Gatka - Now And Before

[indyd]

Fateh Ji,

OK, i know im going to get a lot of people abusing and complaining about this however i feel the need to post this. I also believe this should be under the Gursikhi section because War has been, is and will always be a part of the sikh lifestyle, we are a martial race.

Gatka is not what it used to be any more, i have been to many tournaments, both Gatka tournaments and Kendo and Fencing tournaments, now if (as you normaly see during a gatka tournament and what is usually taught) you are goin to jump and try n touch the opponents shoulder with no worry about him smacking your leg (and you normally get the point for that) in a battlefield your going down, and your not going to get up.

The techniques taught and used by a lot of gatka teams are not battle-ready, when you look at kendo and fencing you see strikes that are used to kill, end of, deflect and strike, slashes and thrusts that can be used and are very effective. Is this right? How many techniques taught in most Gatka teams are effective, the movments look slow and very unsteady, theres no set techniques, everyone has their own opinions on what is best. I believe their should be a sort of set curiculum, that can be used and used effectively, not just swung around aimlessly. If you place someone who has done gatka for years against a black belt kendo student, there would be no contest.

Our gurus were master swordsmen, their techniques if you read about them were always to deflect and strike and a single blow would kill the enemy instantly, or at least injure them enought that they could not fight and then a second strike would finish them off. Are our youth taught this?? I do not know about the sangat but i find this very disturbing the fact that singhs who could pull trees out from their very roots can now not even wield a sword properly.

Another thing is that our gurus taught their sikhs hand to hand combat, iff dissarmed they could use their hands and feet to fight and kill, they were taught wrestling and fighting techniques that could be used yet they are not taught now? I would like to ask you as to what you think. Is the Gatka we teach now enough? Are we keeping to the standards of our ancestors?

Bhul Chuk Maaf Karni

Fateh Ji

[Paran-Singh]

you are right, Gurdwaras should also teach Archery, Shooting, Military boxing/ kickboxing, and proper knife fighting so that Singhs and Singhnia can kill if necessary

[indyd]

fateh

Exactly brother, we need to be able to know how to, we need to wear shastar that can do damage, not 20 rupee kirpans that cnt even cut through butter, we need to know how to defend ourself properly and if need be take a life. If your local gurudwara do not do anything, ask them to start it, otherwise join a club or something, theres loads out there, my advise would be search for " Budo Taijutsu " and look for a club near your area because it is an amazing martial art, do not do stuff like tae kwan do, because it really does not help lol

fateh

[satpunga singh]

gatka is the shite that is taught now

what our gurus learnt and taught was shastar vidiya

gatka is lyk 1 - 2% of real shastar vidiya, and that is no understatement.

but majority of the people now believe that gatka is the sikh martial art and that it was taught by our gurus.

nothing could be further from the truth.

[caveman]

shastar vidiya is the real vidiya! not gatka

" During their divine union Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji acquired various sciences, arts and forms of knowledge. Amongst these was Shastarvidiya which he blessed to Baba Budha Ji to preserve until the coming of the sixth Guru." (Jathedar Nihang Baba Labh Singh, Audio recording, December 2008)

taken from the nihangisngh.org site!

[Akali Nihang 99]

you are right, Gurdwaras should also teach Archery, Shooting, Military boxing/ kickboxing, and proper knife fighting so that Singhs and Singhnia can kill if necessary

tru buh all these ustaads lyk the onez frm khalsa panth akhara gt scared wen it cumz to teaching these thingz