Cheibi Gad-Ga
This
is one of Manipur's most ancient martial arts. The fighting equipment comprises
of a sword and a shield, now modified to a stick encased in soft leather
and a shield made of leather. The contestants fight a duel, and victory
goes to the person, who scores the maximum points. In ancient times, sword
and spears were used by the contestants. Victory in this martial art, depends
more on skill, than brawn and brute force.
The competition is held on a flat surface, within a circle, with a diametre of 7 meters. There are two lines of one metre length each in the circle, with a space of two metres between them. The 'cheibi' stick is 2 to 2.5 feet in length, and the shield is 1 metre in diameter.
