Empowering women through self-defence

Narra Lakshmi Samrajyam's path to becoming a respected martial arts instructor is marked by resilience and determination.

ONGOLE: Narra Lakshmi Samrajyam, a 50-year-old martial arts trainer, has achieved significant recognition for training thousands of police personnel in martial arts through her “Rudrama Devi Self Defense Academy” in Prakasam district. Born into a family of freedom fighters and raised in a middle-class agricultural family, Samrajyam’s journey to becoming a respected martial arts instructor is one of resilience and determination.

Lakshmi Samrajyam is the eldest daughter of the Narra Venkata Rathnam couple. Venkata Ratnam, a born blind, wanted his daughter to become a police officer.

Despite her father’s aspirations for her to become a police officer, Samrajyam pursued martial arts after an incident in school where a friend was harassed. “The big turning point of my life came in my life when I was in my class 10. One of my close friends was harassed and teased by a boy. With that incident, I determined that we should learn martial arts not only for self defence but also to teach others for their protection,” Lakshmi explained.This event ignited her passion for self-defence, leading her to join martial arts classes in Ongole, where she earned a black belt. Further Lakshmi completed her undergraduate and Postgraduate from Andhra University.

Although she failed to pass the police selection exam due to her lack of proficiency in English, her encounter with then-training Inspector General Aravinda Rao changed the course of her life.

Later in 2004, Lakshmi started martial arts training classes for the Policemen and home guards at the Goshamahal- Hyderabad Police academy grounds. After a decade in 2014, she established the “Rudrama Devi Self Defense Academy” in 2014. Through this academy, she has trained over 50,000 police officers and home guards, as well as around 15 lakh students, SHE team members, Anganwadi workers, IT professionals, and other women across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Samrajyam, who later married her martial arts instructor Ravi, successfully completed her advanced training in North America, Malaysia, Sri Lanka etc international standard institutions. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed, as she has received several prestigious awards, including the International Women’s Day Best Women award from former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy in 2009 and from N Chandrababu Naidu in 2012 , as well as from former Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao in 2016.

“Women are the key role players of society and the backbone of every family, and it is crucial for them to have protective skills to safeguard themselves from all forms of harassment,” said Samrajyam. “My goal is to make every girl and woman stronger, both physically and mentally, through martial arts,” she added.