shaheediyan

http://www.sikhawareness.com//index.php?showtopic=11288 http://www.sikhawareness.com//index.php?showtopic=12934 There are other Dhadi threads scattered around in the GS section also. Dhadi denotes a unique culture in terms of being a form of folk music praising Kings at one level and common heroes on the other, a better comparison would be the European Bard tradition. Rappers sing about any old S*%!, generally self-obsessed, greed, lust, blame culture, homophobic, mindless violence glorifying, sexist content, as well as political/social issues. Rap is a unique form of communication - yes, sung by common folk, but that alone doesn't make it comparable.

Read the original thread in the link, Kulbir Singh Ji is quite well read and has translated it.

I have to agree. Looks like someone was just recreating something they 'thought' would have been a historical portrayal. Not uncommon in India, there are fake artifacts regarding Sikh history all over the shop. You only have to go to Amritsar Museum and look at the 6th Masters apparant shastar collection, which includes a Katari even my Wife would struggle to fit in her hand (it's so small). Plus, Veer Kulbir Singh in the thread points out a spelling error in the flag. That is more likely a case of bad research and replication rather than a mistake on Maharaja Ranjits Sarkaari Nishan

On that link, bishops are elephants, so I doubt they move the same way as the knight, as the knight is also on the board!

Maha Singh, remind me next week, will have to play a few games of chess (test your strategy skills ;-) and give chhatranj a try too! Knights are Elephants, can't remember if they move in the same L-shape!!

Check your PM

As with anything, you need a teacher, you can't learn yoga from a DVD! Where are you based, I can recommend someone for you. It's not about the style, its about the teacher. KY is very good, as are other systems, the knowledge is pretty much the same. KY gives sikh emphasis i.e. Gurbani based mantras etc, other systems focus purely on the physical and breathing side. Hathaa is also good.

His sexuality (apparent) is irrelevant. Once one becomes a Sadhu, one rises above wordly desires of any way, shape or form.

People should eat local, organics and seasonal produce. That is the most self reliant, low risk, eco-friendly solution. It will become the norm again when the current greedy expoitation of Mother Earth finally comes to an end.

It's not the 1st time I have been asked to be a bachola lol. I am actually in the process of finding some suitable rishtai at present... LF, one contact is in Nanded. Let me know next you are able to go there, I will give you his details.

I personally don't like the BA Kukris, they are heavy and mass produced, quality isn't there in my opinion. Same as the crappy BIA swords that the Sikh regiments had. Parchand Ji, would you be kind enough to let us all have darshan via an uploaded photo Marrying up blades and hilts is not a problem, as long as the person doing it has an understanding of shastar (balance, weight distribtion etc) & the components are high quality/complimentary. Cold Steel is ok for messing about with, cutting narial with etc lol, but I wouldn't recommend them in place of real shastar, they are cheap and mass produced. There is also a budget kukri they do, costs around £30 I think.

"The khukri is also definitly one of my fav weapons, nothing beats the satisfaction of using a weapon which has equal qualities of cutting, slashing, thrusting and hacking" There is another awesome blade in the Moro tradition which also has a 'leaf; design, its called a 'Barong'. It has the exact same qualities/capabilities as the Kukri! Thats my 2nd favorite blade!

Most definately my favorite shastar. Although I am tired of trying to find one as nice as Nidar Singhs (with a mughal handle)! Will have to find a nice blade and handle and get them set myself me thinks! Just one thing I would like to add, Gurkhai do actually use the kukri in a very dexterous fashion, they are born with things in their hand! They use them for all sorts of work - there is a type of kukri for everything! I have seen some Bando demonstrations where the kukri drawing method was shown - direct to a number of different strikes etc, it was amazing stuff, somewhat similar to drawing Samurai swords from the sheath in different ways directly into a fatal strike. Gurkhai are reknowned for their vicious head on combat, as the Sikhs unfortunately even tasted themselves, when they joined forces with British during the anglo Sikh wars and were known for scalping their ex-Sikh comrades! Gurkai have total confidence in being able to tackle enemies with swords 3 times longer than their own! That confidence comes from a warrior psychology and excellent combat vidya. I recall hearing a story that traditional (hardcore) Gurkai used to leave their new born sons naked in the cold for a few hours, to check if he had the 'heart' to become a warrior!!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150413887530001&oid=26608290120#!/video/?oid=26608290120

Kam Singh, the same goes for when Sant Jagjit Singh Ji or other less well known (in the mainstream) Kathavaachiks come here. There presence and/or programme info is rarely shared e.g. Sant Jagjit Sing is here now, where is there time-table. I too hate this culture of people 'keeping Mahapursh for themselves'.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SUSOMaster?v=zERCx2itq2U&feature=pyv&ad=6561209926&kw=martial%20arts#p/a/u/1/zERCx2itq2U http://www.youtube.com/user/SUSOMaster?v=zERCx2itq2U&feature=pyv&ad=6561209926&kw=martial%20arts#p/a/u/0/PMgbRjeWdlc

Mlol, is that a late April fools joke...?

