Even as a small boy growing up in the Punjab in India, Ghulam Muhammad was destined to be a great athlete and at the age of ten won contests that displayed grueling exercise tasks including squats, club/mace swinging and wrestling and was last standing out of 400 wrestlers in one of these contests. Nicknamed Gama, he trained in the Sand Pits of a wrestling ring and just took over everyone around him becoming a feared wrestler on the mat not just in practice but in competition. By the time he reached his 20's he was the most feared wrestler in his country and continued to be throughout the globe as he took on all comers and oulasted them all never losing one match in his entire career. Even the top champions in America at the time wouldn't dare challenge him, even guys like George Hackenshmidt wouldn't take him on.
His conditioning was second to none and had routines that would make a world-class champion walk away. He swam, wrestled, swung the mace and clubs, did push-ups, squats and some bridging thrown in there that would go beyond the limit of most men even at Gama's size at 5'7 260 lbs. As heavy as he was, he moved like a little man and had the strength of a siberian tiger (slight exaggeration) but also his routines sound a bit over-exaggerated yet he trained harder then almost anyone before or since his time.
As his legend grew, the exercises he once used started to fade in the mainstream and only very few outside of the middle east ever trained on them. This all changed when a little known catch wrestler named Karl Gotch started teaching these very same exercises to his athletes in Japan and places around the USA and became a big deal. Taking on an athlete named Matt Furey, Gotch had put him to the test time and time again and Furey kept coming back for more. Because of Gotch's influence, this upincoming businessman of fitness put out a series of courses on these same exercises minus the clubs and the mace. Putting three exercises together called the Royal Court which consists of the Hindu Push-up, Hindu Squat & The Back Bridge.
In one course he made, naming it after the legendary Indian wrestler himself, Furey brought variations of the three main exercises and took them to a level beyond his own imagination. He then added some supplemental exercises like Hill Sprints & The Power Wheel as an added bonus along with a plethora of things to use in your arsenal like stretching and Isometrics. Gama Fitness became a cornerstone for what Bodyweight Exercises can accomplish for you.
One key element that Gama posessed was the ability to throw opponents as big or bigger then him as if it was childs play and that one element came into being Isometrics. This system of training teaches you how to build strength and speed without ever moving a muscle yet still burn fat and build functional strength that's off the charts. Unlike other exercise systems, Isometrics helps you find the weak spots in your body and strengthens them to increase not only your physical power but more importatly your internal power.
This course to me is one of Physical Culture's greatest creations and it gives you a prespective on how to use your bodyweight in ways that's beyond tradition in the modern era. It was one of the first courses that got me started and taught me how to be my own trainer and give me the chance to change my body and my overall strength. It truely is Bodyweight Training at it's best.
Another key element is what Karl Gotch refers to as "the most important in physical conditioning" is the Bridge. You will find that it takes more then just getting into position and holding, it takes skill, keen awareness and flexibility to fal into the bridge from standing. Practicing this takes on a whole new meaning to the words "holy s*it." Never have you seen stuff like this before and if you want to take it to a whole other level which in my estimation is the peak of Bridging Training is Here and you will learn things that will amaze your friends and your athleticism. You don't have to be a wrestler or gymnast to do this stuff.
There will never be a course like this again because it gives you tools for lifelong health, fitness, strength, flexibility and endurance. Want to learn the old secrets of the indian wrestlers from yesteryear and for centturies before, get your ass over there and grab it asap.
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