Kalarippayattu (Southern style)

Training sessions with Sankar Lal Sivasankaran Nair and Justyna Rodzińska-Nair

Contact and registration: To register, please e-mail Justyna Rodzińska-Nair at justyna@grotowski-institute.art.pl. The number of places is limited. Applicants will be accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The sessions will be conducted in Polish and English.

Kalaripayattu (Southern style)

Kalarippayattu is a martial art from Kerala, South India. Its origins can be traced to at least the 12th century. Rich in ritual, kalarippayattu includes the study of movement sequences, incapacitating locks, close combat techniques and handling wooden and metal weapons (sticks, knives, swords and spears) as well as strengthening, stretching and breathing exercises. The three styles of kalarippayattu, commonly distinguished as Northern, Southern and central differ in movement sequences and weapon combat techniques.

Justyna Rodzińska-Nair

comes from Wrocław, Poland. She graduated from the Interfaculty Individual Studies in the Humanities at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, with an MA in kalarippayattu and performing arts. Since 2004 she has collaborated with the Grotowski Institute. Justyna practices the Southern style of Kalarippayattu since 2005, with her first research in India in Thiruvananthapuram under Jayachandran Nair (Kerala School of Martial Arts), Thankappan Assan and Ajith Kumar (Maruthi Marma Chikilsa Kalari Sangham and Ayurveda) and Ashokan Kutappan (Anjaneya Kalari Sangam).

Sankar Lal Sivasankarain Nair

is a kalarippayattu teacher and certified ayurvedic massage therapist born in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Sankar started studying the Southern style of kalarippayattu in 1990. His masters have included Tirupuram C. Madhavan (Anjaneya Kalari Sangham), Jayachandran Nair (Kerala School of Martial Arts), Thankappan Assan and Ajith Kumar (Maruthi Marma Chikilsa Kalari Sangham and Ayurveda) and Raja Gopalan Assan (present master).