Kalari

I happened to read a collected work on folk arts in India and found one interesting article on Kalari of Kerala. It is written by a Professor from Sree Sankara College, Kalady. Some of the points I was fascinated by were

That Kalari and Kalari Payattu have different connotations. Kalari represents a praxis and encompasses a system of knowledge related to medicine, lifestyle, aesthetics, culture and philosophy. Kalari Payattu is about the application of Kalari in the realm of self-defense or fighting.
That the revival of Kalari is thanks to a Thiyya practitioner who lived till 1940 (1850-1940) and it is his disciple, C V Narayanan Nair, who popularized Kalari among the general public by modifying some of the styles. CVN Kalari is very active even now through the efforts of family members of Narayanan Nair.
There are clear differences among the styles followed by the Northern practitioners who follow the Kadathanadu version and the Southern practitioners who integrate Marma vidya in its tradition.
One interesting question he tries to answer in the chapter is whether Kalari be considered as an art or as a sport. He takes a pragmatic stand in that without any practical relevance of Kalari in contemporary daily life, it would be better for the survival of Kalari to identify itself as an art form and thereby gain a market for its performance world over.