How ‘Ghatak’ Commandos Dominate the Hand-to-Hand Combat

Chinese army has deployed professional Mixed Martial Art (MMA) fighters to train its troops post-Galwan Valley skirmish, but the training of the ‘Ghatak’ commandos of the Indian Army is class apart and it dominates the ‘old school’ training of the PLA soldiers. India Today digs into the training programme of the Ghatak commandos, who reportedly broke the necks of PLA soldiers and disabled many during the Galwan Valleys’ medieval-style skirmish.

In spite of the reports of the Chinese army deploying professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters to train its troops after Galwan Valley skirmish, the training of the ‘Ghatak’ commandos still dominate them. India Today TV spent a day with the instructors who train the ‘Ghatak’ commandos and various armed forces.

“The MMA and other oriental martial arts like Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwon-do and others are a form of sports and the practitioners are largely trained in dealing with a single attacker under certain rules that works under predictable environment, but the training that we are undergoing is indigenous and it is adopted from the world’s finest hand-to-hand combat techniques from USA, Israel, Spain, Germany, Indonesia and others. Our training’s motive is to decimate multiple attackers,” Ajay Rampal, former Major in the Indian Army and a retired commandant of the border security force (BSF) who has served in the Kashmir valley and executed a number of counter-terrorism operations, said.

The training of the ‘Ghatak’ commandos and other armed forces are based on a module that is a result of nearly a decade long research by the Sports Physical Education Fitness and Leisure- Skill Council (SPEFL-SC), a wing of the National Skill Development Council of India (NSDC), a flagship programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Tahsin Zahid, Chief Operating Officer (COO), SPEFL-SC, says the idea of hand-to-hand ‘indigenous’ combat training for the armed forces and civilians was a result of nearly a decade long research.

“This training is made in India. We are not relying on the instructor from other foreign countries as we have world-class instructors. We have a rich legacy of hand-to-hand combat in our country and India is the birth birthplace of all the southeast Asian martial arts. We have improvised by including the world’s best close quarter combat techniques to accommodate the modern threat perceptions. So now we have a system of our own. This training empowers the jawans to deal with multiple attackers unlike any oriental martial art,” said Zahid.

According to the instructors who train the commandos, an average training session burns about 800 calories. The training’s first part starts with cardiovascular workouts to keep the jawans ready for the climate.

“No, we are not undergoing any sports training like MMA, Shaolin Kung-Fu, Karate and all. We are training the soldiers to deal with real-life situations in real life terrains. Unlike the rules of oriental martial arts, we have created a technique which is based on Krav Maga, Silat, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and others that empowers the jawans to deal with multiple attackers while carrying their combat gear,” said Gaurav Jain, chief instructor, SPEFL-Strike, who has trained the Ghatak teams.

Source: India Today

Image Courtesy: India Defence Times