THRISSUR: She is young. She has the will power. And she leads. Gifty Maria George from Kanimangalam in Thrissur district is an inspiration to several young girls and boys who enter the field of Karate, a martial arts, a field marked by male dominance.
At 23, challenging all stereotypes, Gifty opened her own coaching club and won the district championship, proving detractors wrong. It was during her school days that Gifty started taking Karate classes.
"I was actually more into dance and arts. To try a hand in sports, I joined chess classes. Since there were not many girls for it in my school, St Joseph's, Kuriachira, they asked me to opt for some other item. My father insisted on taking Karate instead of dance. Earlier, I was reluctant to even attend the classes and missed some. But, gradually my attitude changed and I started loving it when I won a tournament at the district level in 2015. I decided to pursue it further," shared Gifty.
At the age of 18, after completing her Pus two, Gifty started Karate coaching, despite criticism from many senior people. From following discipline throughout to taking up the responsibilities as a coach, Gifty had to face a lot of challenges to pursue her passion.
"I still remember, a senior-most Karate coach yelling at me: 'You are a girl and you wouldn't go far in this field.' I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted to test my limit, which pushed me further," she added.
Presently, Gifty's academy - Alpha Kicks - has six branches in Thrissur district and trains several students. Her student Archana opened her own Karate coaching academy recently. One of the main focus areas for Gifty is providing training sessions for girls on self-defence.
"When you say self-defence, it is not about physically defending any attacks. It is about strengthening physically and mentally. The youngsters grow in an extremely chaotic world these days and mental strength is of utmost importance for them to move forward in life. Through the sessions, we try to build the confidence in girls to say 'No' towards any abuse or discomfort and respond accordingly," Gifty said.
Through Alpha Kicks, Gifty has selected a set of five mothers, who took Karate lessons, to conduct training sessions in schools. They used to be home-makers, as they couldn't pursue a career because they focused on building the family. Through Karate coaching in schools, these mothers-turned coaches now earn a living with improved self-confidence.
"Karate coaching is a field where women rarely succeed. Disdain towards women is more visible and I have experienced it. But there are some who also respect and consider us worthy. I have taken it as a mission to prove detractors wrong and create a better version of myself through Karate," she added.
Sometimes Gifty has to travel long as a part of taking students to tournaments. Some days are long and exhausting.
Yet, Gifty finds happiness when her students stand up for themselves and face the challenges in life. Gifty, with a black belt in Karate, was the lone woman in the 50-member committee of Karate District championship in Thrissur. The situation is similar or worse across Kerala.
"It's my family's support that helped me survive," she added. Tessy George, head nurse at Chavakkad community hospital, is her mother and George Sebastian, retired salesman in a private firm, is her father. Gifty has a younger brother and sister who are also well into Karate.