Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Kendo and Kalari to make debut

Rayan Rozario

Coimbatore: Kendo and Kalari, the traditional martial arts of Japan and Kerala, is all set to make their debut in the inaugural edition of the Moses Memorial international martial arts championship, which gets underway at the Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) campus here on Friday.

Kendo, which means `Way of the sword', is a Samurai art close to Japanese fencing. It is an art in which participants fence with flexible bamboo practise swords (Shinai) using both the edge and point of it to hit targets on their opponents armour. The four main targets are the top of the head, the throat, the abdomen and the wrist.

Introduction

"This is the first time that we are introducing Kendo in a championship of this stature. In fact, not many have real knowledge about this art and that's one reason we want to popularise it," said Sensei S. Paul Vickraman, General Secretary of the All India Shitoryu Karate Do Federation.

Kalari, unlike Kendo, has no accompanying instruments to punctuate its movements. The bodily throws and thrusts of the practitioner are done according to verbal instructions of the teacher (Gurukkal), which are articulated in the mould of a special rhythm.

"My father was a pioneer in Kalari. He was selected by the BBC to do a 12-part serial on this amazing art. It's time this well known art makes its international debut," said Sensei Neil Moses, son of late Dai Sensei Dr. Moses Thilak, the founder of sports karate in India.

Besides Kendo and Kalari, the other martial arts in the championship include karate and Tai Chi. Karate has already spread its wings and Tai Chi is fast catching up as well.

Inauguration

About 1000 competitors and 100 referees and judges from all over the world are expected to take part in the three-day championship, to be inaugurated by the Minister for Rural Industries, Pongalur N. Palaniswamy. The chief guest for function will be Dr. N. Mahalingam, Chairman, Sakthi Group.

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