For 37-year old Praveen Singh, life orbits around financial accounts, corporate meetings, long conference calls and endless emails.
But for this finance professional, who is a vicepresident with a corporate wealth group in the city, heart is where his passion lies, in martial arts.
For the past two years, he has been taking a little detour from his work to focus on teaching martial arts.
“I started my journey at the age of 13 in Tae Kwon Do, the Korean martial arts form.
My mother suffers from asthma and I started developing the symptoms.
Then, I saw Bruce Lee’s 1973 hit Enter the Dragon.
Something told me that martial arts could cure the disorder and it worked wonders for me when I joined Aiki Jujutsu.
After that, there was no looking back.
I have been lucky to train in Tae Kwon Do, Jujutsu, Chi Gong under several very good and accomplished instructors,” says Praveen, who holds a black belt in Aiki Jujutsu and has also trained in the healing system of Chi Gong.
A normal day in Praveen’s life starts in the wee hours, as he takes two classes between 6.
30 and 8 am on weekdays, before leaving for work by 9.
On Sundays, he teaches for 2-3 hours.
“My specialisation lies in blending to create the right mix.
I started my own classes in the year 2010 blending these systems to create the right mix of self-defense and healing,” he says.
For students between the age group of 10-40, Praveen’s training regimen is 90 per cent martial arts and 10 per cent of healing and meditation.
For students above 40, the ratio is reversed, that is 10 per cent martial arts and rest is healing and meditation.
“Training is tough and you have to sweat it out, taking pain to learn the techniques.
Practice is the secret as nothing comes easy.
Only the right attitude makes it possible.
The physical, emotional and spiritual transformation through martial arts is there for everyone to see,” Praveen says.
Praveen currently teaches 20 students in his class for just Rs 200 per month.
“I try to expect nothing from students,” he says, adding that martial arts helps overcome the limitations of fear, anger, greed and stress.
“A partner in class is not an opponent but a partner engaged in overcoming these limitations.
” “The ultimate inspiration to wake up at 5 am everyday comes from within,” he says.
Praveen offers three levels of training, lasting six months, six months to two years and two to three years.
He also offers separate classes for Chi Gong healing depending on the requirement.
Praveen’s class is located at #5, 2nd cross, Patelappa Layout, Sanjaynagar.
He may be contacted at 9845214883