Arts of combat: Keralites try their hand at new martial arts
Kalaripayattu, an ancient Indian martial art, is gaining international recognition through film appearances while simultaneously evolving alongside modern combat sports in Kerala. Local practitioners are increasingly diversifying their training to include disciplines like Sanda, MMA, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of traditional cultural heritage and the globalized, modern evolution of combat sports.
There is a moment in the 2023 Marko Zaror-starrer Chilean martial arts flick The Fist of the Condor (El puño del condor) where the antagonist, played by Eyal Meyer, leaps high in the thick of a fight, twists his outstretched body mid-flight and drops into a neat Ashwa Vadivu . Kalaripayattu practitioners will quickly identify the ‘horse stance’ as something singular to their art. But Chile in Andean South America is scarcely a place one instantly associates with the move.
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