One indicator that a school of Indian martial arts retains its historical roots and hasn’t been entirely invented from scratch, which is unfortunately not uncommon, is the presence of a fundamental movement known as the pentra in its curriculum. Strictly speaking, any martial art is defined not by hand or leg techniques, attire, or the language used to count push‑ups, but by how one moves. In India, that movement is the pentra.

The pentra is more than a sequence of steps. With proper training, it becomes a full‑body movement skill and a tactical maneuver, allowing the practitioner to attack and defend from various angles relative to the opponent.

If a particular Indian martial arts school lacks the pentra, or interprets it merely as a magic square, a yantra, a letter of the alphabet, a ritual motion, or something similar, then its connection to practical reality has been lost.

The video shows an exercise from a school in South India, but this movement is not exclusive to that school. It is practiced throughout India wherever authentic traditions survive. If your martial arts school begins instruction with pentra movement rather than rotating objects while standing in one place then all is well.

Watch the master on the right. The assistant on the left does not fully understand what he is doing.