Project: to open a martial arts club

Amerjit Walia, Director of Projects and Programmes at AK Optimize, works with corporate clients to improve project delivery. He also runs the BFS Gatka Akhara Sikh Martial Arts club in West London.

I have always been a great believer in the link between sport and mental wellbeing and note the positive impact sport has had on both my personal and professional life. In my early 30s, I was introduced to Sikh martial arts (Gatka). Having already learned karate, it seemed to be a natural progression because of its links to spiritual wellbeing and physical development encouraged by the Sikh gurus.

 

Engaging stakeholders

Having mastered Gatka quickly from Master Uptej Singh, in 2005, I decided to open the West London centre in Hounslow to teach children and adults Gatka. This involved my project management skills: setting up and securing the centre and location, marketing, promoting and championing the benefits of Gatka. Also, I had to think through the stages of development and the associated curriculum, as well as safeguarding issues involving young people. Then there was the issue of risk and quality standards to be considered by consulting with Master Uptej, Herman and Baljit Singh. Once the scope had been agreed together with the infrastructure for delivery, which included agreements around timeline, costs and standards, we were able to move the project along. The other main stakeholders were the community, parents and young people.

From plans to execution

As this was a project involving volunteers, I often found myself working alone with lots of stops and starts, because of people having other commitments. Keeping emotions in check and being flexible was key when moving meetings, getting feedback if people could not make the meetings, or asking for verbal feedback if written feedback wasn’t forthcoming. Where activities during execution were falling behind, I had to either step in or motivate people in the team to complete them and take responsibility; if necessary, I reallocated the tasks to someone else. This was a huge learning curve for me personally, as I had not managed volunteers and understanding that they needed space for their own needs and requirements was important.

Making our own equipment

Another big challenge was to get hold of training equipment. Gatka originates in India and therefore we found ourselves asking for favours from India to supply us with good quality training equipment. On some occasions this was not possible, and we ended up making the equipment ourselves by going to known carpenters and metalworkers within the community, thereby establishing our own supply chain of specialists.

During execution, one of the major blockers was the committee of the centre in West London. Naturally their concern was that this is a dangerous sport. How would we manage safety and injuries to individuals? It took a lot of patience and reassurance to get this through the organisation’s health and safety requirements.

It was not until the demonstration and the workshops were delivered that the committee was satisfied that we could be trusted to run regular Gatka classes. To this day, they are our key allies and supporters. 

The big day was set for the launch of the BFS Gatka Akhara (Hounslow), with roles and responsibilities allocated, two formal briefing days held, and many hours spent on the phone. The key deliverables were:

• successful launch of BFS Gatka Akhara in West London
• demonstration and workshop delivery
• promotion of mental and physical well‑being through Gatka
• registration of new students to Gatka (modest target of 10–15)
• awareness of Gatka and its links to Sikhism
• engagement of children/adults and community with Gatka
• committee sign‑off for holding regular classes

The big day

The day arrived and everything was in place. As I was responsible for the plans, execution and leading the demonstration, it was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been. This was value‑based leadership in action, promoting Sikh values in a modern setting and driving values and beliefs that would benefit the wider community. The day was a huge success, and we were congratulated for the event.

The registrations were good on paper, but for the first class only five people attended. However, this was a long‑term investment, and this risk was considered. We persevered with the classes and increased the marketing to other platforms such as social media, and after six months, our classes had reached (and remain) 30‑strong.

This project required my project skills and expertise, not in a business context, but within a community setting where my understanding of cultural values and beliefs was key to its success.

The benefits of giving back

I have been leading classes for BFS Gatka Akhara (Hounslow) since 2005 now, so what of its legacy? We’ve had over 500 students go through our classes now. Most joined at a young age, between seven and eight years old, and left us when they went on to university or were of working age. Seeing them grow into responsible young people and learn the disciplines of life is both satisfying and inspiring personally. I’ve also been able to promote Gatka to a global audience beyond the Sikh community. We’ve taken part in demonstrations as part of the Queen’s Golden and Platinum jubilees, various charity and cultural events throughout the UK, as well as being invited to Europe, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and more.

Why do I keep doing it? To see the young children develop into caring adults who contribute to society is priceless. They get to understand the importance of self‑discipline, teamwork, emotional control, pushing limits both mentally and physically, and moving away from being self‑centred to being part of a community. Personally, it has helped me grow as person and professionally and appreciate the importance of value‑based leadership in projects. ‘Sikh’ means learner and Sikhism has three main principles: spiritual meditation on God, service to others (communities) and sacrifice of time and ourselves to protect others. These simple principles are promoted as part of Gatka, which allows us to become the best of ourselves.

 

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE WINTER 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.