GATKA
- ART & CULTURE
News:
Gatka bodies to spread safety
awareness on Sikh martial arts
What's
in the news?
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Taking cognisance of videos displaying
life threatening stunts during performance of Gatka and other martial arts on
occasion of nagar kirtans, Sikh festivals and rural sports fairs, the apex
bodies working for promotion of the art at international level claimed to have
launched a coordinated movement to spread awareness about consequences of the
tendency, if allowed to continue.
Gatka:
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It is a traditional martial art associated with Sikhism.
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The Punjabi name gatka properly refers to
the wooden stick used.
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It is a traditional South Asian form of
combat-training in which wooden sticks are used to simulate swords.
Origin:
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It is believed to have originated when sixth Sikh guru Hargobind adopted
‘Kirpan’ for self defence during the Mughal era and tenth Guru Gobind Singh
made it compulsory for everyone to use the weapons for self defence.
Features:
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Gatka can be practiced either as a sport (khela) or ritual (rasmi).
○
The sport is played by two opponents
wielding wooden staves called gatka. These sticks may be paired with a shield.
Other
Martial Art forms in India:
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Kalaripayattu
– Kerala
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Silambam
– Tamil Nadu
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Thang-ta
– Manipur
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Thoda
– Himachal Pradesh
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Lathi
Khela – Punjab and Bengal
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Pari-Khanda
– Bihar by Rajputs
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Mardani
Khel
– Maharashtra