I NTRODUCTI ON

K al ar i payattu means battl efi el d

practi ces or trai ni ng that takes pl ace i n an
arena or a gymnasium of specific dimensions
wi th mud fl oor i ng. Thi s i s an anci ent
traditional martial art form of Kerala, I ndia.
Basi s of al l marti al art form l i ke Karate,
K ungfu was or i gi nal l y devel oped fr om
K al ar i payattu. The nor ther n styl es of
Kal ari payattu are characteri sed by hi gh
j umpi ng and ki cki ng techni ques, l ow
stances, bl ows and bl ocks del i vered by arms
and l eg that are al most ful l y extended and
I ndi an J Physi ol Pharmacol 2004; 48 (2) : 235240
RESPI RATORY FUNCTI ONS I N KALARI PAYATTU PRACTI TI ONERS
C. KESAVA CHANDRAN, R. HARI KUMARAN NAI R
AND S. SHASHI DHAR*
Physi ol ogi cal Chemi stry Research Laboratory,
School of Bi osci ences
Mahatma Gandhi Uni versi ty
Kottayam, Keral a 686 560
( (( (( Recei ved on November 23, 2001 Recei ved on November 23, 2001 Recei ved on November 23, 2001 Recei ved on November 23, 2001 Recei ved on November 23, 2001 ) )) ))
Abstract : Abstract : Abstract : Abstract : Abstract : Kalaripayattu, an ancient traditional martial art form of Kerala,
i s consi dered as the basi s for al l marti al arts vi z. Karate, Kungfu, etc.
physi ol ogi cal studi es are more concentrated on Karate, Kungfu and other
marti al arts due to thei r gl obal acceptance. Consi deri ng the l i mi ted
knowl edge avai l abl e regardi ng the physi ol ogi cal profi l es of Kal ari payattu
practi ti oners, the present study was taken up for fi l l i ng the l acunae i n
the fi el d. Lung functi on tests were carri ed out i n ten Kal ari practi ti oners.
Resi dual vol ume was measured by i ndi rect method. Hi gher l ung vol umes
and fl ow rates were achi eved i n Kal ari practi ti oners compared to age and
hei ght-matched control s. Better mechani cal factors and l ower ai rway
resi stance i nfl uenced duri ng Kal ari practi ce mi ght have benefi ted i n
i mprovi ng hung vol umes and fl ow rates.
K ey words : K ey words : K ey words : K ey words : K ey words : l ung vol umes fl ow rates Kalaripayattu
a hi gh l evel of energeti c and acrobati c
movement. War mi ng up gymnasti c
techni ques are very strenuous. Pattern of
movements cal l ed Suvadus and sever al
breathi ng techni ques, probabl y taken from
yoga are found i n i ts trai ni ng regi men. The
exerci se taught i n the Kal ari ri ght from the
basi c of the practi ti oner are al l desi gnated
to gi ven strength to the l owest poi nt i n
the ver tebr al col umn (K undal ani ).
Kal ari payattu exerci ses i nvol ve the usage
of di fferent body parts l i ke hands, feet,
el bow, knee and head. Al l these exerci ses
or steps i n Kalaripayattu were synchroni sed
*Correspondi ng Author
236 Chandran et al I ndian J Physiol Pharmacol 2004; 48(2)
Physi cal characteri sti cs vi z. age and
hei ght were measured. Resi dual vol ume i s
deri ved from VC by the cal cul ati on proposed
by Sunil Das and Chatterjee (1). Respiratory
functi on tests wer e car r i ed out dur i ng
morni ng hours usi ng Vi tal l ograph Compact
I I (Bucki ngham, U.K.). A comparati ve study
on Kal ari payattu performers wi th age and
hei ght matched normal control s were al so
carri ed out.
