El Gran Gama never lost a match and has competed in over 5,000 wrestling matches. He to this day is considered by many to be the “GREATEST” fighter in history.
What is even more amazing is the Great Gama training.
Before I break it down, let me give you a quick idea of his physical progress.
The strength of the Great Gama was noted at an early age. When he was just 10 years old, he had already competed in a national (Indian) strength and fitness competition. At this young age he was already capable of performing 500 bethaks and 500 dands. (a type of push-up exercise to strengthen the upper body)
He would also wrestle every day, although he did not compete until he was 15 years old.
What are these exercises you may ask?
Well, a bethak is similar to a full squat. You do a standing bethak… your feet at 45 degree angles. As you squat, roll onto the balls of your feet, lifting your heels off the floor. This is not an easy move, but it is a great leg builder/conditioner. You should do about 60 or 80 bethaks.
In the days of the Great Gama, known champions made between two and three thousand bethaks a day.
The wrestlers used to perform up to 1000 bethaks. At the very least, a fighter would make between five and eight hundred a day. (This is a great exercise and requires no equipment, just your own body weight.)
As he grew, the Great Gama’s training would increase to 40 fighters, 5,000 bethaks, and 3,000 dands. All this was done daily.
It’s easy to see why the Gran Gama was seen as unbeatable. This is a very tiring workout. These incredible training exercises were the foundation of all the great Indian wrestlers, and as writer Percy Longhurst wrote… “The Indian system of training has results beyond the development of great strength; it creates the most remarkable powers of endurance while while at the same time increasing agility”.
Finally, in 1909, the Grand Gama won the 1909 Indian wrestling championship title.
He then traveled throughout Europe with a circus of Indian wrestlers, taking on all comers. As a result, the Gran Gama defeated some of the best known wrestlers of the time.
He challenged many of the greats and was willing to give up his title if he was defeated. Some of these great champions were the Japanese judo champion Taro Miyake, Georges Hackenschmidt of Russia, and Frank Gotch of the United States.
All of them declined the Great Gama challenge. Are you ready to tackle the Great Gamma Training?