Sahibzada Baba Ajit Singh Gatka Akhara Hoshiarpur
Gatka (Punjabi: ਗਤਕਾ gatkā) is a weapon-based Indian martial art associated with the Punjab region. Though typically identified with Panjabi Sikhs, it has also traditionally been practiced by other ethno-cultural groups in India and Pakistan. The word gatka properly refers to the wooden sticks which were used for sparring. It might have originated from the Sanskrit word for sword (khadga), or it may derive from the Persian khat. While it is primarily an armed fighting style, gatka also incorporates pehlwani as part of its empty-handed training component.
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. In a stricter sense, gatka may refer specifically to this sport. The 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.[1] These older techniques should more properly be called shastar vidiyā (ਸ਼ਸਤਰ ਵਿਦਿਆ, from Sanskrit sastravidya or "knowledge of the sword"), but today gatka is often used to refer to Panjabi or Sikh martial arts in general. This is considered slightly inaccurate, however, as gatka and its related methodologies of shastar vidiya have been historically practiced by other ethnic and religious groups for centuries.
