Senior Teachers
Our senior Teachers have an average experience of 20+ years in various martial arts, movement arts and yoga, of which at least 8 years have been dedicated solely to the study of Kalarippayat. The Kalari.org Senior Teachers are the driving force behind the creation of the Kalari.org’s Online Academy, as well as our Teacher Training Program. They will safely guide you through the basic, intermediate and advanced stages of our lineage’s tradition.
Kai Peter Hitzer
Kalari.org Founder and Director
Kai discovered Kalari in early 2004 while looking for effective exercise to help his recovery from a severe slip disc syndrom. inspired by the healing he felt in his body, he embarked on his first trip to India, starting his studies under Kalari Grandmaster Gurukkal CM Sherif of Kannur. Kai has been passing on the art ever since 2005, his lessons characterized by years of experience with various martial arts, Yoga and their underlying philosophies.
A Senior Instructor of the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy (KKA), Kai opened his clay-floor Kalari and Yoga studio in Hamburg in 2006 before relocating the country site of Pronstorf in Northern Germany with his family and his newborn twins in 2016.
Alexander Kutschera
Kalari.org Senior Teacher
Alexander has held a passion for martial arts and their respective philosophies ever since was a young boy. He practiced various Asian martial arts before finding Yoga in 1999. He took his first trip to India in 2008. Curious about local traditions, he eventually got introduced to Kalarippayat at the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy. He ended up staying for 2 years, studying the art under Gurukkal C.M. Sherif.
In 2011 Alexander returned as Senior Instructor of the KKA. Alex is known for his athletic ability and for paying close attention to the anatomy of movement as well as his ambition to unlock the individual potential of every student. For him, Kalarippayat is a blueprint for martial arts and movement, applicable for everyone ready to dive deep. Alex joined Kalari.org as Senior Teacher in 2017 and is co-responsible for creating the programs for the Online Acamdey and Kalari.org Teacher Training.
Teachers
The Kalari.org Teachers have all at least completed the Kalari.org 200h Lvl I Teacher Training or an equivalent. In addition, most of them have also done their share of practice in Kalari’s indigenous home country of Kerala, Southern India, mostly at the Kerala Kalarippayat Academy of CM Sherif Gurukkal. All Kalari.org Lvl I Teachers are capable of safely guiding any beginning or intermediate student through the basic curriculum of Northern Style Kalarippayat in the tradition of Kalari.org, all the way to first Long- and Short Stick Forms.
Deva Kamila Ludwig
Kalari.org Lvl I Teacher
Deva is a proud mother of five, a former track and field athlete and a relaxation therapist by trade. She is the founder of artofnomind.org, a wholistic system of bodywork, meditation, coaching and nutrition. „Relaxation is a matter of being, not a matter of skill“ is her credo, and the way Kalari brings practitioners into the present moment immediately hit home with her. She has trained ever since.
Deva is the strong woman behind Kalari.org, often assisting Kai during workshops as well as heading their home in Northern Germany and being a co-founder of Human Posture. Since 2017 Deva has also started to teach her own Kalari workshops, focussing on empowering women in the KalariWomenTribe.
Victor Wester
Kalari.org Lvl I Teacher
Victor started his rigorous physical training in russian folk dances at the age of six, giving him solid foundation for artistic, athletic and acrobatic body training. He later moved into styles like jazz-modern, hip hop, street dance, break dance and lindy hop and has also been practicing various styles of martial arts, before moving into AcroYoga and partner acrobatics in 2012 and completing the AcroYoga Teacher Training in 2017.
Victor was introduced to Kalarippayat in 2013 and has been qualified to pass on the art to beginners after his first trip to India in early 2016 and regularly teachers Kalari to beginners on festivals. Victor is a university educated IT manager and entrepreneur since 2003 by trade and takes care of all of Kalari.org’s IT matters.