An assailant pounced on Seema Kumari but the 16-year-old deftly moved his hand with her left leg. Taking the assailant by surprise, she kicked him hard and pinned him to the ground. Everyone around the girl cheered for her, as did her attacker.

The attacker did not have a sudden change of heart but was martial arts expert Avinash Kumar, who trains adolescents in defending themselves from molesters.

Avinash is the founder of Lee Martial Arts Academy, an institution that offers karate training across 25 centres in the city. The academy offers free karate training to underprivileged boys and girls, too.

Several girls like Seema have become physically self-reliant under Avinash's watchful eyes.

"Cases of molestation and eve-teasing of girls are on the rise because molesters consider them weak. It is important for girls to be physically strong so that they can knock down their attackers," said 33-year-old Avinash.

Samiksha, one of his students, said: "Whenever we step out, someone either passes a lewd comment or tries to cross the limits of decency. So, I decided to learn self-defence skills and now I can hit back at my tormentors. I am not even scared of going out alone in the night."

Avinash started the martial arts school in 1998 with his friends Rajesh, Ranjeet and Dipak. He admired martial artist and hero of many, Bruce Lee, so much that when it came to naming his martial arts school, he banked on Lee.

"I had never watched Bruce Lee's movies but had only heard of him. But I had a great desire to learn this art. So I talked to people about it and eventually met Manoj, my first trainer, and from there my journey in martial arts started," said Avinash.

He learned the Japanese style of karate from Kyokushin Kan Academy, Calcutta, in 1994 and trained in Jeet Kune Do under Sihan Vilas Bobde of Nagpur in 2000. "After learning many forms, Bruce Lee took the best of each one and created Jeet Kune Do. It means defence from approaching danger," Avinash explained.

To perfect his skill, Avinash joined Rajesh Agrawal in Vadodara in 2002 and learnt the Wado-Kai style. He would soon leave for Nagpur to learn Shotokan, the oldest form of Japanese karate.

Along with learning new styles, Avinash enjoys teaching his students the semi-contact style of karate, recognised by the World Karate Federation. He got his first break from Jai Prakash Pandey, the principal of Arya Residential Public School, Indranagar. Later, the trainer expanded his classes and began coaching at Don Bosco Academy and other schools.

The institute also organises workshops in private schools. "When I started the classes, I had very few girl students. Many girls wanted to learn the skill to defend themselves from goons but unfortunately were stopped by their parents who did not agree or claimed financial problems. So, I decided to provide free karate training in 2006," added Avinash.