In this session, I was determined not to fool around with excuses of being fresh or not being familiar with the moves. So I paid attention and executed the moves with as much precision as I can manage. And was "there" as much as I could manage.
The black belt senior brushed up our CKD (Contact Kalarippayattu Defence) and taught me VT (Verumkai adi Terkapel or empty-handed techniques). I was amazed by the fluidity of the movement that I did not really observe in my classmates. He was telling us how the movement should be continuous and we should not stop in between and execute one move while preparing the other. The rhythm I was looking for was there but everyone's rhythm is slightly different. Which is ok. He was also telling us the functionality of the moves in an actual fight. According to him, there were some moves that master changed so as to be more applicable to realistic situations. So the context of the adaptation of the movement is different from his to Zarrilli's to Elizabeth. The philosophy of the practitioner that uses the movement will always be imprinted unto the practice itself, even though the practice is learnt wholesale from someone else.
In order to achieve the fluidity, the flexibity, the precision of movements and execute the correct moves, the whole process demanded a considerable amount of attention in all these aspects. The need to think and do at the same time within such a short time brought the bodymind together.
The need for "daily practice" also screamed out to me because of the amount of limb coordination that has to be done in order to execute the moves properly. I guess when the moves are more familiar, the sense of the bodymind might become even stronger when I practiced Kalarippayattu.
Master was quite happy with my CKD and asked me to perform Soudu 1 for the performance they had coming up.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
4th Training
I attended my 4th Kalarippayattu training on the same day in the evening after Elizabeth's Kalarippayattu class. Inevitably, I start making comparisons of both styles of training while considering both in Zarrilli's frame of thought.
Instinctively, I was more fond of doing Elizabeth's style of Kalarippayattu because it is more congruent with Zarrilli's pedagogy. The fluidity from movement to movement is also more appealing to me as it forces one to be more flexible. However, I was wondering if the very staccato-esque movement is caused by an incorrect practice by my classmates. Somehow I always feel that my classmate's execution of moves is very sloppy.
I actually saw the video on Kathakali filmed and commented upon by Zarrilli where some scenes of the training of the dancers were shown. And this training shown had elements of Kalarippayattu. What amazed me was the extreme amount of body discipline shown there in the video clip. Which sadly, is something missing from my classmates' display. However, today we had the same black belt senior do a display with a traditional Kalarippayattu weapon. Its is metal sword-like weapon where the blade is not stiff but flexible. When used, it is like a combination between sword and whip. Whenever the weapon struck the floor, sparks flew, alike in Silat's dagger combat.
Similarly, I had a moment of revere for the practice and the fear of its power. I guess this suggests the impact of the difference between being precise when doing the practice and being sloppy. When I first started lessons, Master was very relaxed with me. But somehow, by this lesson, he started becoming strict with me. I was told later by the black belt senior that I do Kalaripayattu like a dance and was asked if I were a dancer. Busted! I guess somehow the ego in me is yet to be switched off and I want to do it my style.
If I were to give a verdict, I would say that the impact on consciousness and attention of Elizabeth's Kalarippayattu is the precision of repeated movements that takes over the ego and gives you a keener sense of body consciousness and your surroundings. A deeper and richer sensation of the felt environment and a ability to attend to more stimulus without a sense of overloading. The impact on consciousness and attention of Master's Kalarippayattu is the fear of injuring yourself or being injured by your opponent. That fear also puts you on alert and the speed of reaction is enhanced, as well as your focus on the given situation. The feeling of being there and now.
K8
Instinctively, I was more fond of doing Elizabeth's style of Kalarippayattu because it is more congruent with Zarrilli's pedagogy. The fluidity from movement to movement is also more appealing to me as it forces one to be more flexible. However, I was wondering if the very staccato-esque movement is caused by an incorrect practice by my classmates. Somehow I always feel that my classmate's execution of moves is very sloppy.
I actually saw the video on Kathakali filmed and commented upon by Zarrilli where some scenes of the training of the dancers were shown. And this training shown had elements of Kalarippayattu. What amazed me was the extreme amount of body discipline shown there in the video clip. Which sadly, is something missing from my classmates' display. However, today we had the same black belt senior do a display with a traditional Kalarippayattu weapon. Its is metal sword-like weapon where the blade is not stiff but flexible. When used, it is like a combination between sword and whip. Whenever the weapon struck the floor, sparks flew, alike in Silat's dagger combat.
Similarly, I had a moment of revere for the practice and the fear of its power. I guess this suggests the impact of the difference between being precise when doing the practice and being sloppy. When I first started lessons, Master was very relaxed with me. But somehow, by this lesson, he started becoming strict with me. I was told later by the black belt senior that I do Kalaripayattu like a dance and was asked if I were a dancer. Busted! I guess somehow the ego in me is yet to be switched off and I want to do it my style.
