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RPG-7 Singh

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Everything posted by RPG-7 Singh

  1. Firstly, Crystal, thank you for posting that intriguing and insightful video. I had always thought Nidar Singh was gonna bring out a Shastar vidya book very shortly, because in the multimedia section of his website (including the old site which you can view via Wayback Machine), he demonstrates various armed and unarmed techniques. Whilst being filmed, you can see the flashes of a camera. I presumed photos were being taken for a book. Also, when Harjit Singh interviewed him for Martial Arts Illustrated, Nidar Singh mentioned a series of Shastar vidya books that he'd be coming out with. I think he even mention their titles and contents. That was back in 2009. And still no books.
  2. Hi chatanga1. Many thanks for your response. Yes, the Agni Purana contains four chapter (248-252) on martial techniques, including the use of the paash (noose/lasso), vajra (double-ended mace), shakti (javelin), mall yuddh (combat wrestling), etc. I never knew myself till I read Harjit's Shastar vidya book. The modern English translation of the Agni Puran is a condensed versions, so it doesn't contain the whole four chapters on combat and warfare. Personally, I dislike abridged books, because you will never be able to truly appreciate the original. Imagine if someone condensed the Guru Granth Sahib from 1,430 angs to 100 angs. Also, I was referring to the Hindko Hazaras. There are only four published books on Gatka. Ustad Manjit Singh's book is one of them and Jathedar Gurcharan Singh's is another one. But what the four Gatka books teach is not the art of Bhishm, Dron, Arjun, Bhim, etc. That art is in Harjit's book.
  3. Thank you for welcoming me, brother. I have been looking into Shastar vidya for quite a while now (just very intrigued by Indian martial arts). Here are some of my thoughts/conclusions as per your request: Firstly, there's Gatka. Many believe this is the traditional martial art of Kshatriyas and/or the Sikhs. However, this could be incorrect. There are no mentions of it in historical Hindu or Sikh writings. Gatka might just be the martial dance of the Muslim Hazara people. They way the move (check them out on YouTube) is quite fast and precise. It seems like its been in their culture for a while and they've really honed their skills. Doesn't look like they've simply copied Gatka from Sikhs and claimed it as their own. Gatka seems to be an entertainment form representing battlefield combat, rather than battlefield combat itself. Then there's Gurdev Nidar Singh's Sanatan Shastar Vidiya/Chatka Gatka. I've read everything he's come out with and seen all his online vids (multimedia on old site, new site and YouTube). Very, very interesting stuff and I can listen to him for ages. However, he says his vidya was transmitted via oral tradition from, I believe, Baba Mohinder Singh. But I like textual evidence so that claims can be backed up. There are others out there like Yehoshua Sofer (teaches Abir, claiming its ancient Hebrew fighting arts), Ahati Kilindi Iyi (claims to teach African martial arts), Solomon Kaihewalu (teacher Lua, claiming its ancient Hawaiian martial arts), Masaaki Hatsumi (claims to teach the hand-to-hand art of the Ninjas), etc. But none (not even Hatsumi who started the Ninja boom), have ever presented any ancient or medieval textual evidence for what they teach. Finally, the new 2017 Shastra vidya book authored by Harjit Singh Sagoo does contain textual evidence on the Kshatriya fighting arts. He's also drawn illustrations to go with the excerpts. The book's trailer can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuUz9GdBV9c Got it from Amazon. Although, there's no mention of the animal/deity yudhans (forms) as taught by Gurdev Nidar Singh. But there is a variety of fist strikes, combat wrestling techniques and weapons strikes (both hand-to-hand and projectile). And all of these are based on descriptions from Hindu texts, such as the Mahabharat, Ramayan, Shukraniti, Nitiprakashik, Kamandakiya nitisar, Agni puran, Shiv dhanurveda, etc. Bhul chuk maaf.
  4. Hello, brother. Here is the link to Baba Gian Singh's Shastar vidya booklet. It was posted by a certain Gatka group: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bd5529_0ad27fa7939c47ccb5faf521ecfb0ac4.pdf By the way, while I can fluently speak Punjabi, I cannot read or write it. Could someone please translate the techniques section into English. It’s not easy to find a Punjabi-reader to sit by you and translate a booklet.
  5. Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahguru Ji Ki Fateh! I love books on Indian martial arts, which are quite rare. The following is a list of about a dozen Indian martial arts books I have read. Please kindly post the titles and info of any books you know of. Thanks! The Art of Gatka Fighting - Authored by K. S. Akali in 1936. More sports-like than martial arts-like. Just some soti techniques. Pentra seems incorrect. Gatka: Book 1 - Dance of the Sword - Authored by Nanak Dev Singh Khalsa. First published in the mid 1980s. Kalarippayat - Authored by Dick Luijendijk. Published in 2008. When the Body Becomes All Eyes: Paradigms, Discourses and Practices of Power in Kalarippayattu, a South Indian Martial Art - Authored by Philip Zarilli. Shiv Dhanurveda - The art of ancient Indian archery (covers stances, grips, mantras, etc). Translated by into English by Dr. B Chakravarti in 2001. Agni Purana - One of the 18 purans. Contains a dhanurveda section. Mallapurana - Manual on Indian wrestling. Read it in PDF format a little while back. I believe it was authored in the first half of the 20th century. Lathi Shiksha - Illustrated quarterstaff manual. Possibly written by and for Hindu nationalists. Brought it back in 2000 from an old bookshop in India. Judging from the illustration style and the old fragile paper, possibly from the 1940s or 50s. The Fighting Traditions And Fighting Arts Of The Traditional Sikh Warriors - The Beloved of Guru Gobind Singh Ji - The Akali Nihangs - Authored by Nidar Singh on Chatka Gatka. Shastar vidya - Short booklet authored by Baba Gian Singh. Mostly warrior advice and martial bani from Dasam Granth. Some dagger techniques towards the end. Published by Budha Dal. Shastra vidya: The Ancient Indian Martial Art of the Hindu Kshatriyas - Authored by Harjit Singh Sagoo, 2017. Illustrated and backed by textual evidence. Techniques of the bhindipala, asi, shakti, dhanush, gada, paash, etc.
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