KOCHI: Dealing with tough situations is no more a difficult task for Sradha Sathish, a timid class X student from Kozhikode, thanks to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Kozhikode, for offering karate training and bringing about noteworthy changes in the character of the students.
Like Sradha, four other students trained from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya have secured black belt in karate. Class IX student Muralika K S, class XI students Swathi Krishna, Goutham Krishna and Ashik Vinod are the other students who have got black belt.
“I am so happy about my daughter’s change, she is now bold and free from negative emotions,” says Sradha’s mother and English teacher with Navodaya Vidyalaya, N Sunitha Kumari. Earlier, we were against sending her out alone, but now we feel confident. I recommend this to the other students also since it is good to improve concentration.”
The project was initiated on the school campus in 2003 with an aim to impart the self-defence technique and to improve the confidence level among students. “There is a talk among people that harsh training methods and sweat turns the white belt, which is used in the beginning of karate training, into a dark one. But it is not true. The rigorous training sessions make the child courageous enough to face even harsh realities,” say trainers Madhu N K and Mohammad P K. It is easy to learn some tricks in karate, but gaining a black belt is not a child’s play, they say.
Recently, the five-member team participated in the 21st All-India Shito Ryu Karate Championship-2014 organised by the All-India Shito Ryu Karate Federation in Coimbatore and came out with flying colours. While Swathi Krishna bagged silver for fighting, Muralika, Sradha and Ashik Vinod got bronze. Sradha won the silver medal for kata. “More than medals and awards, what we value is the mental power we gain by practising karate,” say the students. “When the Delhi gang rape hit headlines, we took a special session exclusively for girls,” he says. After attending regular karate classes, the students start showing interest in other co-curricular activities in their schools. Sradha is a graceful dancer, Muralika, daughter of poet Sivadas Purameri, is good at recitation, drawing and acting. Goutham is a noted painter in his school. Ashik has already proved his talents in sports. “The incredible role karate plays in the overall development of the students has inspired us to include more girl students in karate practice,” say the teachers at the school.