Detroit: Sikh Missionary Center, 291 pages (1990)
ISBN: 0-9625383-0-2
P.O. Box 02664

Recommended

This book documents Guru Gobind Singh's struggle to create the Khalsa. Khalsa is the religious order of Sikhs. This was established in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh, who organized the Khalsa Army as well. This book chronicles the creation of the Khalsa's fighting techniques. It discusses how Guru Gobind Singh trained his army with the techniques of Pentra. Pentra is a simple balance and coordination exercise that teaches one to fight with the earth, not against it. This knowledge of Pentra gives the Sikh fighter ambidextrous ability. The book also chronicles several other fighting method of Gatka, including the Stick Pentra and Maroaara (a continuous swinging motion of a stick that protects the lower body from attacks). The book goes on to discuss several battles in which the Khalsa army used these fighting techniques. Among the battles discussed are: The First Battle of Anandpur, The Second Battle of Anandpur, The battle of Nirmoh, and several others. The focus of the book is how the Khalsa army's fighting style helped them be successful in these battles.

Annotated by: Punit Kumar (February 2003)

Martial Arts: other martial art: Gatka

Topics: philosophy | other topic: Sikhism