Gatka

For other uses, see Gatka (disambiguation).

Gatka

Gatka demonstration at the head of a procession to celebrate the 538th birthday of Nanak Dev in Bedford, England
Focus	Weapons (sticks simulating swords)
Country of origin	Punjab, India
Parenthood	Shastar vidiyā
Olympic sport	No

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Gatka (Punjabi: ਗਤਕਾ gatkā) is a weapon-based Indian martial art created by the Sikhs of the Punjab region. The word gatka refers to the wooden stick used in sparring matches. The term might have originated as a diminutive of the Sanskrit word gadha or mace.^{[1] [2]} A more popular theory is that it derives from the Punjabi words gat and ka. Gat means grace, liberation, and respect in one's own power, while ka means someone who belongs or is part of a group. Gatka would therefore translate as "one whose freedom belongs to grace".

Gatka can be practiced either as a sport (khel) or ritual (rasmi). The modern sport originated in the later 19th century, out of sword practice in the British Indian Army during the 1880s. It is played by two opponents who spar with wooden staves intended to simulate swords. The sticks may be paired with a shield. The older techniques and various other weapons are taught in the ritual aspect of the art. These are demonstrated in preset routines or performed as a sword dance during Sikh festivals.^[2] Though primarily an armed fighting style, gatka also incorporates wrestling as part of its empty-handed training component.

History

Origins

The Punjab has a long history of war and armed conflict, some of which was set down in the Mahabharata epic. First conquered by the Mauryans in the 3rd century BC, the Mughals also fought their way through the region on their way from the Khyber Pass to Delhi. As such, Sikhs developed as a warrior people with a heavily martial culture, ultimately rooted in the fighting methods employed by the militaristic Rajputs and the kshatriya caste in general. The fighting systems of this period are more properly called shastar vidiyā (ਸ਼ਸਤਰ ਵਿਦਿਆ), the Panjabi spelling for śastravidyā or "knowledge of the sword" in Sanskrit. Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, was born into a kshatriya family, as were many of his first disciples. His successor, Guru Angad Dev, encouraged followers to train the body physically, mentally and spiritually.

Guru Hargobind propagated the theory of the warrior saint and emphasized the need for his followers to practice fighting for self-defence.^[3] When fifty-two Rajput princes were captured by the Muslim conquerors, he assembled an army to free them. This led to further exchanges in the martial cultures of the Sikhs and Rajputs. Both the Rajputs and Punjabis favoured the sword as their main weapon.

Although Sikhism was found to be popular among both Hindus and Muslims, its followers constantly had to fight to protect their communities and religion from the Mughal rulers. During the 17th century Emperor Aurangazeb started converting Kashmiri Brahmins to Islam in the hope that if they could be converted, the other Hindus will follow suit. The Kashmiri pandita decided to approach Guru Teg Bahadur who subsequently laid down his life in 1675 for this purpose. His son and successor was Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of Sikhism and a master of shastar vidiya. In 1699 he founded the Khalsa brotherhood by baptising five disciples with a sword dipped in the nectar of immortality (amrita). This collective society galvanized the martial energies of the Sikh community and would later go on to form the Khalsa Army of the Sikh Empire during the first half of the 19th century.^[4]

The Khalsa's aims were to fight oppression, assist the poor, worship the one God, abandon superstition, and defend the faith. This is symbolised by the kirpan or dagger, one of the five Ks which every baptised Sikh is required to carry. In regards to training the brotherhood, Guru Gobind Singh pledged that he would "teach the sparrow to fight the hawk". The Akali Nihang, a stricter order of Sikh warriors, exemplified his principles of combining spirituality with combat training.

During the later 17th century, the Sikhs were responsible for defending India's north from foreign conquerors. Having repelled a number of Afghan invasions, they eventually went on to fill the power void left after the collapse of the Mughals.

Colonisation

As British colonial rule spread across India, the Sikhs prepared themselves for war with the Europeans. Punjab's ruling monarch, Ranjit Singh, was an experienced warrior despite his comparatively small build. He personally assisted in training his army in shastar vidiya. The British avoided direct confrontation with Ranjit Singh's forces, and gave up any plans of taking over the region until after the ruler's death. Ranjit's passing was followed by widespread corruption and anarchy within the royal family. Only in the 1840s, after two wars with the British, was the Khalsa army finally defeated.