If I were to give a verdict, I would say that the impact on consciousness and attention of Elizabeth's Kalarippayattu is the precision of repeated movements that takes over the ego and gives you a keener sense of body consciousness and your surroundings. A deeper and richer sensation of the felt environment and a ability to attend to more stimulus without a sense of overloading. The impact on consciousness and attention of Master's Kalarippayattu is the fear of injuring yourself or being injured by your opponent. That fear also puts you on alert and the speed of reaction is enhanced, as well as your focus on the given situation. The feeling of being there and now.
K8
Training under Eliz
This training featured a lot more animal poses than the form of Kalarippayattu I did under my Kalarippayayttu. Besides the lion and the elephant poses, there was the fish pose, the frog pose, the horse pose and the cat pose. What struck me was the lion pose. The lion pose that I did under Master was very different and it was more a moving pattern rather than a stationary pose. The lion pose that I saw here reminded me of the pictures I see in Zarrilli's books where he has a picture of his master in the lion pose and he frequently captions that picture with the words "the body becomes all eyes". What's more, Elizabeth kept talking about the body becoming all eyes during the practice, like some kind of mantra. As such, it felt, training under her that it was easier to connect to my reading of Zarrilli's works.
Somehow, though I do not think that Eliz's set of Kalarippayattu moves is more physically demanding than Master's moves, I perspired alot more under Eliz's Kalarippayattu than under Master's Kalarippayattu. So when Zarrilli talks about perspiration during practice, it seems to be closer to Eliz's practice.
I realised that they do not do the tumbling and rolls or the "Kalari falls" that are very much emphasised upon in Master's practice. I asked Eliz about it and she said only the more advanced students do it. They also made use of music in the practice that was not something we did in Master's class. However, I'm not sure whether the music is an element of Zarrilli's practice or her own practice.
There was an emphasis on the preciseness of the movements. We were to replicate Eliz's moves as exactly as possible. From time to time, we were also asked to check our pose to see if our feet were spaced correctly and placed at the right angle.
At one point of the practice, I thought I felt a sensation that seems to agree with my semantic and phenomenological understanding of "when the body becomes all eyes". I felt more akin to my senses and awake. However, this sensation I had was not a new sensation, it seemed like the same sensation I get after doing hours of latin ballroom training. Pondering upon this thought, if I could reach "the body is all eyes" through latin dance, why not even use latin dance for actor training since that also helps with body awareness, awareness of space and overall level of consciousness (arousal)?
We played a game afterwards where we had to close our eyes and play "hide and seek" with a partner. This game was to test our body awareness as we had to move very quietly to avoid being caught and be very sensitive to the movement of the person hiding if you are the person seeking. According to the rest of the people in the class, I was extremely noisy in my movement. My body was not all eyes apparently. Either what I felt wasn't what it meant to be the body is all eyes or I could not hold that kind of alertness for long enough to play the game well enough with it. I would think it is the second option personally but it is hard to ascertain.
What was certain is the benefits of being precise in the replication or execution of a movement. That somehow seems to a trend in elevating the level of consciousness. Elizabeth also spoke alot about the awareness of the bottom of the spine. Though in dance we don't use the word spine so much, we talk about using the back alot, as well as the alignment of the body, which all involves the spine.
K8
Somehow, though I do not think that Eliz's set of Kalarippayattu moves is more physically demanding than Master's moves, I perspired alot more under Eliz's Kalarippayattu than under Master's Kalarippayattu. So when Zarrilli talks about perspiration during practice, it seems to be closer to Eliz's practice.
I realised that they do not do the tumbling and rolls or the "Kalari falls" that are very much emphasised upon in Master's practice. I asked Eliz about it and she said only the more advanced students do it. They also made use of music in the practice that was not something we did in Master's class. However, I'm not sure whether the music is an element of Zarrilli's practice or her own practice.
There was an emphasis on the preciseness of the movements. We were to replicate Eliz's moves as exactly as possible. From time to time, we were also asked to check our pose to see if our feet were spaced correctly and placed at the right angle.
At one point of the practice, I thought I felt a sensation that seems to agree with my semantic and phenomenological understanding of "when the body becomes all eyes". I felt more akin to my senses and awake. However, this sensation I had was not a new sensation, it seemed like the same sensation I get after doing hours of latin ballroom training. Pondering upon this thought, if I could reach "the body is all eyes" through latin dance, why not even use latin dance for actor training since that also helps with body awareness, awareness of space and overall level of consciousness (arousal)?
We played a game afterwards where we had to close our eyes and play "hide and seek" with a partner. This game was to test our body awareness as we had to move very quietly to avoid being caught and be very sensitive to the movement of the person hiding if you are the person seeking. According to the rest of the people in the class, I was extremely noisy in my movement. My body was not all eyes apparently. Either what I felt wasn't what it meant to be the body is all eyes or I could not hold that kind of alertness for long enough to play the game well enough with it. I would think it is the second option personally but it is hard to ascertain.
