MY TRYST WITH MARTIAL ARTS

Ishita Asija

Having harboured a lifelong
fascination with Jackie Chan
and Bruce Lee, I took this as
my chance to learn some swift moves.

My dread of becoming a couch potato this winter break led me to search for an activity that would keep me productively occupied. I don’t know whether it was a co-incidence or destiny, but I found a brochure of the newly opened Martial Arts classes nearby. 

Having harboured a lifelong fascination with Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, I took this as my chance to learn some swift moves. I had naively assumed that some rudimentary lessons would make me look cool (knocking down people surely brings on this air!) and also serve as self-defence tool. Being a single-girl in Delhi, I felt self-defence will help me feel safe and be more confident.

I opted to learn Karate and in a few short weeks, my perception of this Japanese form changed completely. I was a little depressed when I learnt that I couldn’t kick people around after few days of training. As a beginner, I was not going to kick any ass for a very long time. But as it turned out, even though I could barely hit a punch bag, I felt like Superwoman anyway.

The second myth that took some time to shatter was that ‘Martial Arts’ is all about self-defence. After a month of intensive training, I discovered that Karate was much more than physical defence. Karate is art which helps you discover yourself and find inner peace. It disciplines our lives and helps us develop a positive attitude. Every time, I entered the arena as a warrior; willing to fight till the end and unwilling to give up easily. Karate helped me channel this philosophy in my daily life and deal with everyday stress. Once we start living life the Martial way, we overcome our fear of failure. It’s all about learning, the more we learn the better we get.

One month was too short to learn even the basics of Karate. So I went on a long journey before kicking ass with Chudan Zuk (middle punch) or Haito uke (reverse knife hand block). But when I did kick ass, it was well worth the wait. If you want to experience the exhilarating power and serene peace, my recommendation would be to learn Karate.