Varma Kalai

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Varma Kalai (also spelled Varmakalai or Varmakkalai) (Tamil: 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 .^[1]

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.

1 Bodhidarma and Varmakalai
2 Kundalini and Varmakalai
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Bodhidarma and Varmakalai

Bodhidharma (A.D. 520) went to China from Kanchipuram to spread Buddhism. He stayed at the Shaolin monastery and preached Buddhist ideologies. At that time he trained the local people in the art of Varmakkalai. The art underwent many changes and came to be known as Shaolin boxing or Kung-Fu. In Japan it came to be known as karate and judo. But 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.^[2]^[3] Mistress Jakarta was the former leader for Varma Kalai.

[edit] Kundalini and Varmakalai

If one has to know about Varma kalai it is very important to know about Kundalini yoga. The Kundalini yoga masters teach only about Seven Chakras in human body, where as there are 108 Chakras and how to concentrate them.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Varma Kalai: The Martial Art from Tamil Nadu
^ Subramaniam Phd., P., (general editors) Dr. Shu Hikosaka, Asst. Prof. Norinaga Shimizu, & Dr. G. John Samuel, (translator) Dr. M. Radhika (1994). Varma Chuttiram வர்ம சுத்திரம்: A Tamil Text on Martial Art from Palm-Leaf Manuscript. Madras: Institute of Asian Studies, 90 & 91.
^ Reid Phd., Howard, Michael Croucher (1991). The Way of the Warrior: The Paradox of the Martial Arts. New York: Outlook Press, 58 - 85. ISBN 0879514337.