Training women protect themselves

“Don’t be panic when somebody attacks you. Don’t be angry or get confused. Don’t try to run away or make the attacker angrier. Don’t try for a kick or punch. Be smarter to understand the mindset of the attacker and select your move,” Karthik S Kateel doesn’t mince his words while explaining self-defence techniques to keen woman learners.

The 24-year-old student from Kateel, Dakshina Kannada has already created a strong profile for himself. Karthik started learning Karate from the age of six and received his black belt at 14. Inspired by martial art legends like Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Scott Adkins and Jet Li, he practised Taekwondo, Muay Thai and JuJistu with the help of internet videos and soon learnt the basics of different martial arts.

Once he got well-versed with mixed martial arts, Karthik decided to use his skill for a cause. Thus, Karthik has been training women on self-defence techniques for the past one year. He has also choreographed a 75 minutes self-defence technique based on psychological aspects. Along with his mother, Karthik has covered 218 educational institutions of Mysuru, Mandya, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts and trained around 53,000 girls on his unique self-defence techniques.

“This technique must have reached at least two lakh people by now. I didn’t spend a single rupee for the publicity and it completely depends on mouth-to-mouth word. It has received excellent feedback in most of the institutions, especially in Mysuru’s Maharani’s Science College, where around 3,000 girls have undergone the training. Anyone between sixth standard and 60 years of age can make use of these techniques,” he said.

Karthik, who can explain his self-defence skills in Kannada and English, says that girls should know that though men are physically stronger, organs like the eye, nose and mouth are always sensitive and they should be targeted while fighting against such attacks. If the
attacker gets angrier, he may try to kill the person. So, it needs a bit of practice. “I want my session to be useful. So, at the end of every session, I get participants’ feedback and improve my training based on it,” he said.

“I do not have any team as such and I do not demand money. If anyone gives honourarium, the excess money after expenditure would be used for the welfare of underprivileged children. We have not approached any sponsors till date. I have conducted training sessions in both rural and urban areas and have got a good response,” he said.

Multi-talented
Karthik has won a total of six national and 16 state-level gold medals in martial arts. He also has other hobbies like Origami. Karthik opines that there is lack of awareness about the importance of self-defence skills among teachers. “Though we approached around a thousand institutions, we got invitation from 250 institutions. The response is poor in coastal region compared to other parts of the State. We had to receive a few shocking replies from some college principals. Anyhow, the police department has always been supportive,” he said.

Those who are interested and want more information can contact Karthik on 96329 55086 or 741124 5545.