What was certain is the benefits of being precise in the replication or execution of a movement. That somehow seems to a trend in elevating the level of consciousness. Elizabeth also spoke alot about the awareness of the bottom of the spine. Though in dance we don't use the word spine so much, we talk about using the back alot, as well as the alignment of the body, which all involves the spine.
K8
Friday, October 23, 2009
3rd Training
It was raining and I thought there might not be practice. Turning up anyway, I saw that we were going to train this time in the hall. I wondered how different it was to train in a hall and in a Kalari.
We went through the tumbling first as usual. I was determined to get it right for once. So I kept practising Fall 6. I kept having to talk to myself so that I'll let go of thoughts that will cause me to hesitate. I wondered if that form of concentration and devotion into the execution of a single move is similar to the state of meyyu kannakaku. It reached a point whereby through my determination, I finally let go of my fears and did it. The feeling of executing it was something that I didn't feel in my past few sessions. On top of that, the feeling of victory overwhelmed me. I asked one of my orange belt classmates to check if Iwas doing it correctly because thinking that it feels like I'm doing it correctly does not mean it is being done correctly. Apparently, I still did not get fall 6 right because I was using one shoulder to do the fall rather than 2 shoulders as required of fall 6. However, the fall I did was correct for part of the combination in fall 3 and fall 4. So what I thought was executed correctly for falls 3 and 4 had been wrong all this time but I didn't know it.
I was reading in Zarrilli's book that he was striving to do the moves correctly, rather than "well". So through today's session, I gathered that the correct execution of the steps itself might be one responsible for training the attention and priming the consciousness for performance, rather than being brought to a state of consciousness that comes through physiological means. At least, I feel that what I experience was more intense mentally than it was physically. To a certain extent it was still very much the mind tell the body what it should do and I felt that I haven't experienced the understanding of the "bodymind". Maybe I did not train long enough.
After the lesson, I asked Master where the style of his Kalarippayattu came from, southern or northern Kerala. It may be due to the fact that I was learning a different form of Kalari so what I am practicising here does not seem to connect very well with what I read about. He told me that his style is a combination of Northern and Southern Kerala styles. He had trained under both schools and formulated his own style that he felt was more applicable to a local context. As such, both Zarilli's and Master's Kalari are both not the Kalari imported wholesale from Kerala but adapted. However, I get the impression that Master might have incorporated more southern forms than Zarrilli. The context of the usage of Kalari also makes it different. Zarrilli used Kalarippayattu for actor training but Master used Kalarippayattu in the context of gradings, martial arts displays as well as the fundamental functions of attack and defence.
Master told me about how his fellow martial arts practitioner acted in a Bruce Lee movie and it seems to me to demonstate how Kalarippayattu is spectacular enough in itself to constitute a performance.
We also learnt the Sudus today. Which are a combination of steps that executed as a set. What I felt about Kalarippayattus that is different from the other martial arts is that its "pattern" or sequence of moves are not constituted from basic kicks or punches but rather, constituted from "basic steps" that are sequences in themselves. This phenomena is more pronounced in the higher level students since their basic steps are more complicated.
There was also a demonstration today with a black belt senior and one of my purple belt classmates. Though I had been quite disappointed in what I've seen in class so far because I did not see what Zarilli wrote about in his book that he was afraid of the "controlled power" of Kalarippayattu, this demonstration gave me a glimpse of what Zarilli might have experienced in Kerala. What I saw in the demonstration, I might use his exact words to describe, "controlled power". And I was similarly afraid of the hidden potential of the power hidden in the moves. They were doing Silambam, which was using sticks in the fighting. As the blackbelt senior fought, I could hear the sound of the stick cutting through the air. Yet it was controlled enough not to hurt himself or my purplebelt classmate, who fumbled some times. He was sharp enough to stop half movement to wait for his "opponent" to catch up.
Maybe it will take more time to experience meyyu kannakaku.
K8
We went through the tumbling first as usual. I was determined to get it right for once. So I kept practising Fall 6. I kept having to talk to myself so that I'll let go of thoughts that will cause me to hesitate. I wondered if that form of concentration and devotion into the execution of a single move is similar to the state of meyyu kannakaku. It reached a point whereby through my determination, I finally let go of my fears and did it. The feeling of executing it was something that I didn't feel in my past few sessions. On top of that, the feeling of victory overwhelmed me. I asked one of my orange belt classmates to check if Iwas doing it correctly because thinking that it feels like I'm doing it correctly does not mean it is being done correctly. Apparently, I still did not get fall 6 right because I was using one shoulder to do the fall rather than 2 shoulders as required of fall 6. However, the fall I did was correct for part of the combination in fall 3 and fall 4. So what I thought was executed correctly for falls 3 and 4 had been wrong all this time but I didn't know it.
