The Sikhs - Martial aspects

[Nungali]

Last Sunday I went to the Sikh temple at a nearby town .  I have passed it many times and called in once before, but this time I went to the service.  Fist time. 

 

It was mostly  chanting and reading (in Punjabi)  with  minimal ceremony. What I found interesting was the ' altar ' ; a canopy above, then the scripture and below that .... weapons     

 

Now, I am actually used to weapons on an 'altar'  ;

 

 

A sword/s , jo and tanto   ( I actually made one of these shomen {'shrine' ) out of bamboo for local Aikido club )  ....   but .... 5 huge swords, 5 throwing chakrams and two shields   ...   !      I am sure that raises an eyebrow or two from visitors !

 

Also their symbol

 

 

two curved  swords, one double edge sword and a chakram .  

 

I quickly made a 'friend' after service and asked about the altar , he said "I will take you up there ."  Just as we got to the part about the weapons we were interuppted by late comers wanting ' Karah Parshad '   ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karah_Parshad )

so , he had to leave wash his hands, serve the prasad, wash his hands, come back and ..... more late comers, this happened three times , so I left him to his 'duties' .  

 

Next I went downstairs for the meal - which is available all day every day, to visitors or those seeking sustenance .     I was wanting to inquire about their martial arts , weapons and techniques, but I think they keep it fairly private and push the 'love and peace' and aspect  publicly.

 

Still , to maintain love and peace , one must assert oneself against oppression and gain territory in which to operate, and repel those with opposite agendas ... on that point, I agree with them .

 

 

 

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by Nungali

[Nungali]

Use of 'bracelet'

 

 

[dwai]

Big fan of Gurdev Nidar Singh Nihang whose videos and photo you have posted. I'd love to go and talk to him, spend time with him. He expresses internal energies too...

 

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by dwai

[C T]

The Sikhs and the Gurkhas share similar martial DNA. This means they have a certain advantage when it comes to toughness and resiliency, and that's why some of the world's elite and specialised military units consisted of Sikhs and Gurkhas. 

 

 

 

 

[Starjumper]

14 hours ago, dwai said:

Big fan of Gurdev Nidar Singh Nihang whose videos and photo you have posted. I'd love to go and talk to him, spend time with him. He expresses internal energies too...

 

 

 

That looks very familiar to me.  The soft deflection and instant control, along with the kinds of neck breaks, are all like in Yueng Chuan.

[Michael Sternbach]

21 hours ago, Nungali said:

Last Sunday I went to the Sikh temple at a nearby town .  I have passed it many times and called in once before, but this time I went to the service.  Fist time. 

 

It was mostly  chanting and reading (in Punjabi)  with  minimal ceremony. What I found interesting was the ' altar ' ; a canopy above, then the scripture and below that .... weapons     

 

Now, I am actually used to weapons on an 'altar'  ;

 

 

A sword/s , jo and tanto   ( I actually made one of these shomen {'shrine' ) out of bamboo for local Aikido club )  ....   but .... 5 huge swords, 5 throwing chakrams and two shields   ...   !      I am sure that raises an eyebrow or two from visitors !

 

Also their symbol

 

 

two curved  swords, one double edge sword and a chakram .  

 

I quickly made a 'friend' after service and asked about the altar , he said "I will take you up there ."  Just as we got to the part about the weapons we were interuppted by late comers wanting ' Karah Parshad '   ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karah_Parshad )

so , he had to leave wash his hands, serve the prasad, wash his hands, come back and ..... more late comers, this happened three times , so I left him to his 'duties' .  

 

Next I went downstairs for the meal - which is available all day every day, to visitors or those seeking sustenance .     I was wanting to inquire about their martial arts , weapons and techniques, but I think they keep it fairly private and push the 'love and peace' and aspect  publicly.

 

Still , to maintain love and peace , one must assert oneself against oppression and gain territory in which to operate, and repel those with opposite agendas ... on that point, I agree with them .

 

 

Nice arming, just not too suitable for concealed carry. Thus (at least in most countries) not practical for civilian self-defence, I am afraid. Where even holding a short knife with the blade forward and exposed could get you charged with "brandishing a weapon", "being the aggressor", "making the fight happen", etc. (Remember that political leaders are rarely interested in citizens taking measures to protect themselves from crime.)

 

So if you find yourself in a situation in which your life may be on the line, and you therefore decide that the use of a knife may be appropriate, it's a good idea to hold it along - and covered by - your forearm. So basically noone can see it or claim you were threatening anybody with it. If needed then, this will give you the element of surprise. If not needed, all the better - it can be put away or further concealed without anybody ever learning that you were armed.

 

But of course, this strategy requires that, in your training, you focus on techniques based on a reverse knife grip.

 

This is not to say that none of the material you presented in this thread could be useful.

 

21 hours ago, Nungali said:

 

 

 

[Nungali]

I think these things are more about culture than  actually walking down the street nowadays brandishing a huge scimitar ! 

 Same as , you might train like this  ^

 

 

 

but not carry a katana around with you .

Edited February 21, 2018 by Nungali