Class 12 student uses karate to build confidence in girls

On every Wednesday, around 50 students from Class six to 12 from Madras Seva Sadan School in Chetpet gather at their school’s hall in karate outfits. They will be seen praticising karate under the guidance of Vinay Sriram, a Class 12 student of The American International School. After learning karate for several years, Vinay decided to impart his karate knowledge to less privileged girls in the city.

The young sensei started learning karate when he was six. Though he had a relatively low pain tolerance he challenged it and by overcoming his fears Vinay learned the martial art. “I won my black belt in 2016. My sensei Balamurugan was very supportive of me and appreciated all my efforts. There is a teaching part in karate and I knew that I had to teach at some point. Most people go back to their karate class and teach the newcomers. But I wanted young students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds to learn karate,” the 16-year-old tells us.

While searching for a platform where he could teach, Vinay came to know that Madras Seva Sadan School provides for general academic, cultural, vocational and other education, without distinction of caste, creed or class. “I approached the school management with my project and they were more than happy to allow me to teach karate to the students,” says the karate tutor.

In the beginning, Vinay wasn’t sure whether the students would take him seriously because of the ‘age factor’.  “I was confident in my skills and teaching abilities but wasn’t really sure how the students would consider their karate master. But within a few days, I created a great rapport with them and now we all have an interesting dynamic,” he recalls.

In today’s world, it is imperative for a girl to go for higher education and get a job. But many girls, especially from less privileged backgrounds, drop out of higher studies because they are worried about personal safety. “My karate project helps the students in two ways — they can overcome fear, gain confidence and use karate for self-defense and personal protection,” stresses Vinay, who also takes care of all costs of training, including uniforms and the fee for belt examinations.  

Like any other form of martial arts, karate builds discipline, resilience, and character and Vinay couldn’t agree more. He says that the students have gained confidence and courage after learning karate. “I could see a huge difference in their attitude. Like them, I too have learned some life lessons through the karate progamme — I have become more empathic in life,” he sums up.