RESULTS
Mean val ues of physi cal characteri sti cs
of Kal ari payattu warri ors were age (21.3
2.23 years) hei ght (172.15 9.57cm), and
age and hei ght of control s were 21.44 years
and 169.80 cm respecti vel y. Lung vol umes
vi z. VC (P <0.001), F VC, F E V
1
, MVV
(P<0.05), FEV
1
/VC% (P<0.05) and (P<0.01)
PI F (P<0.005), FI F75% (P<0.001), FI F50%
(P <0.005) and F I F 25% (P <0.005) al so
recorded a hi gher val ue i n Kal ari payattu
pr acti ti oner s than nor mal contr ol s
(Tabl e I I ).
TABLE I : Lung vol umes i n Kal ari payattu practi ti oners.
Parameters
C (n =25) AR (n =10) P val ue
Mean SD Mean SD C v/s AR
VC (L) 3.210.47 3.990.64 P<0.001
I VC (L) 2.280.45 2.310.31 NS
FVC (L) 3.280.47 3.760.74 P<0.05
FEV
0.5
(L) 2.210.33 2.450.28 NS
FEV
0.5
/FVC (%) 67.8010.19 65.147.81 NS
FEV
1
(L) 2.920.40 3.300.47 P<0.05
FEV
1
/VC (%) 90.178.10 833.31 P<0.05
FEV
1
/I VC (%) 129.8321.23 144.1316.78 NS
FEV
1
/FVC (%) 88.807.88 86.864.93 NS
MVV
i nd
(L) 108.7215.21 123.7617.51 P<0.05
RV
i nd
(L) 1.070.10 1.200.16 P<0.01
C Control s; age (21.44 1.58), hei ght (169.80 6.11)
AR Kal ari payattu subjects at rest; age (21.3 2.23), hei ght (172.15 9.57)
wi th breathi ng rhythm. Consi deri ng the
i nvol vement of breathi ng i n Kal ari payattu
prompt us to take up the study on l ung
functi ons i n Kal ari payattu practi ti oners.
Comparative study between performers with
age and hei ght matched contr ol s wer e
carri ed out to study the al terati ons of l ung
functi ons achi eved by K al ar i payattu
practi ce.
METHODS
Mal e Kal ari practi ti oners were sel ected
from CVN Kal ari (Keral a Sports Counci l
recogni sed) at Kaduthuruthy, Keral a, I ndi a,
under the gui dance of wor l d r enowned
Kalari Master Sri Vasudevan Gurukkal. Ten
professi onal Kal ari practi ti oners wi th more
than fi ve years of experi ence i n the fi el d
were i ncl uded for the study. Kal ari payattu
pr acti ti oner s per for med thei r r egul ar
trai ni ng of warm up exerci se fol l owed by
Chuvadukal or patter n of steps and
Vadi vukal or di fferent postures for an al l
out performance.
I ndian J Physiol Pharmacol 2004; 48(2) Respiratory Functions in Kalaripayattu Practitioners 237
238 Chandran et al I ndian J Physiol Pharmacol 2004; 48(2)
I ndian J Physiol Pharmacol 2004; 48(2) Respiratory Functions in Kalaripayattu Practitioners 239
DI SCUSSI ON
K al ar i payattu i nvol ves sever al body
postures and stances whi ch are attai ned by
di fferent stances or steps. Body postures
i nvol ve Sar pavadi vu (Snake postur e),
Kukadavadivu (Cock posture), Matsyavadi vu
(F i sh post ur e), Var ahavadi vu (Bor e
posture), Gajavadi vu (El ephant posture),
Si mhavadi vu (Li on posture), Ashwavadi vu
(Hor se post ur e) and Mayoor avadi vu
(Peacock postur e). These postur es and
stances include total body movements. These
body movements i ncl ude i nvol vement of
acti vi ty of respi ratory muscl es and chest
muscl es.
Lung vol umes VC, FVC, MVV, RV and
ti med vol ume (F EV
1
) were si gni fi cantl y
hi gher i n Kal ari performers than control s.
