Varma Kalai

Varma Kalai (also called Varmam) ( _ta. வர்மக்கலை meaning "the art of vital points") is an ancient martial art which has its origins in Tamil Nadu, India. The art itself originally began as a healing art from "Varma Cuttiram" (the "Tamil science of medicine"), which later turned into a martial art, thus the name Varma Kalai. It is also called the art of healing and the art of killing.

The attacks in Varma Kalai are meant for self defence and though they target the vital pressure points throughout the human body, the emphasis is on stopping an attacker without actually damaging him permanently. Even in the most extreme situations there is an emphasis on using as little violence as possible. Varma Kalai teaches one to attack with or without weapons. The effect of Varma Kalai based offences is effective yet rarely damaging a human being. One who teaches and masters this art is called "aasaan" . [ [http://perso.orange.fr/varmakalai/VARMA%20KALAI%20-%20(ENGLISH)%201.htm Varma Kalai: The Martial Art from Tamil Nadu] ]

According to legends, wrongdoers eventually learned the art and this upset the masters who trusted in the character of their disciples. This led to a code of secrecy in which a master never teaches all of what he knows to one man. A few secrets on how to counter the misuse of the act are always safe with a chosen few who excel in the art and have unimpeachable moral values.

Though Varma Kalai is still taught at Tamil Nadu the art is not popular with the youth who choose to study less time-consuming martial arts. Worth mentioning is the fact that it would take about 10 years for a student to learn about 75% of Varma Kalai his master knows.

Bodhidarma and Varmakalai

According to some Asian martial arts legends Bodhidharma (A.D. 520) - who went to China from India to spread Buddhism - stayed at the Shaolin monastery, preached Buddhist ideologies and also taught the monks some martial arts. The Indian martial art he taught the local people could have been Varmakkalai. The art underwent many changes and came to be known as Shaolin boxing or Kung-Fu. Later the Shaolin art influenced many other martial arts in Asia. Anyway, it is interesting to note that the Chinese school agrees with the southern school of this art in that it has the same 108 varma points. [cite book |last=Subramaniam Phd. |first=P., (general editors) Dr. Shu Hikosaka, Asst. Prof. Norinaga Shimizu, & Dr. G. John Samuel, (translator) Dr. M. Radhika |title=Varma Chuttiram வர்ம சுத்திரம்: A Tamil Text on Martial Art from Palm-Leaf Manuscript |year=1994 |publisher=Institute of Asian Studies |location=Madras |pages=90 & 91] [cite book |last=Reid Phd. |first=Howard, Michael Croucher |title=The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts |year=1991 |publisher=Outlook Press |location=New York |id=ISBN 0879514337|pages=58 - 85]

In popular culture

The art of "Varmam" was dramatised in the 1996 Tamil blockbuster "Indian" where a terrorist-turned-freedom fighter uses his unusual skill to eradicate corruption and nepotism in India.

ee also

*Varma ati
*Chin Na
*Dim Mak
*Tui Na

References

External links

* [http://www.silambam.in/varma_kalai.htm Varma Kalai By Mahesh Kumar]
* [http://www.varmam.org Thirumoolar Varmalogy Institute]
* [http://www.tamilnation.org/heritage/martial.htm Thamizhar Martial Arts]
* [http://www.keralacvnkalari.com/ kalari marma research center]
* [http://pagesperso-orange.fr/varmakalai/VARMA%20KALAI%20index%20-%20%20(english).htm Varma Kalai - Martial Art From Tamil Nadu] Indian martial arts