Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Live
MARTIAL ARTS ARE NOT SELFDEFENCE
Experts from Suniel Ki Sena tell us that aping any fitness regime is wrong, and that a belt is better than a black belt in a tight corner
What do you do when you see someone who has recently built a fitter/leaner/bulkier body? The human tendency is to immediately ask, “How did you do it?” And then, one often blindly follows whatever that individual has suggested… but, not any more. It’s important to know what’s right for you. As part of the 120-day campaign, Mission Fit India — by Fever FM and My FM — here are trainers from actor Suniel Shetty’s team aka Suniel Ki Sena, offering sane advice on what is right to follow.
Miihier Singh, a professional bodybuilder, says that whenever people meet him, seeing his well-built body, they ask, “Which protein do you take?” And, he says, “If I tell them [the name], they go ahead and buy that protein. I feel no connect with them, because it’s important to first have a good diet and exercise in the gym to achieve a good body, rather than just copy someone. I want the youth to be guided well. That’s why I decided to be part of this campaign.”
Similarly, grandmaster Shifuji Shaurya Bhardwaj says that we shouldn’t start learning martial arts in name of self-defence training. He emphasises that women must use their inner strength and objects of everyday use to protect themselves from any misbehaviour. “Kung fu, karate, taekwondo are sports, and shouldn’t be [treated] as if they are self-defence skills,” he says. “In India, 93% cases are of in-house assaults. Wahan kahaan pe ladki kung fu-karate karegi? Pub mein ek ladki jisne minis peheni hui hai, heels peheni hui hai, woh kahan se kick maregi? It doesn’t work!”
He adds, “Mera desi martial arts hai; mera belt utar ke mai marunga to koi black belt kaam nahi kar payega. I learnt this from my father... I got the black belt at a very young age and while growing up, I used to hit almost everyone.
One day, [my father] called me and beat me up with his belt, and asked me, ‘Teri belt kaam aya ya meri?’ That was the day when I understood that my father’s belt was more powerful, and realised that in a sport there are three things — ring, rules and referee — none of which are there when there’s a fight in the alley!”