Mithar, All major combat arts have pretty much turned into 'sports or entertainment (art)' forms. Look at Aikido, Karate, Judo, TWD, Silat, Eskrima etc, I could carry on. However, each of these nations i.e. Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, China, Korea(s) etc still have the original combat forms, they are just very, very rare and hard to find. There certainly may be some gatka ustaads who have real vidya, and some forms of gatka that contain real vidya, but the majority of what is demonstrated today is not combat bro. Real combat teaches efficiency - as a core survival concept, and that is one thing that the majority of gatka totally contradicts. The amount of energy that is used is ridiculous, and there is no attention to detail i.e. positions/vulnerabilities between vaars (there should not be any). Gatka may contain some historical combat ideas in parts, but on the large it is no different to the modern sports MAs, in fact, if anything, it is probably weaker, as it is more display/game than fighting thought, and it contains no open handed combat which is a must, and which Nidar Singh makes numerous mention of from puratan granths. I am not having a go, but its time Sikhs woke up to this, and did some real research for any existing vidya that holds true to combat. Especially if you are not a fan of Nidar Singh. Better than letting your personal hatred and bias letting you make self demeaning comments, that you search out the truth, it most certainly still must be out there. Irrelevant of what theory people hold about the authenticity of Nidar Singhs vidya, one thing is certain, it is clearly for killing and not for exhibitionism. And for the fact that Nidar Singh teaches it for free to anyone that can make the effort to learn it, to make a lifetime seva of teaching Singhs across the UK how to truly protect themselves, I have to give Nidar Singh utmost respect. I don't see anyone else doing this. For those that have issues, I would say go out there, learn real combat, and provide an alternative, rather than just constantly moaning. Although I doubt anyone will be able to match Nidar Singhs knowledge on yudh as found in puratan ithihaas, that is truly well researched/learnt.

If anybody wants darshan, they will be attending this event on the weekend. http://www.ajitakhara.com/ Alongside will be workshops on Salotar, Pentrai, Shastar-Naam Mala kathaa, Kirtan and Langar. Ta.

Thanks for sharing. Are these vids on youtube? If anyone is after fighting sticks like the ones used in the video, I have a large collection for sale, ranging from bahi, cherry, Kamagong, iron wood (all solid hardwoods) and heavy duty closely noded rattan. I have heavy sticks and lighter sticks. Send me a pm if you want more details.

Broadcasting live from Park Street, Southall. Beautiful kathaa. If anyone has their personal mobile number or their contacts, please PM it to me, dhanvaad.

Interesting and thoughtful words MJ. "sky. They do not even accept a Muslim Iranian who might express interest in his ancestral roots and want to convert to Zoroastrianism." This is also a very interesting point Mithar. One of my fighting teachers is an Iranian from a pro-monarchy family, who is totally anti-Islam (for obvious reasons) and although not a believer in God, does have a huge affection for the Parsi culture/roots, and even wears the wings ni defiance of the current Iranian regime. I expect there are quite a few them around, esp in the UK, which has well known ex-Muslim communities, many of which have converted to Christianity. Sometimes a tree seems dead, then a new branch/leaf appears, and the glorious past is brought into light, perhaps via a new perspective...

Unless its in the movies of course, lol! That mention of eagle claw was totally random!! Then he demonstrates the claw by headbutting all the pots! Talk about totally taking the p*ss out of authentic training techniques. The pots are meant to be grabbed at a high height and the=n gradually dropped a few inches, caught, dropped, caught etc. As your claw gets stronger, you increase the weight in the pots etc. Good description about the claw system though i.e. attacking the bones, tendons etc.

Thanks for the reply Maha Singh. I see... Yes, the cultivation and use of praan is used in the same way across Asia, with Yogis and Buddists being the Masters. Lol, I don’t think any combat promotes using chi alone as a form of invincible armour. The most effective way to limit damage is parallel movement i.e. not using blocks or force on force, but rather moving with the attack, many older Chinese systems teach this, and via Kun-Tao, some traditional Filipino systems also teach this. There are many body conditioning systems that can stop a sword blow from cutting, but that requires huge focus and time, it is more an extreme demonstration than something that can actually be used in the heat and speed of combat. Although in combat, iron jacket etc certainly would destroy an opponent in open hand or even some forms of stick/staff combat. It’s the Indonesians and Filipinos that have charms/raksha which they claim can stop bullets and cuts, as well as create speed etc etc.. I remember some mention of praan and breathing, but not to the level Chinese take it to, where you can actually feel the heat of Chi emanating from their hands in a switch of second! Or the drills done in Pukulan where the breath makes the difference between blocking a blow or breaking the arm in the process (hence turning it into a counter blow rather than a block). May be that is reserved for the Shagrids . Cheers.

Not sure if anyone said it was soft, but I would say it does certainly incorporate soft elements. Soft in martial language does not equate to 'nice' or 'gentle', it equates to the form of power generation and countering principles i.e. hard (external) or soft (internal power) and blocking or evading etc. Pentrai like Varhaar are certainly hard, Shashnaag is much softer as it evades/deflects/controls, and higher level pentrai like Chandi I would say are soft, as they bait, evade then destroy. The only thing I never really came across in SV was learnign how to generate and use internal energy, I only ever remember techniques (soft or hard). The difference between an internal energy strike is the damage is internal (you don't bruise on the surface). External energy attacks leave bruises/breaks/rips etc - surface damage. An excellent example of use of internal energy is Fa-jing. Also, learning how to use weapons 1st (as was done in originally in all Warrior cultures inc Khalsa) teaches how to generate extra energy and send it beyond your hand. Going straight into open hand, one can only focus energy to the hand/target (without internal training - cultivating and using Chi etc). May be SV does this, I can't recall, so would be good to hear comments from Maha Singh etc. To complicate it further, internal power has hard and soft also - i.e. Pukulan (striking Silat) uses internal power but in a very, very hard way!! Nasty stuff!! They use hard short breaths as part of their energy generation (breathing from the navel), but that is only part of the story.