The right to fight

KOCHI: Jishnu B has been mastering the art of Kalaripayattu since childhood. A student of Bodhidharma Institute Of Martial Arts, Poonthura, Jishnu has been bagging medals in state-level championships for the past four years. A 2019 national medallist in ‘Urumi’ and ‘Chuvadu’ events, Jishnu had recently performed at the State Kalaripayattu Championship held in the city.

Trained by his uncle Poonthura Soman and G Radhakrishnan, the 17-year-old is already an expert at handling weapons such as long staff (Neduvadi), short staff (Kuruvadi), sword and shield, chopper and dagger. Along with handling weapons, he is also well-trained in Chuvadu, the 18 basic steps in the martial arts.

"Training with sharp weapons such as Urumi is normally done in the morning session as it’s difficult to see the edges of the blade under candlelight in the evening. Also, we can handle the weapons more effectively in the sunlight," said Jishnu.

Special training sessions are also conducted at the Poonthura institute to prepare Jishnu for the upcoming Kalaripayattu national championship in February. "The special sessions are organised for the best fighters who are selected by the masters. The students who are eligible to go for tournaments are selected after an evaluation of their skill and power," said Jishnu.

He has been mastering Urumi for eight years now. "In the beginning, I used to get a lot of injuries while performing." According to Jishnu, one needs to be an expert in the four stages such as Chuvadukal, wooden weapons, metal weapons and marma points and therapy to become a master in the field. Apart from him, his elder brother Vishnu B is also a Kalari practitioner.