Thi s cl earl y shows the abi l i ty of mechani cal
factor s l i ke el asti c r ecoi l of l ungs and
conducti ve properti es of l arger ai rways i n
TABLE I I : Fl ow rates i n Kal ari payattu practi ti oners.
Parameters
C (n =25) AR (n =10) P val ue
Mean SD Mean SD C v/s AR
PEF (1/mi n) 3.6376.30 423.5940.01 P<0.05
FEF
0.21.2
(1/sec) 5.481.40 6.550.77 P<0.05
FEF
25
75% (1/sec) 3.650.94 3.770.51 NS
FMFT (sec) 0.460.13 0.520.10 NS
FEF
7585%
(1/sec) 1.610.56 1.500.27 NS
FEF
25%
(1/sec) 5.531.31 6.220.85 NS
FEF
50%
(1/sec) 3.980.97 4.140.45 NS
FEF
75%
(1/sec) 1.990.60 1.960.36 NS
PI F (1/sec) 3.951.13 5.461.21 P<0.005
FI F
75%
(1/sec) 3.190.97 5.761.28 P<0.001
FI F
50%
(1/sec) 3.631.23 5.191.34 P<0.005
FI F
25%
(1/sec) 3.251.13 4.701.16 P<0.005
C Control s; age (21.44 1.58), hei ght (169.80 6.11)
AR Kal ari payattu subjects at rest; age (21.3 2.23), hei ght (172.15 9.57)
K al ar i payattu per for mer s than nor mal
contr ol s. Repeated heavy exer ci se to
venti l atory muscl es i s synchroni sed wi th
exerci ses, vi z., hi gh jumpi ng and ki cki ng
techni ques, l ong stri des, l ong stances and
bl ow and bl ocks by ar ms and hands
stretched. Repeated heavy exerci se resul ts
i n respi ratory muscl e hypertrophy whi ch
would account for larger static lung volumes
whi ch depend partl y on the muscl e power
(2, 3, 4). Conti nuous upper body exerci se
and arm stretch exerci se resul t i n i mproved
chest surface area with chest mobility which
mi ght l ead to hi gher l ung vol umes (5, 6).
Most of the Kal ari payattu exerci se i nvol ves
the techni que of breath hol di ng associ ated
wi th yoga. The yoga exerci se i s consi dered
to be benefi ci al for i mproved l ung functi ons
(7). Yoga training will benefit to hold breath
near total l ung capaci ty (7, 8). Thi s breath
hol di ng capaci ty wi l l benefi t i n i mproved
l ung vol umes (9). Venti l ator y str ess
speci fi cal l y due to breath hol di ng whi ch
240 Chandran et al I ndian J Physiol Pharmacol 2004; 48(2)
i mposes respi ratory muscl e strength (10,
11).
The fl ow rates of Kal ari payattu warri ors
showed a si gni fi cantl y hi gher resul t as
compared to normal controls. This shows the
effi ci ency of l ower ai rways wi th l ess ai rway
resi stance i n Kal ari payattu warri ors than
the age and hei ght matched control s. The
factors affecti ng fl ow rates al so i ncl ude
elastic recoil of lungs and the characteristics
of the i ntrathoraci c ai rways (12). Another
reason for the i ncreased fl ow rates i s the
hi gher l ung vol umes of K al ar i payattu
warri ors (13). The study on l ung vol umes
and fl ow rates i n Kal ari payattu warri ors
wi th age and hei ght-matched contr ol s
reveals that Kalaripayattu warriors attained
a hi gher l ung functi on through trai ni ng i n
Kal ari exerci se.
To sum up, Kal ari payattu performers
show hi gher l ung functi on status achi eved
by exerci se trai ni ng. Di fferent postures and
stances i n K al ari payattu together wi th
i nvol vement of breathi ng exerci ses l i ke yoga
i n the exerci se protocol may have i nfl uenced
i n the hi gher l ung vol umes and fl ow rates.
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