Ogornat Takia Akhara, Varanasi, India

Ogornat Takia Akhara would have been impossible to find without the local knowledge of a guide, the high boundary walls gave nothing away, a short flight of steps and a very low entrance made entering the Akhara even more secretive.  Once inside, the space opened out completely with a beaten earth training area littered with various bits of traditional equipment such as stone neck and hand nal, jori clubs, nail jori clubs, bamboo and stone gada.  Cast iron dumbbells and more modern lifting bars and plates.

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Low entrance. The entrance is low so that you bow on entering the Akhara, and pay respect to Lord Hanuman, the God of Strength.

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Low entrance

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Low entrance. The entrance is low so that you bow on entering the Akhara, and pay respect to Lord Hanuman, the God of Strength.

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Club Room

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Jori Club storage room

Huge selection of Jori Clubs, note a pair of chrome jori clubs at the centre of the back row. I was told that these clubs were the heaviest Jori Clubs in their collection.

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Gada storage room

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Gada storage room

Large selection of Gada – Mace in this room, they are all made from concrete or carved stone and have a bamboo handle.

Nail Jori

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Massive Nail Jori. These clubs are used for training purposes, to make sure that you have good form, if you rip your back in the process you will only have yourself to blame for bad form.

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Massive Nail Jori.

Massive Nail Jori.  These clubs are used for training purposes, to make sure that you have good form, if you rip your back in the process you will only have yourself to blame for bad form.

Grand Master of the Akhara

Ogornat Takia Akhara 3, group shot with the Grand Master of the Akhara and Nail Jori

Ogornat Takia Akhara, a group shot with the Grand Master of the Akhara and Nail Jori

Group shot with the Grand Master of the Akhara, some of the wrestlers and the Nail Jori.

Jori Clubs – My First Time Ever Swing

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Jori Club Swinging 2, this was my first time ever using Jori Clubs, Paul Taras Wolkowinski

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Jori Club Swinging

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Jori Club Swinging 1, this was my first time ever using Jori Clubs, Paul Taras Wolkowinski

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Jori Club Swinging

Jori Club Swinging, this was my first time ever using Jori Clubs.

Indian Clubs

Indian Club Swinging - Light Jori Clubs

Indian Club Swinging – Light Jori Clubs

Indian Club Swinging, I was very surprised to learn that Indian Club swinging was no longer practised, for example, two hand heart-shaped swings, alternate swings etc.

All the members of the Ogornat Takia Akhara were very interested in the swinging of lighter clubs, in this case, we used a small pair of Jori Clubs for the demonstration.

Indian Club Swinging - Light Jori Clubs 2

Indian Club Swinging – Light Jori Clubs

Here is one of the coaches swinging alternates, I suspect that he must have done it before as he went into it without hesitation knowing exactly what to do.

Hand Nal

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Hand NAL lifting

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Hand NAL lifting, floor start to shoulder

The coach demonstrating a hand Nal lift (a NAL is a hand-carved stone with a central handle), in the next four photographs.

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Hand NAL lifting, shoulder to above head

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Hand NAL lifting, shoulder to above head

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Hand NAL lifting, top of the lift above the head with outstretched arms

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Hand NAL lifting, top of the lift above the head with outstretched arms

Ogornat Takia Akhara - Hand NAL lifting, top of the lift, and drop to finish

Ogornat Takia Akhara – Hand NAL lifting, top of the lift, and drop to finish


Read More…

Yours in Club and Gada Swinging

How to use Drum Beats for Training with Indian Clubs 1

Paul Taras Wolkowinski

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