Simhalan Madhava Panicker

Simhalan Madhava Panicker
Born	Kunhuvarkkypulla Simhalan 1930 Cochin, Kerala, India (കൊച്ചി,േകരളം, भारत गणराज्य)
Died	5 March 2004
Occupation(s)	dancer, martial artist, actor
Title	Kalari Gurukkal, Marma Adi Gurukkal
Website	Simhala Kalari

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Simhalan Gurukkal

Simhalan Madhava Panicker was a well known South Asian martial artist and actor of film and theater. Born into a family of plantation farmers in Kerala in 1930, he left home at the young age of 8 and traveled to all corners of India. He found his passion in the martial arts and acting. He was an expert and authority in Varma Kalari, a variation of the ancient martial art of Kalarippayattu.

Varma Kalari

The martial art of Varma Kalari involves attacks to an opponent by striking at specific vital points of the body to cause maximum injury or, conversely, revival of the same. These vital points are junction points or nerve nodes which, when struck from a specific angle and with a particular speed, can result in temporary paralysis, extreme pain, loss of consciousness, or even immediate or delayed death. Only by experts in the art can execute this efficiently after decades of training.

Simbhalan Panicker learned the Northern and Southern styles of Kalarippayattu during 18 years of training under many teachers, and specialized in Varma Kalari, which he learned from Balan Gurukkal. From then on, he practiced the art, improvising and developing his own version of it. Using his background as a trained dancer, boxer and street fighter, he carried the art form into its highest level of expression. He created Simhala Kalari in 1975.

He was associated with contemporary martial artists like Chandrashekharan Gurukkal and Vallabhatta Vishwanathan Gurukkal. Notable disciples are Sensei Moses Thilak, Master Manoharan and Karate Mani.

Like all martial art masters, Panickar Gurukkal, (as he is popularly known), was secretive about his Varma Kalari skills and has taught very few students, all of them renowned martial art masters in Southern India. In 1983 he was featured as a 'most dangerous man' in Chennai in The Way of the Warrior: Martial Arts and Fighting Styles from Around the World, a book that was the basis for a TV documentary released by the BBC which presents various martial art forms of the world.

Panicker Gurukkal's interests extended beyond martial arts. He was also an actor of theater and film, with more than 175 movies to his credit. He taught at the Film and TV Institute of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.

He moved back to Kerala in 1998, where he continued practicing Simhala Kalari. He died in March 2004. He is survived by his wife Chinnamma and daughter Jasmine Simhalan, a noted Kalarippayattu and Silambam martial artist living in the UK. They both continue his vision of the dissemination and popularization of Kalari.

See also

• Kalari-Payatt
• Simhalan Panicker's article in Chennaibest
• To Heal and/or To Harm: The Vital Spots (Marmmam/Varmam) in Two South Indian Martial Traditions. Phillip Zarrilli, University of Wisconsin–Madison.