I was reading in Zarrilli's book that he was striving to do the moves correctly, rather than "well". So through today's session, I gathered that the correct execution of the steps itself might be one responsible for training the attention and priming the consciousness for performance, rather than being brought to a state of consciousness that comes through physiological means. At least, I feel that what I experience was more intense mentally than it was physically. To a certain extent it was still very much the mind tell the body what it should do and I felt that I haven't experienced the understanding of the "bodymind". Maybe I did not train long enough.
After the lesson, I asked Master where the style of his Kalarippayattu came from, southern or northern Kerala. It may be due to the fact that I was learning a different form of Kalari so what I am practicising here does not seem to connect very well with what I read about. He told me that his style is a combination of Northern and Southern Kerala styles. He had trained under both schools and formulated his own style that he felt was more applicable to a local context. As such, both Zarilli's and Master's Kalari are both not the Kalari imported wholesale from Kerala but adapted. However, I get the impression that Master might have incorporated more southern forms than Zarrilli. The context of the usage of Kalari also makes it different. Zarrilli used Kalarippayattu for actor training but Master used Kalarippayattu in the context of gradings, martial arts displays as well as the fundamental functions of attack and defence.
Master told me about how his fellow martial arts practitioner acted in a Bruce Lee movie and it seems to me to demonstate how Kalarippayattu is spectacular enough in itself to constitute a performance.
We also learnt the Sudus today. Which are a combination of steps that executed as a set. What I felt about Kalarippayattus that is different from the other martial arts is that its "pattern" or sequence of moves are not constituted from basic kicks or punches but rather, constituted from "basic steps" that are sequences in themselves. This phenomena is more pronounced in the higher level students since their basic steps are more complicated.
There was also a demonstration today with a black belt senior and one of my purple belt classmates. Though I had been quite disappointed in what I've seen in class so far because I did not see what Zarilli wrote about in his book that he was afraid of the "controlled power" of Kalarippayattu, this demonstration gave me a glimpse of what Zarilli might have experienced in Kerala. What I saw in the demonstration, I might use his exact words to describe, "controlled power". And I was similarly afraid of the hidden potential of the power hidden in the moves. They were doing Silambam, which was using sticks in the fighting. As the blackbelt senior fought, I could hear the sound of the stick cutting through the air. Yet it was controlled enough not to hurt himself or my purplebelt classmate, who fumbled some times. He was sharp enough to stop half movement to wait for his "opponent" to catch up.
Maybe it will take more time to experience meyyu kannakaku.
K8
2nd Training
I was having alot of problems doing the Kalari falls. Especially fall number 6 where I have to roll forward with both my shoulders. The kids were laughing at me because they could do it so well whereas I was struggling clumsily.
I tried very hard and wondered why I had so much difficulty. It came down to a question of guts. I simply did not dare to do it. Though I knew in my head that I should be bold with my movement and follow through with the trajectory of the movement in order to execute it right, I could not. In doing such stuff, I've learnt the hard way that doing it with hesitation is the best way to injure yourself as such movements require a certain momentum that should not be disrupted.
Each time I try, I can feel my heart beat faster and this tingling sensation of the skin and sculpt that feels as if my sense of touch is "opened". After some time I simply gave up on fall 6 and continued doing the rest.
Master was scolding some of my classmates for landing too hard when they do the falls. I didn't notice it earlier but after he mentioned it, I realised that they do land quite hard because its very audible. I wondered if doing that damages their spine or other bones.
I was relieved to do the basic movements so that I can get away from doing the falling and tumbling. But once again I was reminded of the amount of memory work that has to be done in Kalari. When master gives a certain instruction, we have to remember what set of movements we have to execute. In execution, we are also constantly corrected for our posture and the precision in our execution. His mantra: "Below your chin, your elbow, below your elbow, your knee".
I feel like I am forced to concentrate due to the requirements of this martial art and wondered if it helps to train concentration because it is required in the practice. Prior to this I had thought that the concentration comes from a physiologically awakened state. But I guess it's still too early to tell.
Another difficulty I had was in the "Yogic Breathing". Whenever we do very physically demanding moves, we'll tend to pant after. Thereafter, my master will lead in Yogic breathing. I found it extremely difficult to slow down the breathing so dramatically after a demanding exercise, I feel like I did not have enough breath in my lungs each time. When master leads in 1 breath intake, in that moment, I would already have taken 3 breaths. The feeling of being out of breath was quite terrible and I did not know how to deal with it. I asked master about it after the practice and he said that it just takes some getting used to.
