Varmam in Malaysia

VARMAM

What is Varmam?

There are different definitions for  the Tamil word  “Varmam”:

1. The action that causes loss or bockage of vital energy (Ki, Chi, Prana etc) at certain locations of pressure points, nerve junctions or bone joints is called  Varma Adi or Varmam strike.
2. The actual points, or nerve junctions etc themselves may be called Varmam.
3. The systematic study,art or method of performing the actions in the application of martial arts/self defense is called Varmam or Varma(k) Kalai.

To avoid confusion, I shall henceforth refer to the art as Varma Kalai, the points(locations) as spots or points  as varmam or just as spot and the action as strike(inclusive of punches, open handed blows, finger thrusts or any other offensive method employed in hand to hand combat) or blow.

Marmam: Another word used to refer to the spots is “ Marmam”, which in the either Tamil or Malayalam (remember Kalaripayat has these methods too) means mystery, which alludes to the mysterious effects of such a strike on the spots.

Kaalam:  Kaalam is another word used to refer to the spots. It means Time . It may allude to either the limited time available to resuscitate the victim of a varma strike or the delayed death effect (just like Dim-Mak if you can see the similarity.)  ‘Kaalan’ is also the name of the Hindu god of death. Yama or may also refer to Shifa’s “destroyer aspect “ (Kaal Bhairav). But let us not get into that now. Just to suffice, Kaalam is another name given to Varmam spots in the context of the Tamil language.

Types of  Varmam classified accoding to the types of Actions used:

Padu Varmam: Forceful blow on the spot, in accordance to the amount of force used in the blow, causes the following reactions:

-Unconsciousess,
-Incapacitation,
-Permanent disability of organ or limb, or
-Death.

Thodu Varmam:

Thodu in Tamil means “to touch”. So this is more of a touch, although with some pressure exerted on the spots.

The effects of thodu varmam, inclusive of but not limited to:
- unconsciousness
- temporary disability of limb/organ
- delayed antagonoistic body reactions, disease, death

Thrusting, prodding, or pinching with the fingers performs this type of action.

Thattu Varmam:

Thattu  in Tamil means rapping , clapping or tapping.

This type of action is performed by tapping with a certain amount of force like a simple slap with the palm or finger tap, rapping with fingers or knuckles.

To put it simply , it is a percussive or drumbeat type of action.

Effects include

- disorientation
- sensory loss
- sudden sharp pain leading to immobility
- if used in certain spots with excessive rapping force, can cause instant unconsciousness with future health problems, organ failure and even death in extreme cases, in certain spots.

Thattu Varmam for the sole reason of being a snappy action rather than a prodding or pushing action is generally included as Padu Varmam, although different schools of thoughts or lineages have their own interpretations. But most generally, according to the ancient texts on Varmam, the general classification is as padu varmam and thodu varmam.

There is no hard and fast rule that governs what type of attacks are to be followed for attacks on the spots. Anything that works, goes, but there are certainly recommended methods. For example certain spots, which would be inaccessible to a punch, can be hit by a finger thrust, like in the case of the hollow below the Adam’s apple. Also to be taken into account is the ‘Maathirai” or amount of force determined by the distance from which the the blow is delivered.

The following is a Siddhar aphorism on Varmam, (note: Italics is Tamil, the text in brackets is the meaning in English.)

“ Paarappa padu varmam pannirendaam,   (Note my son, padu varmam is 12 in number )                 
Kaelappa thodu varmam Thonnootri aaraam….” (Hear thee well; thodu varmam is 96 in number)

“aamappa innoru kaalam solgiraen vilambak kaelu, Meytheendaa kaalam athu.” (yes, I will tell you another one , that is the one not touched on/by the body)

Mey Theendaa Kaalam(literally mey theendaa=body untouched)  is the ultimate when it comes to Varmam.  This is a varmam, which is caused without any physical contact between the attacker and the attacked. A person who has knowledge of this technique can stop an attacker or multiple attackers at a distance. It is said that only those Varmam Masters who are at peak of knowledge and training can be true experts of this kind of Varmam, and they impart this knowledge to only those disciples equipped with humility, piety, presence of mind and good conduct and proven themselves in all the tests laid down by the Guru.
[Now, if you ask me how can one attack a person without any physical contact, tell me how hypnosis , tele-kinesis etc work. If they work, then so does this. There is evidence of old Shaolin Master-monks who had the ability to paralyze attackers from a distance just by the force of their will. Similarly, Mey Theenda Kaalam, is also accomplished by the force of mind and will power, having been learnt and perfected through arduous effort and mental discipline.]

