Ans.    Castor Oil is an oil with high density & Viscosity. At the same time “pure” castor oil is proved to be resistant  to any Fungal or Microbial contamination.

As during the performances on Pole & Hanging Mallakhamb, performer’s body comes continuously in contact with the apparatus & there is continuous friction of Skin to Wooden surface of the apparatus, application of Castor oil ether to apparatus or to body helps in smoothening  the friction.

At the same time, oil provides an excellent massage to body & it is economical too. Other oils are  not having all these advantages together hence the application of castor oil is traditionally followed.

Ans.     In this world there are so many different sports & Exercises. All are having there own peculiarities. But there are few sports activities that provides a complete or total fitness. Gymnastics or Decathlon events of Athletics or even Aquatic events are supposed to be the mother discipline as they help in total development of the body. Similarly Mallaakhamb is also a full body developmental sport. At the same time it is a fully natural way of body development. Here no weights have to be lifted except the performer’s own body weight. As we are evolved from monkeys, during the course of evolution we are slowly forgetting our natural capacity to hang freely on our limbs at the same time we are lacking in natural twists & torque movements that a monkey can easily get during its movements on the barks of the trees. Mallakhamb is the only apparatus in which one gets full body torque, thus fully developing the body including the backbone. Thus it is the mother discipline which builds a ideal physical body.

Ans.    From the anatomical point of view, the sports which imparts some pressure on the body should not be introduced up to 5 to 6 years of age, as till this age the process of development of body is in critical stage. Any extra pressure on body can lead to permanent deformity. Hence we recommend the starting age for Mallakhamb as 8 to 10 years. As far as competitive mallakhamb is concerned, early start up may give some advantage. But for non competitive approach, 10 to 12 years of age is ideal as Starting age, as this at this age body is not only physically but  mentally mature too.

 Ans.    Virtually there is absolutely no drawback yet noticed of this sport. As this event might have evolved naturally just by following various maneuvers performed by our ancestors, Apes, it is completely safe & pure exercise. But one should not try to overdose the performance of this apparatus & training of this sport must be initially taken under an expert guide.Various Yoga postures can be performed easily with the help of this apparatus. Inverted positions can be easily achieved with the help of this apparatus.

But there are few things that some people may find difficult to swallow. Like i) Mallakhamb performance is to be executed with a clear open body like swimming events. Only “Costume” is allowed for Men & ” Gym suit or Leotard “for women. The fact behind this is that the apparatus provides excellent massage to full body during the performance.

Some people may find it odd to get Castor Oil apply to their bodies. But Without castor oil one can not perform free movements on the apparatus. Especially on Pole Mallakhamb during maximum course of performance, apparatus is to be gripped in between legs, so due to friction of skin over the apparatus if the oil application is not proper, there are good chances of skin scratching at initial stages. But latter on skin gets acclimatized to the friction. The same thing may be noticed while performing Rope Mallakhamb. The diameter of Rope is only 20 mm. During the initial movements, rope must be tightly gripped in between Toe of feet. (I.e.in between thumb & first finger of leg). This grip may be painful initially & may cause the skin rubbing in that area.