Gatka (Punjabi: ਗਤਕਾ gatkā) is a weapon-based 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 deri
ve 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. 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. 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. History
Sikhs with chakrams, inscribed "Nihang Abchal Nagar" (Nihang from Hazur Sahib), 1844
Gatka originated in what is now northwest India and neighbouring Pakistan, its techniques ultimately rooted in the fighting methods of the medieval Panjab is, Rajputs, Gurjaras and the kshatriya caste in general. These techniques are termed shastar vidiya, originally used in reference to sword-fighting but also a generic word for armed combat. The Sikhs in particular became renowned throughout India for their heavily martial culture. 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, taught followers to train the body physically, mentally and spiritually, encouraging the practice of martial arts. The sixth Sikh patriarch, Guru Hargobind, propagated the theory of the warrior-saint and emphasized the need to practice fighting for self-defence against the Mughal rulers who, during the reign of Aurangazeb, attempted to forcibly convert Hindus and Sikhs to Islam. The tenth patriarch, Guru Gobind Singh was a master of shastar vidiya who galvanized the martial energies of the Sikh community by founding the Khalsa brotherhood in 1699. 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. 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 Sikhs, the British ordered effective disarmament of the entire Sikh community. 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 martial arts which re-emerged after 1857 had changed significantly. 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 khalsa 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 also 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.
