"The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpeneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgment, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, in perfect healthe, and long life." – George Silver (1599)

November 2 2009

Gatka!!

The little-known Sikh martial art, Gatka:

They train with some interesting weapons, such as the net-like Chakri, which is held by the middle and twirled to (historically) deflect arrows. (As an aside: how slow were traditional arrows? Japanese mounted knights would wear a piece of fabric on their backs that ballooned out behind them as they rode, which could apparently blunt the force of an incoming arrow enough to render it ineffective. Thomas Buck once showed me a couple of vintage swords that were spattered with diamond-shaped pits from their users swatting arrows out of the air. Arrows: not as fast as bullets.)

According to Glenn Morris, Gatka is unusual in that its practitioners deliberately work towards the kundalini experience. I haven’t been able to verify this assertion anywhere, but there does seem to be a connection between Sikhism and Kundalini Yoga if you ask around.

miles
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November 3, 2009
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I think the fabric (which was probably silk, which is actually very strong) would catch the arrowheads enough to diminish their piercing ability by deflecting their line.

On the utility of silk fabric – our modern day silk ties came from eastern european mercenaries who would cover their necks with silk scarves and this battle-fashion mutated into the elaborate neck-knots of the nobility, whose silk morphed into ties by becoming narrow, vertical and phallically symbolic.

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