International Academy of Kalarippayat Studies
Treatment, and Research
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Train
Focus
Transform
KalariLAB: WARRIOR
96 Progressive Lessons
Personal Teacher Feedback
Interactive
Learning
Progress
Tracking
Earn
Coins
800-Year
Lineage
Science Meets Tradition
Hidden Martial Applications
Take a look at lesson 1
Start your Kalari journey now and begin the transformation
What’s included for BRONZE players?
Create your own Kalari Warrior Avatar
Explore 4 interactive maps of India with:
- 96 lessons
- 48 challenges
- Guidance and explanations from your teacher
Unlock 2 new lessons every week covering body forms from all 3 styles of Kalari
Track your progress with:
- Techniques learned
- Animal postures unlocked
- Your training streak
Take part in weekly challenges
- Submit your own training videos
- Receive feedback to help you train safely and correctly
PREMIUM Features for SILVER & GOLD Players
Get personalised coaching and improve faster
- Silver: written feedback and corrections
- Gold: written feedback + personal video replies
Earn coins for effort, consistency, and strong technique
- Spend them in the in-app shop (coming soon)
Compete for a fully funded teacher training scholarship
Open the door to a future career as a Kalari teacher
Get the first ever Kalari app
Bronze
Train with 8 new video lessons each month, weekly challenges, and regular feedback.
- 8 guided video lessons each month
- Weekly training challenges
- Video submission review
- Weekly feedback on submissions
- Track your progress
- Basic performance analytics
- Written feedback within 48 hours
Recommended
Silver
Personalised guidance, detailed feedback, and accelerated progress.
- All the benefits of Bronze, plus:
- Personalised written feedback from your teacher
- Detailed corrections and advice specific to you
- Feedback within 24 hours
- Reward System: Earn coins for lesson completion, repeat practice, and challenge performance
- Access to in-app rewards and shop (coming soon)
Gold
Our most personalised training experience, designed for students seeking direct mentorship and accelerated development.
- All the benefits of Silver and Bronze, plus:
- Weekly personalised video feedback from your teacher
- Visual corrections and detailed technique breakdowns
- Priority feedback within 12 hours
- Direct guidance to accelerate your progress
- Enhanced rewards and recognition opportunities
- Opportunity to be shortlisted for a fully funded Teacher Training Programme (Europe & India)
Curriculum
A gamified 12-month progression system across 4 stages
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Your path to absolute focus
START
PRACTICE
FEEDBACK
DEDICATE
TRANSFORM
Start your Kalari journey now and begin the transformation
Live Kalari Immersion
Headquarters in Puglia, Italy
In this intensive course you will receive a firm foundation in both Kalari training and treatment to a level at which you will feel both competent and confident to practice independently.
You will gain a solid understanding of the theoretical background and scientific explanation as to why Kalari is an effective system of training, treatment, and rehabilitation.
You will train on a traditional earthen floor of hard red mud – as the warriors of old did! In a stunning location surrounded by olive groves, orchards and history.
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Kalari is unique! Why?
Because no other practice, not even yoga, embodies the art of connection to the human organism as deeply and totally as Kalari. It is both a yogic and a healing art. A practice of posture and a practice of hands-on bodywork. It engages with all systems of the body: the musculoskeletal, lymphatic, endocrine, digestive, circulatory, nervous and energetic. It balances the Vayus, the Tridosha, the Siva/Sakti and the elemental makeup of the body itself. The individual purifies the organism through movement and massage. The fascial lines of the body are recognised and exercised, strengthened, lengthened and stabilised. Through both training and treatment, the individual is bought into centre.
Why train with us?
Learn from Senior Kalari Instructor Adam Phillips, Ayurvedic Doctor Kaoru Osanai, and senior teachers from Kerala Kalarippayatu Academy (KKA) — one of India’s leading Kalari institutions.
Drawing from decades of experience in movement, bodywork, traditional practice, and therapeutic training, our approach combines traditional Kalarippayattu with modern understanding of the body, recovery, and long-term wellbeing.
Training is designed not only to develop strength, mobility, coordination, and discipline, but also to help students reconnect with breath, focus, and balance in an increasingly overstimulated world.
More than a retreat, Kalari Lab is an ongoing international training community, with many students returning regularly to continue their practice in Puglia and online throughout the year.
Set within the quiet landscapes of Puglia, our training environment is designed for immersion, focus, and deep learning.
Frequently Asked Questions
The first steps are the most important. The first postures and movements lay the groundwork for your practice and so this is where we start. Over the next 12 months you will gradually move through all the basic and intermediate body forms of Kalari. This will build in you all the attributes of the warrior – in body and mind you will be more resilient, more capable and more focused.
