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Thread: Gatka - Martial art of Sikhs

  1. #16
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    Very cool.

    .... the article specified that it's not a system intended for combat but for entertainment.
    Really? thats the only thing you take away from that article? WOW.......LMAO
    Hung Sing Boyz, we gottit on lock down
    when he's around quick to ground and pound a clown
    Bruh we thought you knew better
    when it comes to head huntin, ain't no one can do it better

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Pina View Post
    Very cool.

    .... the article specified that it's not a system intended for combat but for entertainment.
    You misread. The other practice mentioned was used for entertainment.

  3. #18
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    Also, TCMA missed "the list" but still a force to be reckoned with, historically. http://listverse.com/2010/04/20/top-...ical-warriors/

  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by bawang View Post
    some people like to attach electrodes to their genitals. some people like to help preserve their rich and ancient traditional cultures.
    and for some people, that's the same thing!

  5. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by David Jamieson View Post
    ok, it's cool. But does it go beyond society for creative anachronism like any other ancient battlefield art that can't really be practical or applied with efficacy in this day and age?

    wearing armoured shoes with bladed tips isn't de rigueur these days you know.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Some misunderstandings perhaps. The person in the video is trying to revive shastar vidya as an art. The total art has indeed faded. But, Part of it is not creative anachronism. The weapons shown were actually used not too long ago. Parts of it are extant.
    The Sikh sword is till alive in the gathka and there are Sikhs who practice gathka. Real Sikhs still carry the kirpan- the Sikh dagger. The lathi is practiced by Sikhs and many non Sikhs.
    Some of the other weapons are old Indian weapons. But the trishul-- the three pronged spear is still carried by some wandering ascetics.And some right wing fanatics came out witha few in some marches.
    In the massive violence in the Punjab and Bengal in the 1940s which resulted in huge migrations- many kinds of weapons were used.
    I just came back from Inida where I traveled by train, plane, cycle rickshaw and bus. In a desert area I traveled by bus. The bus driver wa a congenial Sikh. He had a Sikh sword behind his seat for practicing gathka. It would have been foolish for anyone to take over his bus.

    joy chaudhuri

  6. #21
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    Sorry I couldn't attend this

    There's a photo album w/12 cool pix if you follow the link.
    Sikhs stage martial arts battle at new temple in San Jose
    By Bruce Newman
    bnewman@mercurynews.com
    Posted: 10/29/2011 09:06:02 PM PDT
    Updated: 10/30/2011 09:51:39 AM PDT

    The first international Gatka tournament held in California -- Yudh (Battle) 2011 -- produced a swell of excitement among Sikhs on Saturday, attracting hundreds of fans to San Jose's Sikh temple.

    Gatka is a Sikh martial art involving a sword, a stick and a shield.

    Almost everyone arrived wearing traditional Sikh dress, some leaving their shoes next to their cars in the parking lot. For many pilgrims from other parts of the state, it was the first opportunity to see the recently completed $20 million Main Di Wan Hall, in the shadow of whose inspiring minarets the competition unfolded.

    Before the formal competition began in the 18-and-older division at midafternoon, there were several demonstrations of foot movements. One fellow in a white chola -- the traditional martial arts uniform -- an orange turban and a yellow blindfold leaped and whirled on the grass, a crescent-shaped sword in each hand.

    The actual competition was carried out with bamboo sticks instead of swords.

    "This gets the youth involved with the religion," said Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, one of the organizers. "So this event is a very big deal for us."

    Gatka got its start in ancient times when one Sikh successfully battled an army of 125,000.

    "That can only be done if you're spiritually enlightened," Bainiwal said. "We're here to fight the inner fight against the ego and all that."

    The tournament website explained that the aim of the duels was to perform the task with agility, speed and good will." The rules specifically prohibit "twirling," "stabbing" and "strikes to the groin" -- in keeping with the spiritual nature of the event.

    "A Sikh is supposed to be a superperson," said Raj Singh, one of the contest's referees. "The time may come when you need to pick up a sword -- which could happen, depending on the situation -- and defend yourself."

    Sponsors contributed to the $20,000 budget for the event. There was an ice cream sponsor and a pizza sponsor, both giving out free samples to a crowd that came and went all day.

    At about 2 p.m., the competitors were summoned to their judging stand.

    "Finish up your ice cream and get to your akhara (wrestling arena)," the announcer said.

    Then someone spray-painted concentric circles on the grass, and the fighting began.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by PalmStriker View Post
    You misread. The other practice mentioned was used for entertainment.
    "Shastar vidya often gets confused with Gatka, a stick-fighting technique that was developed during British occupation of Punjab and was widely practised among Sikh soldiers in the British army.

    Though it is a highly skilled art it was developed for exhibition rather than mortal combat. It is much easier to practise in public."

    Shastar vidya = subject

    subject confused with Gatka, stick fighting art.

    Though it= subject .... is a highly skilled art.... developed for exhibition.

    However, I did not need to diagram that sentence to know the art is in line with Shaolin Kung Fu in terms of modern relevance.... instead of a three section staff he has a matchlock rifle and chain male.