History of Varma Kalai

It is said that varmakalai, originated from Lord Siva.

“Thaeravey Sivan Umaikku sonna bodham,
Aaaramal naan arindhu in nool sonnaen”

According to the above verse, Lord Siva taught varmam to his wife Parvathi; later Parvathi taught varmam to their son Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan then taught Siddha Agasthiyar. Agasthiyar later gave a written form that reached the masses. But the original texts (and their copies), directly written by siddhas, are not available now. Saints who have grasped the meaning of the siddhas sayings have given a poetic form, which is used in modern day learning. So far, around fifty thousand songs are available.

The narrated history has been mentioned in the 41st prose of " Kai Mathirai Thiravukol " as describes the first worldly originator of the Guru Sishya Parampara or Lineage as the Sage Agastya who in turn taught it to others like Ramadeva, Bhoga Muni, Goraksa (or Gorakhnath, the patron guru of the Gurkhas, interesting parallel !!), Theraya, Pulippaani etc, who in turn taught their diciples and gradually knowledge of this art reached commoners in the same , strict Guru-Shishya tradition.

The following is directly quoted from the works Philip Zarrili , one of the foremost researchers in the west. I quote him just to show, how far the poplarity of this rare art has traveled yet is largely being ignored in our own country.

“The earliest textual evidence of the concept of the vital spots dates from as early as the RgVeda (1200 BC) where the god Indra is recorded as defeating the demon Vritra by attacking his vital spots (marman) with his vajra  From this and numerous other scattered references to the vital spots in Vedic and epic sources, it is certain that India's early martial practitioners knew and practiced attacking or defending vital spots; however, we possess no martial texts from antiquity comparable to the Sanskrit medical texts in which a systematic knowledge of the vital spots is recorded.”
By the time that Susruta's classic Sanskrit medical text had been revised in the 2nd century A.D., 107 vital spots of the gross, external, physical body (sthula-sarira) had been identified and defined as an aid to surgical intervention:
“the areas where muscles, vessels, ligaments, bones, and joints meet together
….. which by virture of their nature are specially the seats of life “
Susruta established a close connection between combat and medical intervention. Surgery was called salya, which referred to "foreign bodies of every kind...but...specifically...the arrow, which was the commonest and most dangerous foreign body causing wounds and requiring surgical treatment" (Kutumbiah 1974:144).
Knowledge of the vital spots shares the general Ayurvedic principles that health is a state of humoral equilibrium. Susruta identified seven kinds of diseases, one of which was samghata-bala-pravrtta, "the traumatic type...caused by an external blow or...due to wrestling with an antagonist of superior strength" (Susruta, Suthrasthana XXIV, 6; Bhishagratna trans., 1963:230). All combat injuries fall into this class. Susruta related them to the primary humoral body by explaining that traumatic injuries enrage the wind humor in the area of injury. The first action of the attending physician should thus aim to calm the 'enraged wind humor (vayu)."

There are also techniques recorded in the Dhanur Veda chapters of Agni Purana, the earliest compilation of specific martial principles and techniques which suggests a great deal of similarity. Also included is the Malla Purana which is a complete treatise on the body and the martial applications of  wrestling and puch/kick techniques which have been traditionally the domain of the Jyeshtimallas , a clan of martial Brahmins in Gujarat who are the custodians of the ancient Indian MMA called Vajramushti.

