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The Martial Arts India forgot to export
Despite India’s ancient and influential martial traditions, forms like Kalarippayattu remain largely invisible globally—raising questions about history, colonial disruption, cultural export, and why some martial arts travel while others stay rooted at home.
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Dr. Brian Treco - Tue, 24, Feb 2026
- 12:13 EST
- 28
Kalaripayattu Training. / Kerala Tourism
A question that has been bothering me for years: With India’s enormous population and rich military history (and present!), why do I see so little about Indian martial arts forms anywhere? Practically every strip mall or shopping center has a Karate or Kung Fu studio.
Even India lists over 4000 Karate studios. If you look just a little harder, you can find schools devoted to Korean, Thai and Brazilian martial arts. These countries are much smaller but have significant footprints in the United States. So where are the Indian martial arts?
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