Learn intricacies of silambam, kalaripayattu

CHENNAI: To give Chennaites a glimpse of the various movements and weapons used in the popular martial art forms kalaripayattu and silambam, Neo Kalari is hosting a performance in the city on March 26, 6 pm at Teach Auditorium in Taramani.

Lavanyaa of Neo Kalari tells us that the upcoming event will be a unique one. “Generally, martial arts are competitive and people think that one has to literally fight and win the competition. More than just fighting, these martial arts have a different aspect to them. Through this performance, we are creating awareness of how martial arts can help in understanding our bodies, how it helps in increasing concentration, and how it helps our minds to relax. There will be mei payattu, long stick and short stick combat sequences, sword and shield and various other silambam sequences,”

Lavanyaa tells us. “Seventeen performers belonging to various age groups will be on stage. The audience can expect a great visual performance with powerful and energetic movements. When you do sword and shield sequence, the idea is not to hurt the other person but to understand how the sequence will help a person physically and mentally. These days, most martial arts are becoming violent. We are trying to remove violence and make it a nice art where people can learn about self-defence mechanisms," she adds.