The ancient Sangam age kingdoms of Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas had a long tradition of Martial Chivalry just like the Kshatriyas of the northern regions. Warriors refused to attack an unarmed opponent, instead meeting him on equal terms without weapons. Tanjore “Kuthu Varisai” was the domain of the Cholas. This was the ancient unarmed, kickboxing like art using rapid percussive strikes to bring town an opponent. The Chera kingdom was closer to the borders of Middle and southern Kerala and had their own tradition of unarmed combat and affinity towards Pressure point systems. In fact, the stronghold of Tamilian Varmam art is the area around Kanyakumari and Nagercoil districts , which share borders with Southern Kerala, where the Thekkan Kalari (Southern Style Kalari)system which devotes lesser time to weaponry and lays more emphasis on unarmed combat and Marma Adi techniques that the other two styles of Madhya Keralam(Central Style of Kalari – Palakkad-Cannanore- Malappuram areas) and Vadakkan Kalari ( Northern Style-- Malabar etc).

Even in the art of Silambam, (bamboo staff fencing) there are many instances in history, where opponents were defeated by blows or prodding attacks with the stick, to vital spots on the body in historical descriptions and in quite a number of manuals on this art.

The warring states refined the fighting skills and techniques prevalent in the area into a martial art form. The art flourished between the 13 and 16 centuries, becoming a part of the education of youngsters of that age.

The Medical rationale behind Varmam

Health in eastern philosophies is regarded as a state of balance between these energies, where all the systems of the body, including mind and spirit, function in harmony with each other. And disease (dis-ease) is seen as imbalance or disharmony in this flow of energies. But beyond feeling good physically an enlightened definition of health encompasses feelings of vitality, strength, inner peace and joy.
The foundation of Varmam is based on the concept of energy. This energy called Prana in Sanskrit (Chi in Chinese, Pneuma in Greek, Ki in Japanese) exists in many forms from the extremely gross to the infinitely subtle and life is interplay of these energies, metaphorically a cosmic dance of Shiva and Shakti, Yin and Yang. Within the human body these energies flow along a network of channels or lines (nadis or meridians). In the Yoga tradition there are said to be 72,000 nadis. Each has a specific function and energy that it deals with. The three main lines energetically are the Sushumna (rising straight up through the center of the spine) and the Ida and Pingala nadis, which run on either side of the spine.
There are 72,000 minor energy channels (Nadi) that link the body’s many trillions of cells. The energy that flows through these channels is focused in certain areas of the body. There are 108 of these Varmams where energy is focused. Disruption of energy flow in these Nadi and Varmams leads to illness. To be more specific, imbalanance in the flow of energy in the Dasa Nadis, leads to imbalance in the in the ratio of the three humours, namely Vatha, Pittha and Kapha (Wind, Bile and Pleghm), which causes imbalance of the five elements Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space(Ether)  leading  to affliction in the Human body which contain these elements. The affliction is made apparent in the change to the non-subtle, gross body, i.e the organs. The Ayurvedic and the Siddha systems of medicine both agree on this concept.

The actual function of the Varmam Points
The rationale of Varmam is that Varmams are energy points in the body mainly located on the skin and adjacent tissue. Injury to these points is one of the causes of illness in the body according to Siddha sages. The Prana force or vital current of electrical energy flowing through the individual Nadi is of very low voltage. Given the normal resistance of the skin, it would be impossible for the current to travel very far without the loss of signal strength. Here the Varmams come into play by acting as signal-boosting routing stations or step up transformers!!!!
Two types of classification:
The Varmam points are of the following types,
1. Thasai – Muscle
2. Asthi – Bone
3. Sandhi – Bone Joints
4. Dhamani – Aterial
5. Shira- Veins
6. Snayu- Nerve

The same 108 varmams are classified under different categories. One such classification is based on 12 Maha Nadis (or a meridian channel) in the nervous system. Each meridian channel consists of one Padu varmam and eight Thodu varmam.

Varmam Type  Number of Points
Thodu Varmam  96
Padu Varmam  12
Total  108

According to Humoral classification
Classification  Number of Points
Vata Varmam (Wind)  65
Pitta Varmam (Bile) 24
Kapha Varmam (Phlegm) 6
Concealed Varmam  12
Total  107

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