Learn animal movements originating from the ancient Indian martial art of Kalaripayattu. By utilizing walking patterns, these animal walks develop tendon strength and a limber physique.
There is a reason the ancient warriors and martial artists trained the way they did. It was not by accident.
They certainly were not stupid. They had the same brains as we do now (and arguably better considering the brain rot of today...) capable of building incredible civilizations in ancient Greece, Egypt, India, China and across the world.
Moreover, due to direct contact with nature and reality itself, they created training systems that understood the human body in ways most modern approaches can barely grasp.
The animal movements of Kalaripayattu were one of those methods. And once you try them, you will understand why they have survived for thousands of years.
The Indian Elephant — Ancient Kalaripayattu Stance
The Indian Elephant is a movement rooted in Kalaripayattu which is one of the oldest martial arts in existence, with a documented history of at least 2,000 years originating in India.
In its traditional form, it is a deep static posture:
— Wide stance, knees pushed out, toes pointing forward
— Back held as close to horizontal as possible
— Arms pushed together, like an elephant's trunk
— The body sinking as deep as possible into the groin and hips
It looks simple but get into it and you will immediately discover otherwise.
In Movement 20XX Method, we take this further. We transform the Elephant stance of Kalaripayattu from a static hold into a series of dynamic walking and jumping drills.
These unlock an entirely different level of hip strength, groin mobility and functional leg development.
Most people mistakenly think they train their hips adequately with squats and deadlifts. The Indian Elephant will show you how much you have been missing.
The stance alone develops the legs and hips a lot but add movement and jumps to that position and it becomes even more powerful thanks to dynamic tension. This dynamic tension is what sets it apart from squats and deadlifts.
The Ancient Wisdom Behind Kalaripayattu
Look at the physical quality of traditional Kalaripayattu practitioners and you will understand the power of their methods. Their bodies carry incredible level of suppleness and limberness. It's hard to find athletes with such nimble bodies.
That quality comes from systems that used animal movements as a primary training method, not as a warm-up or an afterthought. Each movement was designed to develop a specific physical capacity.
This tradition spread from India to outward to China through the Shaolin Temple, through traditional karate systems and eventually into the modern martial arts world.
What has been lost in that journey is the systematic application. Today most people use animal movements as preparation for "real" training. In the ancient systems, they were part of the real training.
Unbeatable System of Training
If your lower body training consists only of deadlifts and stationary squats, you are leaving significant capacity on the table.
You don't need to abandon conventional training, just make it complete.
The Indian Elephant is one movement within a complete animal movement method of Movement 20XX. We cover a lot more inside for the lower body alone:
— Indian Elephant walks and jumps
— Bigfoot squat walks
— Feather walks for agility and foot speed
— Bunny hops and jumping variations
— Upper body, pulling strength, and mobility work
The result is a body that is not just strong in controlled gym environments but genuinely capable, adaptive, and dynamic in any physical situation life or sport demands.
Moreover, it's the best physique for longevity. In ancient China there is the saying "you are as old as your spine" and nothing is better for your joints than animal movements.