I also asked master if he knew what meyyu kannakaku was and he said he didn't know. After I explained that it is the Malayalam expression for "the body is all eyes", immediately he knew what I was talking about. He said that most Indians in our country speak Tamil and Hindi, the Malayalam dialect was not something he was familiar with. This made me confused. Not because I assumed he spoke Malayalam but because I assumed that he was taught in Malayalam. I got this impression from the fact that Zarrilli refers to malayalam terms constantly in his writings. So when I realise that Master uses english to teach and names alot of moves by numbers, I wondered if what I am learning is a singaporean adaptation that sheds the cultural roots of the practice and keeps only the form.
K8
I tried very hard and wondered why I had so much difficulty. It came down to a question of guts. I simply did not dare to do it. Though I knew in my head that I should be bold with my movement and follow through with the trajectory of the movement in order to execute it right, I could not. In doing such stuff, I've learnt the hard way that doing it with hesitation is the best way to injure yourself as such movements require a certain momentum that should not be disrupted.
Each time I try, I can feel my heart beat faster and this tingling sensation of the skin and sculpt that feels as if my sense of touch is "opened". After some time I simply gave up on fall 6 and continued doing the rest.
Master was scolding some of my classmates for landing too hard when they do the falls. I didn't notice it earlier but after he mentioned it, I realised that they do land quite hard because its very audible. I wondered if doing that damages their spine or other bones.
I was relieved to do the basic movements so that I can get away from doing the falling and tumbling. But once again I was reminded of the amount of memory work that has to be done in Kalari. When master gives a certain instruction, we have to remember what set of movements we have to execute. In execution, we are also constantly corrected for our posture and the precision in our execution. His mantra: "Below your chin, your elbow, below your elbow, your knee".
I feel like I am forced to concentrate due to the requirements of this martial art and wondered if it helps to train concentration because it is required in the practice. Prior to this I had thought that the concentration comes from a physiologically awakened state. But I guess it's still too early to tell.
Another difficulty I had was in the "Yogic Breathing". Whenever we do very physically demanding moves, we'll tend to pant after. Thereafter, my master will lead in Yogic breathing. I found it extremely difficult to slow down the breathing so dramatically after a demanding exercise, I feel like I did not have enough breath in my lungs each time. When master leads in 1 breath intake, in that moment, I would already have taken 3 breaths. The feeling of being out of breath was quite terrible and I did not know how to deal with it. I asked master about it after the practice and he said that it just takes some getting used to.
I also asked master if he knew what meyyu kannakaku was and he said he didn't know. After I explained that it is the Malayalam expression for "the body is all eyes", immediately he knew what I was talking about. He said that most Indians in our country speak Tamil and Hindi, the Malayalam dialect was not something he was familiar with. This made me confused. Not because I assumed he spoke Malayalam but because I assumed that he was taught in Malayalam. I got this impression from the fact that Zarrilli refers to malayalam terms constantly in his writings. So when I realise that Master uses english to teach and names alot of moves by numbers, I wondered if what I am learning is a singaporean adaptation that sheds the cultural roots of the practice and keeps only the form.
K8
Friday, October 9, 2009
Kalarippayattu Grading
The next day after my first training happened to be the grading of my classmates so I went to check out the grading so as to be able to see more complete patterns that I wasn't able to see in the practice sessions. It was helpful in letting me get the big picture about the martial art because besides being able to see students of various levels execute the expected moves at their level, there were also displays that were there to entertain the people who were there to watch the grading.
The grading was very long and complicated. First there is a grading for tumbling itself, then a grading for basic moves, then a grading for pattern (sequence of moves) and lastly, sparing.
It struck me watching the grading, how diversed the movements are. There are locking, kicking, tumbling, punching, tackling and grappling moves. It reminded me of mixed martial arts a little. I saw elements of taekwondo, karate, jujutsu, boxing, krav maga and wu shu somewhere in there. They also made use of weapons like sticks and sword and shield. I discovered later that the use of sticks is known as silambam and is only taught to higher level students for the fear that lower level students might hurt themselves.
Watching my classmates, it was also very obvious who is focussed and who is not. People that are not focussed were very clumsy in their moves. I was wondering if the practice of this art demanded focus for good execution or the practice of this art brings about better focus. Or maybe it's a two way thing...
I was also looking for some kind rhythm that underlies the moves. It seems like some people have a stronger in built rhythm to their moves than others. I asked a friend in purple belt if the sense of rhythm is important for the proper execution of Kalari but he doesn't seem to know what I really talking about.
K8
The grading was very long and complicated. First there is a grading for tumbling itself, then a grading for basic moves, then a grading for pattern (sequence of moves) and lastly, sparing.
It struck me watching the grading, how diversed the movements are. There are locking, kicking, tumbling, punching, tackling and grappling moves. It reminded me of mixed martial arts a little. I saw elements of taekwondo, karate, jujutsu, boxing, krav maga and wu shu somewhere in there. They also made use of weapons like sticks and sword and shield. I discovered later that the use of sticks is known as silambam and is only taught to higher level students for the fear that lower level students might hurt themselves.
