CyberFair Project ID: 8445

Close this Window

NOTE: Due to URL changes, some links may no longer be valid.

International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: Gatka- A Martial Art of Punjab
Category: 4. Local Specialties
URL: https://youtu.be/q_IhFHDq6Rk
Bibliography: https://youtu.be/H1SYMZqrlXY

School: Woodbury World School
    Mukerian, Punjab, India

15 students, ages 12-15 yrs worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 4, 2019. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2016(Gold) , 2017 (Platinum)

Classes and Teachers: Teachers NameMrs.Amandeep Kaur , Mr. Vivek, Mr. Yogesh. grade 7, 8 and 9

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

Mukerian city has a population of around 30000 people.Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.This town is abode of peace-loving people in district Hoshiarpur in Punjab state in India. National capital Ne Delhi is situated nearly 450 kms in north direction. The Majority of the population is employed in agriculture Punjab. The peace loving and god-loving population here in Mukerian mainly follow the teachings of Hindu and Sikh religious faiths.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our School has made this project on 'Gatka' which is an ancient martial art which has been thoroughly battle-tested and has existed in northern India for many thousands of years. It is considered to be a spiritual as well as a physical exercise. Both these aspects of the person are developed to a high level during the learning phase in this ancient art. Although it uses the sword as its primary weapon, many other weapons are available to the Gatka master. Today, this art exists exclusively amongst the Sikhs who have passed down the flamboyant techniques through generations.The Sikhs have been responsible for the revival of this early art ensuring it's survival despite mass persecution of the native population in India by foreign invaders like the Mughals and others for many hundreds of years. Gatka is a complete martial system which uses spiritual, mental and physical skills in equal portions to help one fully competent in defending themselves and others. It is a system that can only be used in defence as per rules.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:more than 6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Our school has a well organized ICT lab.There are more than 25 computers in our Lab. Students used internet in the school lab as well as at their homes. Connection speed used in the classroom dial up in modem. We also use an e-mail and facebook to communicate and to send and receive information/data.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

The speed of computer was slow in school, we spent our spare time to search on the web. We were not familiar with graph processing software, learning by doing. Time for after school activities was insufficient, to make full use of weekend and the extracurricular activities As long as you are willing to use the brain, there's always a way. The Management Committee of our research topic'Gatka - a Sikh Martial Art' was very co-operative and appreciative.When we reached the research place we found problem in reaching the exact location and we found little difficulty in getting arranged the Demo of the Martial art, but helpful and co-operative volunteers helped us in completing our research..

5. Our Project Sound Bite

In its physical form , Gatka is the original feudal art of the Saint Soldiers 'Khalsa', for whom the way of life is the same as the art of war. A separate entity from the art of mere fighting, its a way of life. The balance of fighting skills, religion, healing and philosophy are the elements which consolidate into this great martial art.

Through its own evolution and efforts of a group of Instructors and schools ( Akhara's ) around the world, it has progressed through the years to its present position as a martial art of great valor. Its theory, techniques and methods have been handed down through the centuries and today have been molded into an art with all of the action and history of the past contained within its present training. It is practiced in a way that it proves useful at any time and is taught in a way that it is useful in all walks and duties of life.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

In the project, we integrated religion,technology,language skills in reporting and we contributed towards our social responsibility. We believe that what we reaped from this project can be conducive to our life education.This project helped us in inculcating twenty-first century skills like critical thinking,problem solving,information and technology integration skills, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Meanwhile, through this project, we acquired skills on how to design webpage and process videos. Though we have sacrificed our time for noon snap and holiday, it is worthwhile

Top
Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

1.Oral Interviews:We visited the local sikh temples and interviewed many people to understand the philosophy behind Gatka and the procedure to teach and train others. 2.Internet:We searched for related websites on the Internet and communicated with many net users. 3.DC,DV,Graphics capture card:We took pictures, recorded the voices and images of the interviewees during our interview. Then, we converted the images into VCD and voice recordings into MP3. 4.Scanner and Printer:We processed the images with scanners and had the information printed out for circulation with printers. 5.Phone & Fax:We communicated with the interviewees be phone and fax. 6.Flash Drive and CD-RW:We stored the information on these media for the use on PCs with no network connection. 7.Computer Software:NAMO, DreamWeaver, PhotoShop,Cute ftp, Office2003,etc

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

The topic of the project is very positive.The spectrum research spanned from history to Present and how a diminishing art was revived through lots of hardword and dedication. Students who researched on this topic collaborated 21st century skills to dive into the historical perspective of the research topic keeping the present day facts in place. Preparing our questionnaire to be asked to the management committee, convincing them about the intent of the interviews and videography of the demonstration and communicating our project to the relevant personnel was a great learning for us.They were kind. In the interview, we recorded the interviewees’ sounds while putting forward our questions and taking the photos as proof. In the beginning, we had had a fear that the managing committee members will not be co-operative but they were so patient with us while answering our questions that we can’t help feeling gratitude to them. We took their words earnestly. The interviewees ranged from members of management committee, volunteers,Learners and instructors. They also contributed a lot of useful information to the webpage, making it worth reading.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

This project has very positive outcomes. We got to know about our rich cultural heritage and traditions. Our project was appreciated by our parents, members of society who got to know about the research topic.We could share our first hand knowledge which we gathered by personally visited and interviewing the committee members. We shared our learning with our peers and friends and family members. We shared our knowledge on our school facebook page as well.We received lots of feedback on our research from our friends,teachers, parents and visitors of facebook page.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Our Cyberfair Project was a reflection of society. Our parents were happy that we are learning about age old tradition and martial art 'Gatka'and logistics involved in its revival since 300 years. Meanwhile, the people around can have first hand information on the project on the website(2) As the data compiled and summarized for the Cyberfair was obtained entirely from interview of members of managing committee. Our “kid correspondents” interviewed the managing committee which make their learning diverse and interesting. Through this project, we had a wider contact with the people outside school as well. In addition, other students in our class and their parents who had visited our webpage also came to our computer classroom from time to time to cheer us up.

Top

View our CyberFair Project (Project ID: 8445)

Close this Window