CHENNAI: There was a sea of red capes on Marina Beach on Tuesday with around 200 girls from Queen Mary’s College wearing them geared up for a self-defence training camp on International Women’s Day.
Organised by Axis Bank in collaboration with Shuddha and Ezone India - the workshop was led by Keshav J, president of the India Thai Boxing Association. Keshav cautioned the girls that merely learning martial arts was not preparation enough for self-defence on the streets.
“When you learn a martial art like karate, you are usually pitted against an opponent of the same sex, age and weight,” he pointed out. “In the real world, you have to be ready for anything and a surefire way of ensuring you are safe is remembering this acronym - GET. This stands for Groin, Eyes and Throat, all areas that will quickly disable your opponent,” he said.
This was followed by a practical lesson in which the girls learned various postures that could extricate them from an unwelcome physical encounter. Kalavathi R, AGM at Reserve Bank of India spoke about the importance of never leaving home without pepper spray.