Forged By Devotion

Description

Since 2017, Harbert Egberts, founder of Dutch Flow Academy, has travelled to India year after year in search of the origins of his favourite training tools: the mace and the clubs. What began as a personal quest to better understand these ancient implements gradually evolved into something much larger.

Throughout his journeys, Harbert met inspiring teachers, gurus, wrestlers, martial artists, historians, and craftsmen who dedicated their lives to preserving India’s ancient movement traditions. With every visit, new pieces of the puzzle fell into place, revealing a rich cultural heritage where strength, movement, philosophy, and spirituality are deeply interconnected.

Realising that much of this knowledge had never been brought together in a single story, Harbert set out to create a documentary that captures the current state of India’s ancient strength traditions. Filmed across the country, the project combines historical research, personal experiences, and conversations with the people who continue to keep these traditions alive. From sacred temples and traditional akhadas to modern training communities, the documentary offers an unprecedented journey into one of the world’s oldest living movement cultures.

The documentary consists of seven chapters, released across three parts.

Part I

Chapter 1 — The Call to India

Every journey begins with a question. In this opening chapter, Harbert shares the personal story that led him to India and explains how a fascination with the mace and clubs grew into a mission to document their history and cultural significance.

Chapter 2 — Men of the Earth

Step inside the world of traditional Indian wrestling. This chapter explores the deep relationship between the akhada, wrestling culture, and the development of India’s ancient strength practices.

Chapter 3 — Sacred Ground

Ancient strength training was never just about building muscle. This chapter uncovers the symbolic, religious, and spiritual foundations that shaped these traditions and continue to give them meaning today.

Part II (Coming Soon)

Chapter 4 — The Art of Strength

Discover the remarkable variety of India’s traditional strength disciplines. From the gada and Indian clubs to stone lifting and other historic training methods, this chapter explains how these practices developed and why they remain relevant today.

Chapter 5 — The Warrior Within

Travel to South India to explore the martial traditions of Kalaripayattu and Karlakattai. Beyond combat techniques, this chapter searches for the deeper philosophy that connects movement, discipline, and inner transformation.

Part III (Coming Soon)

Chapter 6 — Tradition Meets Change

For centuries, many of India’s traditional strength practices were reserved for men. Today, that is changing. This chapter highlights the women helping shape a new future while honouring the traditions they have inherited.

Chapter 7 — The Future of Ancient Strength

The documentary concludes by asking what lies ahead. As India modernises at an unprecedented pace, these ancient practices face both new challenges and new opportunities. Through the voices of today’s practitioners and masters, we explore what the future may hold for one of humanity’s oldest living strength traditions.