Watching my classmates, it was also very obvious who is focussed and who is not. People that are not focussed were very clumsy in their moves. I was wondering if the practice of this art demanded focus for good execution or the practice of this art brings about better focus. Or maybe it's a two way thing...
I was also looking for some kind rhythm that underlies the moves. It seems like some people have a stronger in built rhythm to their moves than others. I asked a friend in purple belt if the sense of rhythm is important for the proper execution of Kalari but he doesn't seem to know what I really talking about.
K8
First Training Session
After a painful experience of looking for the training grounds and discovering that SJF stands for Singapore Judo Federation, I began my first Kalarippayattu class the first time I was there. First thought in my mind was... there's only girl in the class other than me. Second thought was... besides a Caucasian guy and a Chinese guy, everyone else in the class was Indian. I found out later that both the Caucasian guy and the Chinese guy are half Indian which effectively makes me the only non-Indian in the class. Not that I mind but it shows me that the situation in Zarrilli's Kalari school is not happening in Singapore. Here, it doesn't seem to attract learners from other races.
Having attended a few sessions in Taekwondo, my only experience in martial arts, I was comparing my observations with observations I made in Taekwondo. I didn't do it consciously but I knew I was comparing at the back of my mind. Firstly, the uniform they were wearing were like the taewondo gis which were unlike what I see Zarrilli wearing in his practices. Secondly, they seem to have a similar belt colour system. Thirdly, they also train in an open court on bare feet.
However, when my practice started, the difference in the movement style was immediately obvious. It was totally foreign to me. I haven't quite seen anything the likes of it. Especially a move where they have to turn their entire body in a move that looks like something I've learnt in Chinese Opera.
And there seems to be an emphasis on tumbling. There are 12 Kalari falls of which beginners like me are only required to do 8. It also seems like an awful lot of memory work as there seems to be a fair bit of sequences to learn. And somehow many moves are named with numbers rather than some poetic malayalam words which was what I had expected.
I begin to wonder if the alertness trained from this martial art stems from the amount of moves you have to memorise and execute at the master's command. Rather than motor-neuron activity.
Other things that are unique are spine stretching exercises and yogic breathing.
Furthermore, there is a greater emphasis, at least in this class, in overall physical fitness. We are made to do running, sit ups, push ups and carry each other on our backs (a practice often used in theatre except that we do lifts and squats in this version). Taekwondo does seem to do too much in this area.
At the end of the class, there was a mini performance of some of my classmates where the only other girl classmate demonstrated sparing with 4 other classmates surrounding her. I think it was a rehearsal for an upcoming performance. What struck me about this performance was the fact that my master chided one of the students for not acting. The ones that got "attacked" were supposed to react in a way that convinced you that they are reeling in pain. Observing this I realised that I forgot about the performative aspect of martial arts as a display and how that involves a fair bit of acting and pondered about the relations between these two.
In the first lesson, I dun think I've tasted anything like meyyu kannakuka. I think this is going to be a long journey. :)
K8
Having attended a few sessions in Taekwondo, my only experience in martial arts, I was comparing my observations with observations I made in Taekwondo. I didn't do it consciously but I knew I was comparing at the back of my mind. Firstly, the uniform they were wearing were like the taewondo gis which were unlike what I see Zarrilli wearing in his practices. Secondly, they seem to have a similar belt colour system. Thirdly, they also train in an open court on bare feet.
However, when my practice started, the difference in the movement style was immediately obvious. It was totally foreign to me. I haven't quite seen anything the likes of it. Especially a move where they have to turn their entire body in a move that looks like something I've learnt in Chinese Opera.
And there seems to be an emphasis on tumbling. There are 12 Kalari falls of which beginners like me are only required to do 8. It also seems like an awful lot of memory work as there seems to be a fair bit of sequences to learn. And somehow many moves are named with numbers rather than some poetic malayalam words which was what I had expected.
I begin to wonder if the alertness trained from this martial art stems from the amount of moves you have to memorise and execute at the master's command. Rather than motor-neuron activity.
Other things that are unique are spine stretching exercises and yogic breathing.
Furthermore, there is a greater emphasis, at least in this class, in overall physical fitness. We are made to do running, sit ups, push ups and carry each other on our backs (a practice often used in theatre except that we do lifts and squats in this version). Taekwondo does seem to do too much in this area.
At the end of the class, there was a mini performance of some of my classmates where the only other girl classmate demonstrated sparing with 4 other classmates surrounding her. I think it was a rehearsal for an upcoming performance. What struck me about this performance was the fact that my master chided one of the students for not acting. The ones that got "attacked" were supposed to react in a way that convinced you that they are reeling in pain. Observing this I realised that I forgot about the performative aspect of martial arts as a display and how that involves a fair bit of acting and pondered about the relations between these two.
