The entrance of a traditional pit Kalari is often referred to as Gaja Mukha, the elephant face. Three and a half steps down into the clay pit lit by dim light of the altar. Here the abhyasi begins his ancient journey into the Tantra Yoga of Martial Arts...

Fri, Apr 4, 6:30-9pm

Foundations: Surya Namaskara, Kalugal and Vadivu

The Kalari practitioner is commonly referred to as abhyasi, the repeating one. In this first session, the abhyasis will be introduced to some key elements or the practice: Grounding, steadfastness, focus, alignment, flow and expanding the sensory awareness. After set of Surya Namaskara in the Kalari tradition we will start with a characteristic nadi stretching exercise called Kalugal. We will conclude with Vadivu, animal postures.

Sat, Apr 5, 10am-12:30pm

Salutation: Puthara and Kalari Vandanam

Every Kalari class in the Vadakkan Sampradayam style will start the main practice with one form: The Vandanam. It is in this form that we prostrate in front of the seven-step-altar in the southwest corner of the Kalari called Puthara and salute the sacred space of the Kalari. The Vandanam is an ageless and beautiful flowing sequence that includes many of the animal postures, as well as a set of absolutely unique movements.

Sat, Apr 5, 2:30-5pm

Siva and Sakti: Kaikuttippayat - Siva Pilaitangi I

Siva and Sakti forms are the heart of the practice. We will start with Siva forms, often known as Kaikuttippayat. Siva and Sakti forms have different families. The family of Siva forms that we commonly start with is called Pilaitangi. This is a body form. Here powerful energy is created by focusing on male aspects:stamina, grounding, alignment, will power and the pure and emotionless aspect of energy culminating in the transformation fury of the Siva Tandava.

Sun, Apr 6, 10am-12:30pm

Siva and Sakti: Meippayat - Sakti Arapukai I

Sakti forms are also referred to as Meippayat. Our final sessions will focus on the beautiful first Sakti form from the Arapukai branch. Here the rich spectrum of the Siva and Sakti forms in Kalari becomes truly apparent. More than a mere body form, the Sakti is a form of the mind. In Sakti forms we learn how to move energy and focus on female aspects: flow, creativity and intelligence. We will conclude our final session with a short Q&A.

Mon-Fri, Apr 7-11, 7-9am

Morning Practices

Continue your study of this ancient journey in daily classes designed to help you integrate and bring these principles into your current practice.

What is Kalarippayat?

Kalarippayat
Kalarippayat literally means "training ground-exercise" and the term "Kalari" can used both to describe the practice, as well as the room in which it is practiced. It has been a major influence on the development of yoga and ayurveda since ancient times. Kalari is often referred to as "the tantra yoga of martial arts", building its principles upon the 96 tattvas that constitute our universe and the eternal dialogue of Shiva and Shakti. It developed at the junction of the indigenous Dravidian culture and the Vedic culture that migrated from the north.

When the Body Becomes All Eyes
Kalari and Yoga share principles and a lot of terminology. However, there are also obvious differences. Kalari stresses the tantric concept of living in this world, strongly stressing the expansion and development of the senses, as opposed to the classical practice of pratyahara or going inside. This paradigm is commonly called "when the body becomes all eyes." Another unique principle is called "embodying the animal spirit", a psycho-physical practice in which the abhyasi actually takes on the animal's attributes, not just its shape or posture.

The Mother of Martial Arts
Scholars often refer to Kalari as the mother of all martial arts. According to legend, a young prince from Kerala named Boddhidharma and was a skilled Kalari warrior, converted to Buddhism and later traveled north where he became the tutor of the Shaolin monks. Even today, the similarities can still be seen in some animal postures, movements and exercises.

Kalari Chitsa
Last but foremost Kalari is a unique healing system. This branch is called "Kalari Chikitsa" and the Kalari Masters are often considered the neurologists and orthopaedists of ayurveda. It includes many techniques which have been adopted by Ayurveda, but is most famous for its original system of foot massage, nadi- and marma-therapy. It is believed that only a practitioner who is both physically and spiritually strong and pure can bear the strain of the intense treatments where strokes are often administered in the same deep and energetically powerful stances that the practitioner has been practicing for years before finally being taught the massage. It is said that in order to heal something you must first learn how to destroy it.

Kalari in Practice
In short, the actual practice presents itself in class as a blend of yoga, martial arts and dance. The five most important principles in every class are grounding, alignment, rhythm and flow. Other Key principles include the concept of Siva and Sakti, expansion of sensory awareness ("When the body becomes all eyes"), embodying the animal spirit and continuous flow of opening and closing, contracting and expanding.

Kai Hitzer's way into Kalari began at age 13 when he started taking martial art lessons, including Tae Kwon Do, Ju Jutsu and Chinese Boxing. He later acquired a blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do. Soon afterwards he left the martial arts for what he felt was a lack of true spiritual depth and turned to Yoga. Since 2000 he has studied styles like Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Sivananda and Indian schools of traditional Hatha Yoga and meditation. He holds an advanced teacher certificate from the "Koodalor Mana Parampara", a lineage of traditional Hatha Yoga which is over a thousand years old and was once recognized as the vedic university of Southern India.

In 2004 his destination became suddenly clear to him when he met his first teacher, Gerhard Schmid, who was able to cure a slipped disc syndrome he was suffering from at the time by the means of three simple Kalari exercises. Inspired by Gerhard and this experience he immediately embarked on his first trip to Kerala to continue his studies under Grandmaster Gurukkal C.M. Sherif of the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy. C.M. Sherif impersonates the lineage of the Academy. KKA have been the Indian representatives at the World Martial Arts Conference since 2002 and are one of the few schools which teach comprehensively all three styles of Kalarippayattu (Vadakkan Sampradayam, Madhya Sampradayam, Tekkan Sampradayam), Kalari Chikitsa and the shamanic postures of Kalari Yoga.

For Kai, Kalarippayat combines the best of all worlds. His lessons are characterized by a deep understanding of moving arts as well as the underlying principles of philosophy. When he is not in the Kalari, he studies the languages and cultures of ancient India and works together with his teachers on making the wonderful art of Kalarippayat more accessible to students in the west.