Following the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848 to 1849 and the establishment of the British Raj, the Sikh martial traditions and practitioners suffered greatly. Ever wary of the Punjabis, the British ordered effective disarmament of the entire Sikh community; even tools and farming equipment were banned.^{[citation needed]} The Akali Nihang, considered the keepers of all Sikh traditions, were regarded as disloyal to the colonists. More than 1,500 nihang were killed by the British for plotting rebellion. According to folklore, some fled and spent the rest of their lives in the northern mountains.

During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Sikhs assisted the British in crushing the mutiny. As a consequence of this assistance, restrictions on fighting practices were relaxed, but the Punjabi martial arts which re-emerged after 1857 had changed significantly.^[5] The new style applied the sword-fighting techniques to the wooden training-stick. It was referred to as gatka, after its primary weapon. Gatka was used mainly by the British Indian Army in the 1860s as practice for hand-to-hand combat. As Sikh colleges opened during the 1880s, European rules of fencing were applied to create what is now called khel or sport gatka. The other techniques and weapons of traditional shaster vidiya were taught to experienced students as rasmi or ritual.

The European colonists brought Sikhs from India to other British colonies to work as soldiers and security guards. Gatka is still practiced by the Sikh communities of former British colonies and neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand.

Gatka today

In Northern India, Gatka is sometimes displayed at fairs, celebrations and festivals as well as Indian Independence Day celebrations.^[6]

A young boy practising gatka

Gatka is generally at public display during religious processions but Punjab Gatka Association (PGA) (Regd.) and Gatka Federation of India (GFI) (Regd.) are managing, standardizing, promoting, popularizing and reviving it as a game in Punjab as well as in India similar to other games. The Gatka Federation of India, in collaboration with Punjab Gatka Association, for the first time, has formulated and standardized the in-depth Rules and Regulations Book in September 2009 for playing of Gatka game with pictorial guidelines and providing training to the budding Gatkebaaz through workshops, seminars and camps under the new Gatka rules. It's a humble effort to revive a forgotten and dying art having a historical significance. Punjab Olympic Association (POA) has recognised the Punjab Gatka Association. The Education Department of Punjab has also incorporated the Gatka game into the Punjab schools and Universities sports calendars on the persistent appeals of PGA. Representations have also been sent to Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and School Games Federation of India (SGFI) to incorporate Gatka game in their sports calendars.

The International Gatka Federation (IGF) was founded in 1982 and formalized in 1987. It is based in Berlin and has chapters in Hamburg and Bordeaux.

In the United Kingdom, Baba Fateh Singh Gatka Akhara was established in East London in 1992, contributing to the establishment of the International Gatka Organisation (IGO).

The system devised by Captain William Ewart Fairbairn and Captain Eric Anthony Sykes borrowed methodologies from gatka, jujutsu, Chinese martial arts and "gutter fighting". This method was used to train soldiers in close-combat techniques at the Commando Basic Training Centre in Achnacarry, Scotland.^[7]

Gatka competitions, along with various other sports, are held annually during a festival in the rural Indian city of Kila Raipur.

Gatka demonstrations are sometimes held during Vaisakhi in Malaysia.

There was a gatka tournament held in Oldbury in March 2006.^[8]

Gatka was displayed during the celebrations of Hola Mohalla in Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Hounslow.^[9] It was also performed on the 2005, July 4 Independence Day parade on Constitution Avenue in Washington DC, United States.^[10]

Gatka is performed as a stick-fighting dance by the Sikh community of Trinidad.^[11]

Weapons

Sikhs with chakrams, inscribed "Nihang Abchal Nagar" (Nihangs from Hazur Sahib), 1844

Gatka at Yuba City

The correct use of melee weapons is central to gatka with techniques depending on the nature of the weapon. The sword is gatka's main weapon, often paired with a shield or another sword. The shield itself can be used offensively. The following lists a few examples of the weapons used in gatka.