There is of course no substitute for face-to-face learning however there is a lot you can learn from solo practice that will prepare you for working with a partner. All the attributes of the warrior: Balance, flow, power, flexibility, confidence, humility, focus; all these are attainable through daily practice. In Kalari there is a precise set of physical exercises that work to achieve these attributes.
The forms of Kalari consist of Vadivu (postures) and Chuvadu (linking sequences). These are joined together to make forms. Traditionally Kalari is paractised in a 7x14m space however, it is possible to adapt almost all the forms into a much smaller area. We have done this throughout the course, to make it possible for you to train at home, whilst still teaching the forms as they were done traditionally.
Yes of course. In some ways it can be an advantage to have no previous experience as your body is open to learn without having to unlearn anything. Saying that, experience in other MAs, dance, yoga or anything physical, will very likely make it easier for you to pick up many of the techniques. Certainly being already flexible can make starting Kalari easier but don’t worry if this isn’t you; many of our students report gaining hugely in their flexibility after just a week or two of Kalari.
Almost certainly but we cannot say 100%. If you are concerned about this, please send us an email and we can arrange a consultation. A free service to those serious about doing an Immersion course with us. Within our team we have both an Ayurvedic Doctor as well as several Physiotherapists and are able to make a solid assessment before you travel to Thailand as to what you would and wouldn’t be able to do on the course. Chances are though, you’ll be fine!
There are many ways to try to clear the mind,. To bring it into balance and focus. In Kalari we work to attain EKAGRATA (natural single-pointed focus). This is achieved through deliberate focus on the physical actions. Over time this process of repetition with complete attention , leads to a movement of the focus from the external to the internal. In this moment the mind becomes silent. It happens simultaneously and almost effortlessly.
Meet the Team
KalariLAB Facilitators
Adam Phillips
Adam Phillips is a Kalarippayat instructor and Kalari Marma therapist with more than 25 years of experience teaching, treating, and researching the traditional martial and healing systems of Kerala, South India.
Having spent over five years training and researching in India since 2001 under Gurukkal C.M. Sherif of the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy, Adam has become one of the most experienced non-Indian practitioners of the art. He has taught internationally across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, training more than 2,000 students worldwide.
Through his teaching, treatment work, research initiatives, and digital platforms, Adam bridges traditional Kalari knowledge with modern biomechanics, fasciology, and neuroscience — helping make this powerful system accessible to a global audience.
His work is driven by a belief that traditional embodied knowledge systems can play an important role in addressing modern challenges relating to stress, movement dysfunction, disconnection, and resilience.
Dr Caoru Osani
Dr Caoru Osani (MD,BAMS,PGDYN) is a fully qualified Ayurvedic Doctor who trained in Rajasthan, India. She is also a student of Kalarippayattu since 2003, also of KKA in Kannur...
As a member of KalariLAB she offers Ayurvedic consultation and prescription of medicines and diet/lifestyle indications to all students partaking in the immersion courses. She also offers consultation to clients outside of these courses, on request.
Later in 2019 and 2020 she shall be leading the Masterclass : An introduction to Ayurveda, with both theory and practical classes on Koh Phangan.
Compete for Teacher Training Scholarship
Each year, the highest-performing students have the opportunity to earn a Full Scholarship to our Level 1 Teacher Training Course in India or Italy.
Your scholarship includes course fees, accommodation, meals, and certification. Travel costs to and from the venue are not included.
Train hard. Earn your place. Become a teacher.
To qualify, you must:
- Complete all 96 lessons and 48 challenges
- Finish in the Top 10 coin rankings
- Demonstrate strong character and commitment during the interview process
- Show genuine financial need
From the shortlisted candidates, we award:
- 2 scholarships for the TTC in Goa, India
- 1 scholarship for the TTC in Puglia, Italy
Adam Phillips
— Kalarippayat Instructor & Kalari Marma Therapist
Adam Phillips is a Kalarippayat instructor and Kalari Marma therapist with more than 25 years of experience teaching, treating, and researching the traditional martial and healing systems of Kerala, South India.
Having spent over five years training and researching in India since 2001 under Gurukkal C.M. Sherif of the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy, Adam has become one of the most experienced non-Indian practitioners of the art. He has taught internationally across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, training more than 2,000 students worldwide.
Through his teaching, treatment work, research initiatives, and digital platforms, Adam bridges traditional Kalari knowledge with modern biomechanics, fasciology, and neuroscience — helping make this powerful system accessible to a global audience.
His work is driven by a belief that traditional embodied knowledge systems can play an important role in addressing modern challenges relating to stress, movement dysfunction, disconnection, and resilience.
