Kalarippayattu is a martial art, an art used for war.

Long ago, when there were princely states, each kingdom needed its own army. The kalari members trained in weaponry were part of the armies. This was in the 15th or 16th century.​

That is when the Portuguese and British arrived and attacked. They came with their modern warfare, with guns and cannons, rendering our swords, spears and warriors ineffective. Still, Pazhashi Raja, with his Kurichiya army and Nair army, caused them immense damage. So, when the British attacked, defeated, and killed them, a law was enacted in 1804 that banned Kalarippayattu. With that, interest in learning Kalarippayattu started waning. With waning interest, there were no more master teachers, and the exercises perished. Thus began its decline.
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I was born in 1945. My earliest memories are of learning Kalarippayattu before knowing what Kalarippayattu was. As children, my brother and I—without knowing that it was a magnificent art—were practicing it. Achan would ask us to jump and turn, to lift up our legs, to somersault.
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As I am asked: how do you disseminate this art, or teach people that there is a great art like this in India? See, things like this are good. What you learn, you disseminate; you give to the next generation. That is something you must do.