Kalarippayattu: Encyclopedia II - Kalarippayattu - Vativu Postures and Chuvatu Foot movements

Kalarippayattu - Vativu Postures and Chuvatu Foot movements

Atavu which is a combination of Vativu and Chuvatu.

Vativu: There are nine Vativus or postures in Kalarippayattu they are:

• Gaja Vativu or elephant pose
• Asva Vativu or horse pose
• Simha Vativu or Lion pose
• Varaha Vativu or boar pose
• Matsya Vativu or Fish pose
• Marjara Vativu or Cat pose
• Kukkuta Vativu or Cock pose
• Sarpa Vativu or Serpent pose
• Mayura Vativu or Peacock pose

Each postures has its own style, power combination, usefulness and effectiveness.

Chuvatu: There are five Chuvatus or foot positions and movements they are:

• Vatta Chuvatu
• Aakka Chuvatu
• Neekka Chuvatu
• Kon Chuvatu
• Ottakkal Chuvatu

One should be a master in all the foot movements if one really wants to master Kalarippayattu.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Vativu Postures and Chuvatu Foot movements", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki