What is a kuzhi kalari
Why our training floor is four feet below the ground, and what the poothara is.
The women’s self-defence course: what to expect
Eight sessions with Anjali, week by week: what is taught, what to wear and how the classes feel.
Our women’s self-defence course runs for eight sessions over four weeks, starting on the first Saturday of each month. It costs ₹3,500 and is taught by Anjali, who has trained at Chuvadu for twelve years. Many women who sign up have never done any martial art, so here is what the course looks like.
The group is small, usually ten to fourteen women, aged from about sixteen to over sixty. Sessions run for 75 minutes on Saturday and Wednesday evenings, in the kalari itself, and the space is closed to visitors during these classes. Wear clothes you can move and stretch in; training is barefoot.
Week one is about awareness and voice. Anjali talks through situations that worry participants, then practises standing, stepping and using a loud, firm voice. Week two covers escapes from common grabs at the wrist, arm and shoulder, practised slowly in pairs. Week three introduces everyday objects as tools: a bag, an umbrella or a rolled newspaper used like a short stick, drawn from the cheruvadi work in kalaripayattu.
In week four, students put it together in calm, controlled scenarios with a padded partner, at a pace each woman chooses. Nobody is pushed beyond what she is comfortable with, and anyone can sit out at any time. The course cannot promise that you will always be able to defend yourself. What most women tell us they gain is a clearer sense of their own space, and the habit of acting early. Some go on to join the foundation batch.
