Simhalan Madhava Panicker

Simhalan Madhava Panicker was a very famous name in South Asian Martial art. He was born in Cochin, India in 1930. He belonged to a South Indian family of plantation farmers. He left his home when he was just eight years old. After leaving home at a very young age, he traveled to see every corner of India. Later, he discovered his passion in martial arts and acting. He became an expert and authority in Varma Kalai. Varma Kalai is an art of hitting pressure points in the form of martial art called Kalaripayat. He got training from many teachers in the northern and the southern styles of Kalaripayat for almost 18 years. Balan Gurukkal was the one who taught him Varma Kalari and helped him to become a specialized in it.

Simhalan Panicker wanted to develop his version of Varma Kalari, so he kept on practicing the art and improvising it. He was also a trained dancer, boxer and a street fighter. He used these skills to develop the art form. He then created Simhala Kalari in 1975. He knew some of the contemporary martial artists such as Chandrashekharan Gurrukal and Vallabhatta Vishwanathan Gurukkal. Moses Thilak, Master Manoharan, and Karate Mani are the names of some of his disciples. Panicker was the kind of person who didn't want to disclose the details of his Varma Kalari skills to the entire world. Despite that, he taught students, but only to a few ones.

In 1983, a book called The Way Click to look into! >> Read More... of the Warrior featured Simhalan Panicker as a "most dangerous man" in Chennai. The BBC released a TV documentary based on the same book. He was also fascinated by theater and acting. He became a theater artist and did work in movies too. He performed in more than 175 films. In 1998, he moved back to Kerala. He never stopped practicing Simhala Kalari and continued practicing it even after coming back to Kerala. He has a daughter named Jasmine Simhalan, who practices the Indian martial arts and Indian classical dance. His wife Chinnamma and his daughter live in the UK. Simhalan Panicker died on March 5, 2004.