In the first lesson, I dun think I've tasted anything like meyyu kannakuka. I think this is going to be a long journey. :)
K8
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Newest Essay Structure
Abstract
Introduction
Chapter 1 Psycho-Physical Acting and Kalarippayattu: The Unlikely Partners
Chapter 2 Consciousness and Attention
Chapter 3 How Kalarippayattu Prepares Mindbody of the Contemporary Actor for Optimum State of “Departure”
Chapter 4 Psycho-physical Effects of Kalarippayattu: Through Different Perspectives
Chapter 5 Language and Culture in the Role of Consciousness and Psycho-Physics
Introduction
Chapter 1 Psycho-Physical Acting and Kalarippayattu: The Unlikely Partners
Chapter 2 Consciousness and Attention
Chapter 3 How Kalarippayattu Prepares Mindbody of the Contemporary Actor for Optimum State of “Departure”
Chapter 4 Psycho-physical Effects of Kalarippayattu: Through Different Perspectives
Chapter 5 Language and Culture in the Role of Consciousness and Psycho-Physics
Monday, August 31, 2009
Confirmation of Focus
We decided that the focus will be the effects of Kalaripayattu itself and not the languages that can be used to discourse the effects of Kalaripayattu. This is so as to stay focussed on one area which I felt I had more interests in. It is also because it's an area that helps people understand the significance of Zarilli's work in incorporating Kalaripayattu into actor training.
At the same time, I established that I don't want to assess the effectiveness of the technique but rather just state the effects. I felt that to come up with a judgment on effectiveness needs alot more time and a sizeable sample group of people who have been trained in Zarilli's technique. This makes it impossible to achieve with our current constrains. Furthermore, assessing the effectiveness of something requires a measure of sorts of effectiveness. As such, the optimal state for performance might already have a different measure under a cultural understanding, a contemporary theatre understanding and a pschological and biological understanding.
However, deciding just to discuss the effects in different forms of discourse brings about this question: Why do we NEED all these forms of discourse? How does that contribute to academia? Firstly, my personal experience in voice class yielded that I benefitted from knowing both biological facts about vocal cords and metaphorical language used to evoke images during the training process. In other words, I am an example of someone that benefits from a pedagogy that uses different forms of discourse to reach the students. Secondly, looking at this practice from view points of different fields help people with different backgrounds understand the importance of his work. Thirdly, it helps break down the existing separation between arts and science. By using different forms of epistemology to understand his work, it debunks the thought that Zarrilli's work is mysticism and has no real physical benefit on the actor. Fourthly, the most accepted understanding of the body is that of biology and modern medicine. By using the most up-to-date knowledge of the body to understand the effects of a traditional practice, it not only serves to communicate to the modern audience better, it addresses the issue of its relevance to modern actors.
I made it clear that I didn't wanna debate the use of different epistemologies in the paper but will state my reasons for doing so in the introduction section. There, I'll do a brief lit review to demonstrate reasons why I think its beneficial to use different forms of discourse.
I established that I will only use interviewees that have trained under Zarilli's technique rather than people who trained in just Kalaripayattu, to make things more relevant. At the same time, I'll try to experience Kalaripayattu first-hand myself and document my findings....
Other than logistical stuff... we didn't really talk much. I was just left with the parting shot that I should think about the necessity of the demystification of Zarilli's language in his approach.
K8
At the same time, I established that I don't want to assess the effectiveness of the technique but rather just state the effects. I felt that to come up with a judgment on effectiveness needs alot more time and a sizeable sample group of people who have been trained in Zarilli's technique. This makes it impossible to achieve with our current constrains. Furthermore, assessing the effectiveness of something requires a measure of sorts of effectiveness. As such, the optimal state for performance might already have a different measure under a cultural understanding, a contemporary theatre understanding and a pschological and biological understanding.
However, deciding just to discuss the effects in different forms of discourse brings about this question: Why do we NEED all these forms of discourse? How does that contribute to academia? Firstly, my personal experience in voice class yielded that I benefitted from knowing both biological facts about vocal cords and metaphorical language used to evoke images during the training process. In other words, I am an example of someone that benefits from a pedagogy that uses different forms of discourse to reach the students. Secondly, looking at this practice from view points of different fields help people with different backgrounds understand the importance of his work. Thirdly, it helps break down the existing separation between arts and science. By using different forms of epistemology to understand his work, it debunks the thought that Zarrilli's work is mysticism and has no real physical benefit on the actor. Fourthly, the most accepted understanding of the body is that of biology and modern medicine. By using the most up-to-date knowledge of the body to understand the effects of a traditional practice, it not only serves to communicate to the modern audience better, it addresses the issue of its relevance to modern actors.
I made it clear that I didn't wanna debate the use of different epistemologies in the paper but will state my reasons for doing so in the introduction section. There, I'll do a brief lit review to demonstrate reasons why I think its beneficial to use different forms of discourse.
