About Us

Kalari Darshana is more than a martial arts school. In addition to teaching and supporting two martial art systems,
Kalaripayattu from Kerala (South India) and Zurkhaneh from Iran, we also conduct research into those martial
traditions.

 

Kalaripayattu
We are teaching the Gurukkal Akatt (meaning: "teacher inside") system, which comprises several family traditions:
- Arappukai (meaning: "intercepting hand"; this style is the most spread across Kerala)
- Pillatangi (meaning: "carrying baby"; from the Vatakara region)
- Kadathanad (named after the area around the town of Vatakara)
- Madhya Sampradayam (meaning: "Central Tradition"; mainly practiced by Muslims)
- Adi Mura (meaning: "hitting techniques"; a style from the deep south, and very close to Tamil martial arts)

Zurkhaneh
Zurkhaneh is part of the very strong wrestling tradition of Iran. Created in the early 14th century by the Persian
wrestling champion Puria-ye-Wali, it may be the reason that Iran still has many top wrestlers.

 

Research
We conduct original scientific research and publish in scientific peer-reviewed magazines.

 

Dick Luijendijk

Dick Luijendijk learned kalaripayattu in Kerala, India, from grandmaster Sherif.  He stayed in Kerala for several years. After this initial stay he returned frequently to Kerala for several months. He learned five separate family styles which were blended into one composite style by his teacher Sherif. After many years of training he was rewarded with the title Asaan (teacher, expert). Next to that, he learned three massage systems, and Ayurvedic treatments. In 2008 he got his phD on kalaripayattu from the Radboud University Nijmegen. He is also an official acknowledged practitioner of Kalari Therapy and Ayurveda.

Married to an Iranian lady, he got acquainted with the zurkhaneh and Iranian culture and languages. He trained for over twenty years frequently in one of the zurkhanehs of Shiraz, Iran.