8 shaolin exercies and the origin of kalarippayattu?

[mewtwo]

So I was wondering if someone could help me locate an place online that shows the 8 original shaolin exercises that bodhidharma taught? also can anyone recomend some books on kalarippayattu on learning the basics of the martial art? Does anyone know the origins of it like did it come from yoga or what?

 

Thanks

[Dainin]

I think that the exercises usually attributed to Bodhidharma are Ba Duanjin (8 Section Brocade), Yi Jinjing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic), and Xi Sui Jing (Blood and Bone Marrow Cleaning). There may be some others. Did he actually bring them from India or create them? I'm not sure if there is any supporting documentation for this. You can probably find lot of info by Googling the names of these sets. You'll find that there are a lot of different variations of these.

 

Some people claim that Kalarippayat is the roots of Shaolin qigong and martial arts, due to Bodhidharma coming from India. There were certainly a lot of indigenous Chinese martial arts and tao yin exercises prior to this time, so I have my doubts personally. Also, the primary stance in Kalari is a lot different that what is usually seen in CMAs (not that I've seen all of them!). It looks like an extreme bow stance with the torso extended over the front leg (at an angle where you could draw a diagonal line from the back foot to the head). The arms are crossed in front the chest.

 

I became interested in Kalaripayyat years ago when I was studying yoga, and also working with a woman from Kerala. I asked her if there any martial arts in India, and that's when I first heard of it. It's quite interesting...based on Ayurveda probably more than yoga, and includes concepts similar to acupoints (marma) and meridians (nadis), as well as unique massage techniques, herbalism, etc. Martially, besides the hand forms it uses a wide range of weapons...sword and shield, staff, spear, various knives, etc.

 

My favorite book on it is "When the Body Becomes All Eyes" by Zarilli. It's more of a scholarly survey than an instructional book. There's one by Luijendijk that shows some techniques. I wrote reviews of these on Amazon. There's another good one by P. Balakrishnan that was published in India, and you'd probably have to order it from an Indian bookseller. As with any martial art, you'd have a very hard time learning it from a book, and there are probably not a lot of instructors around outside India (I think there are a few in England and France). There are a lot of clips on YouTube though.

[dwai]

So I was wondering if someone could help me locate an place online that shows the 8 original shaolin exercises that bodhidharma taught? also can anyone recomend some books on kalarippayattu on learning the basics of the martial art? Does anyone know the origins of it like did it come from yoga or what?

 

Thanks

 

Kalaripayat traces it's roots to the Dhanur Veda, an Upaveda (or Sub-veda) attached with the Atharva Veda. It shares roots with Ayurveda (and perhaps complemented Ayurveda -- since armies would need treatment, and the two (Medicine and Martial disciplines) spliced as a result thereof)...

 

Mythology has it that Kalaripayat was given to men by Parashurama, who incidentally is considered an Avatar of Lord Vishnu in Hindu tradition...

As with most Indian subjects, Chronology has been pissed and messed up by Western Indologists, so any attempt to date these result in controversy. I would date Parashurama around 4500BC. The Dhanur Veda can be dated to before 3102 BCE (before the traditional Bharata War date, and since Arjuna, one of the heroes of the Bharata War was trained in Dhanur Veda, it had to be around much before that period).

[IMPERIAGO]

So I was wondering if someone could help me locate an place online that shows the 8 original shaolin exercises that bodhidharma taught? also can anyone recomend some books on kalarippayattu on learning the basics of the martial art? Does anyone know the origins of it like did it come from yoga or what?

 

Thanks

 

 

Just scroll down a little:

http://www.paladin-press.com/category/Other_Martial_Arts

[mewtwo]

After doing some research I have come to the comclution that yoga came first and that kalarippayattu came from that and bodhidharma brought yoga over to shaolin temple and that is what became kung fu. At least that is what i believe after doing some research via wikipedia.

[mewtwo]

anyone know of a websiote where they tell you how to do the exercises in kalaripayattu?

[mjjbecker]

http://www.kalarippayatt.co.uk/2010/index.php