CHENNAI: If you ask S Logaraj from Royapettah in Chennai, what is his formula for success to be a skilful fighter, he would say without a moment of thought “healthy family environment”.
It is true that being the son of a Taekwondo instructor helped Logaraj to follow his passion without much trouble. “But discipline should come from within and for this, one must be living in a comfortable environment, both physical and mental,” says the black-belt holder in Taekwondo and an instructor.
Even at an early age, he noted the life of the underprivileged. Little Logaraj saw children of his age unable to attend classes due to poverty or unhealthy family conditions.
“I saw alcoholics who don’t think twice about spending on liquor but will hesitate to pay school fees for their child(ren). This, again, was brought to notice by my father who has been campaigning against the use of alcohol and drugs for the past two decades,” shares Logaraj.
His father S Sekar has been conducting awareness campaigns in villages and schools and Logaraj used to tag along from a young age. So far, the duo has done hundreds of such campaigns, mostly free of cost, in and around Chennai.
“Substance addiction is a bane to society which kills talents. This is the little we could do apart from teaching martial arts for a healthy living,” says Logaraj, who had won a state-level gold medal in Taekwondo at the age of eight.
Expressing concern over the premature ageing and societal alienation inflicted by drug addiction on youngsters, Logaraj says, “We were able to rescue a few but the number scares us. Our effort will continue no matter what. With decreased use of alcohol and substances, crime rate will also fall. Moreover, we will see a generation of healthy people and well-functioning families.”
Sharing that the role played by parents is huge, Logaraj adds, “If parents talk to their kids honestly and understand their feelings, children are more likely to respect the rules. Parents must initiate conversations about drugs and its ill-effects with kids from an early age which will help to make them stay away from it upto an extent. However, advising children to not use substances but later smoke or drink in front of them is a bad example.”
According to the Taekwondo champion, channelling energy into constructive pursuits such as sports will also help to stay away or get out of addiction. Undeterred by the magnitude of the challenge, Logaraj has embarked on a tireless crusade, imparting martial arts training to hundreds of students. During the workshops in schools, they conduct awe-inspiring demonstrations to show the transformative potential of martial arts in combating substance abuse.
Additionally, the father-son duo are authors too. Sekar’s ‘The Modern Art of Self-Defence’ and Logaraj’s ‘Kaalgalin Thavam’ are centred around martial arts.
Sekar (58) tells TNIE, “Courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit are the mantras of Taekwondo which are essential in daily life too.” Sekar got into the field under the mentorship of Vietnamese refugees and later trained hundreds of students.
“While on my morning jog, I used to spot a few youth who were drug addicts and ended up suffering a lot in terms of physical and mental health. This prompted me to save at least a few from the clutches of addiction. My background in martial arts became helpful here,” says the father.
“In 2007, we were appointed as trainers in Melvasalai village in Madurantakam of Chengalpattu under the SDAT action scheme. We trained more than 100 students and created awareness against liquor and drugs,” reminisces Sekar.
Logaraj and his father dream of a society without substance addiction. They know this is an almost-impossible mission but that doesn’t stop the duo from doing their part.