Myth About GTO Tasks By Cdr. (Dr.) NK Natarajan

  GTO  Myth About GTO Tasks By Cdr. (Dr.) NK Natarajan

I often hear candidates saying the GTO is a physical test. As a successful SSB coach, running my academy , I used to find candidates lining up to join and do advance booking and wait for days to join my coaching academy. Invariably, most candidates want to join coaching academy so that they get to practice GTO tasks and practice on Individual Obstacles. I am writing this blog to clarify this myth for once.

GTO is not a physical test, as it as much a mental test as Psychology or Interview.

SSB follows a three dimensional testing procedure namely Manasa, Vacha and Karma and Group Testing is the part of Karma.

If you see the OLQs closely, you would realize that out of the 15 OLQs, the OLQ related to the body strength is just one i.e. Stamina which includes both mental and physical stamina and out of these, physical stamina is highly trainable and we seldom fail anyone for lacking in physical stamina.

Just to narrate a real life story, when I was in the Academy way back in late 80s, one fine day, a new Coast Guard Officer joined the Academy (Direct Entry) and he was huge physically and weighing about 120 Kgs. We often made fun of him and wondered how the Coast Guard selection system passed him. In the initial days, he was very sluggish on the field and on Cross Country (Weekly run of 10 Kgs held on Sundays) he used to be the last to finish. As days went by and we had the Inter Squadron Cross Country Championship towards the end of his term (5 months) we were astonished to see him sprint the last 1 Km of the race disregarding the fact that his ‘pagdi’ dropped on the ground and he finished well ahead of many. What do you make of this?
This simply means that he had enough mental stamina at the time of his selection and developed physical stamina during the academy. When he finally passed out, he was weighing just 70 Kgs and that’s what the academy can do an obese person.

The point to drive home is that GTO or for that matter SSB is not a physical test.

Then one may wonder why we make them do physical tasks?

The purpose of Group Obstacle Race is simply to check your team work which is more spontaneous in a fast moving task like the GOR and we also get an opportunity to see your physical courage.

The purpose of PGT, HGT, Command Task and Final Group Task are simply to check aspects other than physical abilities. You may want me to explain this.

Typically in any selection process be it government or private sector, intelligence is measured based on IQ tests using reasoning questions which one can easily master by practicing. However, when the same is tested using unconventional and practical methods, one can’t fake. You would be surprised to know that all these revolve around a single concept of cantilever. But because most of us haven’t practiced this ever (except studying in class Viii) we may not be able to grasp, reason and find a solution unless one is naturally good. This is all the more difficult for the present generation who have very little exposure to the practical world.

Typically in any academy, you will get to see a few obstacles and they will tell you how to cross them. But unless you get the concept of cantilever you won’t be able to perform if you come across a complex cantilever or even a modified/improvised cantilever and this does not require coaching in the academy. Guys, believe me the concepts are important than physical practice and concepts can be easily learnt though videos and talking to you mentor. Same is the case with the Individual Obstacles. Most candidates think that it is a physical test. But trust me I have seen several Sainik School boys failing in GTO even after doing all the 10 and repeating some obstacles. At the same time, I have seen many obese girls and boys, who could just do only four Individual obstacles and yet qualified
in the SSB like the obese Sardar, may be.

The crux of the matter is, if you have the basics, you can get the rest from the Video and if you don’t have the basics and even if you go to the coaching academy you can’t make it. So why spend so much money?

Credit : Cdr. (Dr.) NK Natarajan and Team Crack SSB

Follow us on blogger for more related articles and facts, myths and updates to crack SSB.

All the best Aspirants, March ahead and do well.