Into the world of Martial Art India’s full contact karate through a championship in association with t2 held at Madan Mohan Kristi Parishad, Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road, Behala, from March 27-29.
What is full contact karate?
“Full contact karate in true sense is the unification of body and mind by which anybody can reach the ultimate level in any field,” said Shivaji Ganguly, the country representative of Shinkyokushinkai India and All India Full Contact Karate Organization trained under Masutatsu Oyama himself — the founder of Kyokushin Karate — one of the oldest forms of full contact karate in the world.
Why is it edgier?
This form of karate increases tolerance, uses scientific methods to condition the body to bear pain and thereby prepares one for real-life attacks.
A karateka’s fitness funda:
- A litre of warm lime water in the morning.
- Soya, egg white and meat to minimise muscle breakage.
- 70 per cent complex carbohydrates with every meal, so that the body can maintain its BMR.
- Building the core muscles with regular planks and crunches to avoid spine injuries.
- Strenghtening triceps instead of biceps to be able to land a hefty punch.
- Ankle flexibility exercises so that the knees don’t bear the brunt of a kick.
AGE NO BAR
Dipankar Bose took up karate at 65, after he had an open heart surgery! He can’t kick up his heels the way he used to, but he’s doing what he can. “I’m trying to get my strength back,” said the 66-year-old. “We have our senior citizens come in and do stretches and breathing exercises, and then we teach them how to block a possible attack. Everything is age-appropriate,” said Shivaji Ganguly.
KARATE KIDS
Milind Sirohia, 14, was the youngest to boast a first degree black belt at the tournament. He started 11 years ago because he was suffering from asthma and his father was convinced karate would help him. “It turned out to be a miracle,” said Milind.
Sreyoshi Biswas (left) and Rajlakshmi Bhattacharjee took up karate for self-reliance. “I never want to be dependent on a man for anything,” said Sreyoshi, who has graduated from Shri Shikshayatan College and has been honing her karate skills for four years. Rajlakshmi doesn’t want to depend on a man for protection either. As a photojournalist, she was once attacked while on an assignment in Dharamtala. She took up karate more than a year ago.
(L-R) Ranjini Dutta, Shivaji Ganguly, Lagnajita Chakraborty with Anuradha Chandran, Dipika Das and Srijita Roy Mukherjee, who were feted with bravery awards for hitting back at their attackers.
Debanjan Biswas, 7, has been learning karate for the last four years. “His teachers advised us to have him play a sport since children these days don’t play any outdoor games. He was interested in karate because his brother had started training,” said Debanjan’s father. “Now he always wants to practise, even if it’s late at night!”
Tanirika Ghoshal’s mother took her for her first karate class at age two. Now she’s five and already an Odissi dancer. “Karate is excellent for fitness and flexibility, but more importantly, by the time she’s old enough to be out on her own, she’ll know how to defend herself,” said her mother.
Text: Ramona Sen
Pictures: Anindya Shankar Ray and Sayantan Ghosh
