Sikh Martial Arts Competition

CHAN: A Sikh martial arts competition ‘Gatka’ was held recently in northern India. The goal to preserve and popularize the traditional martial arts forms of Sikhs. Let’s take a look. STORY: Twelve teams from across the state participated in the Akal Khalsa Sports Competition to demonstrate their Sikh martial art skills. The one-day event was part of a celebration to mark the birthday of a Sikh religious figure. [Jathedaar Amreeeek Singh, Khalsa Sports Club]: “Guru Gobind Singh used to divide his disciples in the team of two and then made them practice warfare and Gatka sports. Today on the eve of his birthday we have organized this Gatka competition.” Many in the community feel that the youth are shying away from Gatka. [Sandeep Singh, Gatka Sports Association Chandigarh]: “Nowadays youngsters are giving more importance to other sports like cricket, football and other games. By becoming maniacs over these games they are forgetting what their true calling is, they are forgetting about the greatness of Gatka. We want to encourage the youth of today to take up Gatka as a sport because it can also keep youth from taking drugs.” Gatka the martial art of the Sikhs has its roots in Sikh religion.