• Talwar: curved one-sided sword
• Kirpan: dagger worn by baptised Sikhs at all times
• Lathi: stick of bamboo from one to three meters in length, used for training
• Flexible weapons, such as whips and chains.
• Kukri: bent sword which broadens towards the point
• Bow and arrow, either traditional Indian steel recurve bows or true composite bows made of wood, horn and sinew. Fletched reed arrows with tanged steel points are typically used.
• Barcha: spear
• Bothati: lance used from horseback
• Nagni barcha: javelin
• Khanda: double-edge sword
• Bagh nakh: "leopard claw", a spiked weapon worn on the hand
• Chakram: circular edged weapon that can be thrown or used in-close
• Kataar: dagger able to pierce armour, spelled katara in Sanskrit
• Gurj: a flanged or spiked mace made out of steel

Training

With its strong link to the Sikh faith, gatka groups may train in a religious or semi-religious situation, such as in a gurdwara (Sikh temple). Akharas, usually associated with pehlwani, have also been founded with the exclusive purpose of teaching gatka.^[12] Gatka emphasizes having something in both hands, e.g. two sticks, a stick and a sword, a sword and a shield or any other combination.^[12] Training with "both hands full" is believed to be an excellent exercise for coordinating the two halves of the body, a concept also found in Filipino kali. The individual's preference for weapons, combination of weapons, and movement patterns leads to the development of individual fighting methods.^[12]

The foundation of the art is a movement methodology for the use of the feet, body, arms and weapons in unison. Gatka favors rhythmic movement, without hesitation, doubt or anxiety. The attacking and defense methods are based upon the positions of the hands, feet and weapon(s) during the dexterity regimen.^[12]

Chanting holy verses may accompany these exercises. The three-beat-per-cycle played by a drummer adds to the coordination during practice.^[12]

Notes

1. ^ Ananda Lal, The Oxford companion to Indian theatre, Oxford University Press (2004), ISBN 9780195644463, p. 129.
2. ^ ^{a b} Sikh martial art `Gatka' takes the West by storm. (Press Trust of India). The Hindu
3. ^ Williams, Rosetta (2007). Sikh Gurus Page 68. Har-Anand Publications
4. ^ Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia (2000) pg 662. Merriam-Webster
5. ^ [v MILITARY SIKHS: The Education of a Sikh Warrior. Victoria and Albert Museum.] 'An introduction to Shastar Vidiya - the education of a Sikh warrior' was a lecture by Nidar Singh, given as part of the Sikh Arts and Heritage Lecture Series at the V&A, 10 October 2001.
6. ^ http://www.photogallery.sandesh.com/India-celebrates-63rd-Independence-Day_p5879.html
7. ^ O. Janson. Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting knife: The famous fightingknife used by British commandos and SOE during WW2. Gothia Arms Historical Society
8. ^ Gatka in Oldbury. British Broadcasting Corporation.
9. ^ Surely that man with the sword isn't. . . oh yes he is by Jonathan Petre (The Telegraph Online Edition)
10. ^ Haniffa, Aziz (July 22, 2005). Sikhs participate in July 4 parade.India Abroad.
11. ^ Milla Cozart Riggio (2004). Carnival: Culture in Action--the Trinidad Experience pg 289. Routledge
12. ^ ^{a b c d e} Singh, Arjun (2006). Gatka. Atlanta Martial Arts Directory.

• Nanak Dev Singh Khalsa & Sat Katar Kaur Ocasio-Khalsa (1991) Gatka as taught by Nanak Dev Singh, Book One - Dance of the Sword (2nd Edition). GT International, Phoenix, Arizona. ISBN 0-89509-087-2

See also

• Shastar Vidiya
• Indian martial arts
• Punjab Gatka Association (PGA) (Regd.)
• Akali
• Nihang

External links

• Punjab Gatka Association (PGA) (Regd.)
• International Gatka Federation (IGF)
• International Gatka Organisation (IGO)
• Gatka Federation of India (GFI) (Regd.)
• BBC Website - Gatka in Britain (Oldbury) - Gurdwara Amrit Parchar Dharmik Diwan
• Gatka Akhara (groups) in the UK
• California Gatka Dal