Launch of the book: Kalarippayattu. A Holistic Martial Art from India

A book launch dedicated to Kalarippayattu. A Holistic Martial Art from India written by myself took place on 21.10.2022 at the Spanish Bookshop in Wrocław.

For me, this meeting was the culmination of almost 2 years of work on the book. The whole process started in February 2021, and the first print run of 200 copies arrived at our home in September 2022. However, even though I was already handing out or sending out copies to the first readers (usually those who participated in the crowd-funding campaign set up for the printing of the book and the preparation of the Polish and English e-book – it is still on if you wish to participate), I felt that only the book launch – that is, the live contact with readers and people interested in the topic – was the real inauguration of the book and the closure of a certain phase.

The launch was led by PhD Nina Budziszewska, a yoga researcher, head of the postgraduate course in classical yoga and assistant professor in the Department of Indian Philology at the University of Wrocław, indologist, philosopher and romanist, blogger (www.atelierjogi.com), author of the book Himalaya. In Search of Yogis (Sensus, 2019), in which she combines yoga theory with her personal experience of practice, as well as a travel diary. She is passionate about conscious movement in many forms.

Many people came to the meeting, including of course family, friends and students of Studio Kalari, but also unknown people interested in the topic.

In addition to basic information about the history of the martial art and the training system, I talked about the relationship of kalarippayattu (kalari for short) with ayurveda, theatre and yoga, among other things. After the talk, there was time for questions from the audience, and the whole event ended with a short kalari demonstration performed by myself and our eldest daughter, Maja.

Kalarippayattu. A Holistic Martial Art from India is the first book on kalari in Poland (published by Studio Kalari in 2022). It presents one of the oldest martial arts in the world in an accessible way, combining theory and practice: chapters on history and the contemporary situation, theory of the system, culture and related topics (medical system, dance, yoga) are complemented by graphics and charts, as well as more than 250 photos, of which about 150 present typical postures, exercises, movement and combat sequences. The book is written from a research and practical perspective, also showing the non-obvious aspects of kalari in personal threads.

Below you can find some pictures from the launch, mostly taken by Gianluca Olcese.

There is also a video recording as the meeting was streamed online and registered, so if anyone is curious about the details, they can watch the video below. However, it is in Polish only.