    It's cool. I appreciate the cultural significance. Just wanted to put things into proper perspective because the people here are crazy.
    Last edited by Ray Pina; 10-31-2011 at 10:16 AM.

  8. #23
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  9. #24
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  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Ray Pina View Post
    "Shastar vidya often gets confused with Gatka, a stick-fighting technique that was developed during British occupation of Punjab and was widely practised among Sikh soldiers in the British army.

    Though it is a highly skilled art it was developed for exhibition rather than mortal combat. It is much easier to practise in public."

    Shastar vidya = subject

    subject confused with Gatka, stick fighting art.

    Though it= subject .... is a highly skilled art.... developed for exhibition.

    However, I did not need to diagram that sentence...
    Two sentences, you kook. The subject of the second sentence is "it", and context, specifically that "it" is much easier to practice in public, suggests that it's not SHOOTING A MUSKET.

  11. #26
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    More Gatka - is this in now or what?

    Follow the link for the vid. It's not that gruesome. It's actually quite enjoyable. Totally SFW. They've lifted a few qigong stunt tricks and taken it on a totally different spin (love the song and dance part of it).
    November 24, 2011, 6:11 PM HKT
    Gruesome Punjabi TV Act Grips Chinese Internet

    A video showing a group of Sikh warriors performing extreme stunts on regional Indian television has shot them to fame on the Chinese Internet over the last few days.

    On Chinese video sites, where it was posted earlier this week, the video had collected more than 2.4 million views by Thursday afternoon.

    But the seven-minute video, edited from a televised talent show performance, is not for the faint of heart.

    While it’s loosely inspired by Gatka, the traditional Sikh martial art popular in India’s state of Punjab, the performers decided to do away with all the spiritual fluff and the ritual dancing. These guys are testosterone-fueled Punjabi fighters; there is nothing subtle about their act. While the top-viewed clip on YouTube, where the show has also attracted views in the millions, describes them as the “Warriors of Goja,” they actually call themselves the “Bir Khalsa Group,” Punjabi for brave warriors. They’re Gatka-fighter-meets-G.I.-Joe-meets-*******.

    The performance, first aired on regional television over a month ago, starts innocently enough with spinning chakkars, wheel-like symbolic weapons. But the performers combat pants and spike-studded armbands suggest they’re up to something a little more hardcore.

    Wooden sticks, typical of Gatka, still make an appearance, but instead of twirling them gracefully, the warriors bash them on each other.

    They are shown chewing on what looks like glass, smashing bricks with a hammer on their faces and pulling a car with their teeth. And it gets worse: one guy gets simultaneously run over by a car and a motorbike while another plunges four or five meters, bare-chested, through tubelights. The grand finale shows three of them sandwiched between beds of nails while (just to make sure it really hurts) others hammer them down.

    While parts of the stunts may have been faked, the blood at the end of the show looks real enough. After the performance, one of them proudly twirls his mustache and makes a victory sign with his blood-stained fingers.

    The three judges look understandably horrified. But this doesn’t stop them from handing them a wad of cash – 300,000-rupees ($5,750) in total –and praising them for having won the contest as well as their hearts.

    The performance appears to be a revelation for many in China, where Shaolin monks practicing “iron body” kung fu have long wowed crowds by bending metal rods with their bare hands and lying on beds of nails while other monks pound their stomachs with hammers.

    “I’m guessing Shaolin iron body kungfu must have come from India,” one viewer, Snow Love in Summer, wrote on the video site Youku, noting that Bodhidharma, the monk who supposedly founded Shaolin kung fu in the 5th or 6th century, is said to have come to China from India. “No wonder India dares to be so arrogant in the face of the Celestial Kingdom,” wrote osis-chen, a user of the popular Sina Weibo microblogging service, employing a popular slang term for the Chinese government.

    But the clip also stirred debate about whether such violence is appropriate for reality television, with some condemning the display as a craven ploy to drive ratings. Wrote one Weibo user going by the handle WW_005_SimpleLife: “There’s nothing at all to applaud about this — one of them is bleeding by the end. Do reality contest shows really need to be so bloody to attract eyeballs?”

    Similar acts – though rarely of comparable violence – are often broadcast on Indian reality shows. As a result, while their performance is now a global sensation, in India few have taken notice. Ajay Santhi, who works in the programming division of ETV Networks, told us he hadn’t even heard of the stunt aired by his company’s regional offshoot.

    Chinese television also brims with reality shows, though cultural authorities have recently announced plans to significantly cut down on the amount of “entertainment” programs that are allowed to appear on the Chinese airwaves in what they say is a bid to improve the country’s cultural environment.

    If that crackdown holds, this might not be the last Indian reality show clip to go viral on the Chinese Internet.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #27
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    Gatka pic

    The Day's Best | 11.24.11

    An Indian female Sikh warrior performs the Gatka, a traditional Sikh martial arts, with male counterparts during a Sikh religious procession in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. The procession was held to mark the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, who was executed in 1675 in Delhi.
    Love the composition of this photo. I was web surfing Gatka and came across it.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #28
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    Great find! and it features a female warrior
    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

  14. #29
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    "It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own." -Cicero

  15. #30
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    awesome find!!!

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