With their canopy of fresh, mint-green leaves, the ancient trees on the lawns of Madras Seva Sadan School seem to be a metaphor for the harmonious growth and development of the young 16-year-old girls practising karate in the school’s hall. The room exudes joyful energy as 39 girls in their karate outfits go through their exercise regimen — stretches, spars and kicks, grouping and regrouping in spontaneous choreography — watched over by their young sensei, 16-year-old Vinay Sriram.
A Class XII student of The American International School, Vinay is a senior practitioner of karate or a senpai. His desire to teach karate to young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds took wings when Madras Seva Sadan School’s management welcomed the project.
Looking back
How did Vinay’s own karate story begin? At six, his mother enrolled him in classes as a possible cure for asthma. In the beginning Vinay struggled with sparring, fighting and so on, due to an inborn fear of being hurt. But he persevered and won his black belt in 2016. As his sensei Balamurugan puts it, “He embraced the message of Zen Issinya Karate, by wanting to teach the art to girls.”
As Vinay looked for a platform where he could teach, friends suggested the Madras Seva Sadan School which imparts quality education to girls from economically marginalised homes. Vinay met the school authorities. “Their ideas resonated with mine,” he says.
What inspired this then 13-year-old, to take this giant leap which would faze many his age?
Says Vinay, “I was aware that many girls drop out of higher education because they are scared of going out for reasons of personal safety.”
His karate programme works at two levels: it breaks down fear and builds up confidence including seeking opportunities for higher education and other avenues of growth.
So far Vinay has trained 60 girls and as many as 22 students have got their white, yellow, green and blue belts. All costs of training — uniforms and the fee for State ‘belt’ exams are met by him. As for challenges he might have faced, he lists his not knowing Tamil as the only one.
I watch as girls kick against sensei Sriram’s arms with focus writ large on their faces. I wonder if it is this enthusiasm which keeps Vinay’s own motivation going? Says Vinay, “After every class my motivation grows. I can see how much karate means to them. They are so confident now, you should have seen the wonderful karate capsule they put up for their annual sports day.”
The school’s PT teacher agrees with Vinay. Their academic performance has improved in the past few years, he says.
But it is the response of the young athletes which says it all. “We feel we can study with more focus,” says one of the girls. “Karate has opened a whole new world to us. We will definitely go in for further studies after finishing school.”
And what are the life lessons Vinay has learnt from his karate interactions. He pauses before answering, “I think I have developed more empathy as a result of teaching these girls.”
