Ogornat Akhara Cobra Festival
The Ogornat Akhara Cobra Festival celebrations started in the afternoon at 2 pm on 1st August 2014.
I had paid them a visit the day before and saw all the preparations, which included a major clean, and a fresh coat of blue paint for all the equipment.
On visiting many Akharas this week I became aware that some of them do not have a mud-wrestling pit. Ogornat Akhara is one such place.
Kushti and Strength Akharas
There are two types of Akharas, Kushti (wrestling) Akharas and Strength Akharas.
Kushti Akharas
Kushti Akharas focus on wrestling, and their training relies on bodyweight exercises like dands, bethaks, rope climbing plus others, also including lighter weight Gada, Jori Clubs, Dumbells, Nal (hand and neck stone weights), and free weights.
The wrestlers pride themselves on being supple and avoid the use of heavyweights. The Cobra Festival in Kushti Akharas is celebrated with wrestling matches.
Traditional Strength Akharas
Traditional Strength Akharas focus on Gada, Jori Clubs, Dumbells and Nal (hand and neck stone weights), there are some that have adopted free weights.
Gada athletes swing 10-2’s, two-handed, and work ladder style increasing Gada weights. The 10-2 swing is specific to this discipline, with their feet firmly planted on the ground, a shoulder-width apart.
Jori Club athletes use the Gada for warm-ups and swing 360’s single-handed, they use 10kg, 15kg and 20kg weights. The stance allows for one foot to come up off the floor during training.
Three types of Jori – THIN, FAT and NAIL
The difference between the two is that the THIN clubs are easier to catch on the shoulder, and the FAT clubs are much harder in this regard. Both THIN and FAT clubs come in all weights, and there is a difference in the way they are both held and handled.
The NAIL Jori requires a different technique more akin to the Persian Club style, where the clubs are swung without any body contact. The Cobra Festival in a Strength Akhara is celebrated with handling displays and competitions of all their equipment which you will see in this video.
Hi Paul – very nice video. I was surprised at the feats of strength from men with average looking bodies. And with the demo you did which also impressed the locals.
In the West we seem to equate a highly muscled body with the ability to perform feats of strength – defined pecs and abs, certainly a flat stomach and a finely tuned overall body shape. I hope you won’t mind me saying this, but my body shape resembles yours, although I am a little taller. The club workouts don’t seem to remove weight from my abdomen, although I’m careful with my diet and keep alcohol down to a minimum. And yet, without the pecs and abs, I can perform two club workouts of an hour duration per week, even though I’ll be 69 years old in October. Also, the workouts help with my lawn bowling (which is more physically demanding than it looks) but the weight around the middle still stays on. Returning to your video, men who have less than ideal physical forms, as judged by the Hollywood attitude of the West, are showing us what our bodies are capable of performing.
Hi Charles, Totally agree with your comments, this footage displays the older men displaying their skills, and it is locally considered that knowledge comes with age, so the young guns get to watch.