip Zarrilli's early training (1977) in sword and shield with Gurukkal Govindankutty Nayar.
Right: Rajashekaran Nayar and Gurukkal Govindankutty Nayar, 1977.
Above and photos below: Phillip Zarrilli and Rajashekaran Nayar practicing otta at the CVN Kalari, Thiruvananthapuram, 1993.
Sathyan Narayanan Nayar and Phillip Zarrilli practicing long staff.
Phillip Zarrilli giving the traditional full body massage at the CVN Kalari, Thiruvananthapuram.
