Indian boy playing with death – PHOTOS

While most of his friends enjoy a spot of cricket, ten-year-old Manpreet Singh loves nothing more than sitting back and having a coconut cracked on his forehead with a baseball bat.

He also laughs in the face of a terrifying stunt which could leave him blind as fluorescent light tubes are smashed across his chest, sending shards of glass flying into his eyes.

Manpreet could well be the toughest boy his age after becoming the world's youngest master of an obscure Indian martial art called Gatka. He is a member of a Sikh martial arts group which performs extreme stunts including being run over by cars and training with swords and spiked maces.

After rushing home from school each day, Manpreet practices his martial art with dedication - although he does still find some time to play cricket and cycle.

Manpreet's uncle, Kamaljeet Singh, is the leader of the Bir Khalsa Sikh Martial Arts Group in the Punjabi city of Amritsar. Mr Singh says he is happy to let the children play with daggers and swords as he claims it is not dangerous if they are properly trained.

As for Manpreet, he says his coconut-smashing feat is by far his favourite. Gatka is a style of stick fighting associated with the Punjab region passed down from generation to generation which only Sikhs are allowed to perform.

Not content with his other stunts, Manpreet lies down for another dose of the lightbulbs
The discipline, used successfully by the Sikhs throughout the 16th and 17th centuries in battles against the Mughal forces, is based on the correct use of a vast array of hand-to-hand weapons.

Most gatka groups train in a religious or semi-religious situation, such as in a gurdwara (a Sikh place of worship) or in a Sikh cultural centre or school. It is considered to be spiritual as well as a physical exercise.

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