History

According to ancient folklore, Lord Vishnu’s disciple Parasurama who was an avatar of Lord Vishnu is believed to be the founder of martial arts in India. Kalaripayattu, which is the most popular amongst many martial arts practiced in India, is believed to have been founded by Parasurama. Kalaripayattu is probably the oldest form of martial arts in India. The word kalaripayattu is a combination of two words, namely, ‘kalari’ and ‘payattu’ which mean training ground and fight. Kalaripayattu is an ancient art form and is considered to be one of the oldest forms of martial art in Indian and across the world. During the peak of its popularity, kalaripayattu was used as a code of combat by the South Indian dynasties. Kalaripayattu reach its zenith during the hundred years of war between the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras. The constant fighting between the princely states helped the fighters in refining the art into a martial art form. The Kalaripayattu is the mother of martial arts developed in South India.

An Indian prince named Bodhitara was born in South of India (Kanchipuram) in a royal family. Being from a royal family the training in martial arts was mandatory. So Bodhidtara was trained in Indian martial arts (armed and unarmed combat system) and Yoga (an ancient Indian art for training mind and body). When he grew up he embraced Buddhism and became a monk and imbibed the teaching and principles, he changed his name from Bodhitara to Bodhidharma.?

To spread the noble teaching of Buddhism, Bodhidharma travelled from India to China through the Himalayas in AD 525. He visited the emperor of Chinese dynasty who was spreading Buddhism by the way of building monuments, reciting sutras etc. Shaolin Temple where he found the monks was not physically able to defend themselves against criminals and bandits. Then Bodhidharma (founder of Zen) composed a sutra (“Ekkin-Kyo") and collection of precepts to strengthen his disciples and monks. He taught them a native Indian form of a “bare-handed, bare-footed” martial art which he had brought with him from India. Later the Shaolin temple developed it and it came to be known as Shaolin art of fighting or “Kung Fu”. For a thousand years that martial art developed and flourished in China.

Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practices, which are practiced for a variety of reasons: self-defence, competition, physical health and fitness, entertainment, as well as mental, physical, and spiritual development. Although the term martial art has become associated with the fighting arts of eastern Asia, it originally referred to the combat systems of Europe as early as the 1550s. The term is derived from Latin, and means “arts of Mars", the Roman god of war. Some authors have argued that fighting arts or fighting systems would be more appropriate on the basis that many martial arts were never “martial" in the sense of being used or created by professional warriors.