I established that I will only use interviewees that have trained under Zarilli's technique rather than people who trained in just Kalaripayattu, to make things more relevant. At the same time, I'll try to experience Kalaripayattu first-hand myself and document my findings....
Other than logistical stuff... we didn't really talk much. I was just left with the parting shot that I should think about the necessity of the demystification of Zarilli's language in his approach.
K8
Sunday, August 30, 2009
3rd Meeting with Dr Hwang
In our discussion, I established that the way I'm going to talk about Kalaripayattu is through the case study approach. From looking specifically at Kalaripayattu, I'll see if I can draw out any patterns that maybe generalised with the use of martial arts in drama practice.
We also talked about the idea of space and how it affects the practice of Kalaripayattu itself, since Kalari is actually a Malayalam word for a type of construction where the practitioners practise in. Dr Hwang talked about how consciousness does not exist in a vacuum but always exists as a response to something else.
I was reminded how in social sciences the position of the researcher is very important and we do not assume the "transparent objective researcher" as in the other sciences. Hence, my position has to be decided before I can delve further into the topic.
I iterated that I have an interest in bridging knowledge that are traditionally seen as separate and that is a probably reason why I wanted biology in the scope of my paper. It had helped me when I assimilated different sources of information into one concept when I trained in voice production so I wanted to do the same for an actor training approach.
I was left with this question at the end of the meeting: In your paper, do you want to talk about the effects of Kalaripayattu to the psychophysical approach, or the effects of the language?
We also talked about the idea of space and how it affects the practice of Kalaripayattu itself, since Kalari is actually a Malayalam word for a type of construction where the practitioners practise in. Dr Hwang talked about how consciousness does not exist in a vacuum but always exists as a response to something else.
I was reminded how in social sciences the position of the researcher is very important and we do not assume the "transparent objective researcher" as in the other sciences. Hence, my position has to be decided before I can delve further into the topic.
I iterated that I have an interest in bridging knowledge that are traditionally seen as separate and that is a probably reason why I wanted biology in the scope of my paper. It had helped me when I assimilated different sources of information into one concept when I trained in voice production so I wanted to do the same for an actor training approach.
I was left with this question at the end of the meeting: In your paper, do you want to talk about the effects of Kalaripayattu to the psychophysical approach, or the effects of the language?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
1st Rambling
This blog is set up so that Dr Hwang and I can track the progress made on my honours thesis. It will be a space where I'll wonder aloud and sound out my ideas.
In our meeting, I confessed that I felt "guilt" for bringing the scientific perspective to Zarrilli's practice because it reminded me about the prevalent sentiments towards theatre during Stanislavsky's and Meyerhold's time. Things that were not immediately scientifically justifiable then was either seen as useless or seen as a threat.
Though I don't see things that way, I was concerned that the research may end up looking like it privileges the scientific language over the metaphorical language commonly used in theatre and in Zarilli's practice.
Recalling my time spent in Voice Production class with Ms Nora Samosir, I felt it was beneficial to my training to be trained in the metaphorical language but at the same time read up on medical books on "scientific" knowledge of the vocal cords.
We also discussed how we should be wary about the traditional east-west dichotomy with our discussion. There is a linguistic tendency for me to refer to modern medicine as "western" medicine. I guess it's because I see it as compared to TCM which is "eastern". At the same time, I also felt that I have to be careful of the Art-Science dichotomy, paying special attention to the fact that Physics was at one point, Natural Philosophy.
So we established that it was interesting to look at the topic, treating the "scientific" language and the "metaphoric" language as 2 modes of discourse to consider the idea of consciousness and attention.
K8
In our meeting, I confessed that I felt "guilt" for bringing the scientific perspective to Zarrilli's practice because it reminded me about the prevalent sentiments towards theatre during Stanislavsky's and Meyerhold's time. Things that were not immediately scientifically justifiable then was either seen as useless or seen as a threat.
Though I don't see things that way, I was concerned that the research may end up looking like it privileges the scientific language over the metaphorical language commonly used in theatre and in Zarilli's practice.
Recalling my time spent in Voice Production class with Ms Nora Samosir, I felt it was beneficial to my training to be trained in the metaphorical language but at the same time read up on medical books on "scientific" knowledge of the vocal cords.
We also discussed how we should be wary about the traditional east-west dichotomy with our discussion. There is a linguistic tendency for me to refer to modern medicine as "western" medicine. I guess it's because I see it as compared to TCM which is "eastern". At the same time, I also felt that I have to be careful of the Art-Science dichotomy, paying special attention to the fact that Physics was at one point, Natural Philosophy.
So we established that it was interesting to look at the topic, treating the "scientific" language and the "metaphoric" language as 2 modes of discourse to consider the idea of consciousness and attention.
K8
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
