Pervez Mistry in action. Telegraph picture

Ranchi, Nov. 25: “Live life to the fullest but maintain moderation,” — the fitness mantra coming straight from the mouth of martial arts expert is just what the people of today needs to beat health blues.

Mumbai-based Pervez B. Mistry (66), the judo and karate veteran whose clientele list boasts such celebrities as Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham, was in the town to perform at a programme on Sunday.

And along with his feats that left the audience spellbound, the expert also offered some tips that could well help to shed that extra girth that all work and no play brings on.

Pervez has also given fitness training to Anita Raj, Kitu Gidwani and Poonam Gidwani.

While he given gym training to Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham, Sunil Shetty and Vinod Khanna, who also earned a black belt, learnt karate under him.

These are but some of the famous names to have been trained by Pervez, who at 66, remains a powerhouse of knowledge on fitness.

“If you are because of what you eat, then you must also realise that your posture is the key to many ailments. A well balanced and correct posture can immediately rid one of ailments like sciatica pain, back pain, lower back pain and other aches,” Pervez said.

He believes proper breathing is life and has mastered 17 types of breathing, of which 14 types were learnt from his gurus in Okinawa, Japan.

He developed the rest of the through dedicated research. “Learning about human body is a never-ending quest for me,” he said.

Those who saw him in action at Gymkhana Club on Sunday night will vouch that his antics were reel-life stuff. He was invited by his disciples to conduct a programme sponsored by Young Men’s Christian Association at Marangda in Khunti.

With feet apart, he absorbed a barrage of blows on his solar plexus without the slightest twitch of his facial muscle. Neither could a couple of kicks to his groin undo him. A few round kicks on the sides above the kidneys were withstood without a wince.

When at the party after the show, when one asked him to show what exercise can take care of slip discs, he demonstrated the exercise on the floor without caring about cleanliness or the crease on his clothes

Pervez is probably the only Indian to have the licence to teach karate in Japan under the aegis of Japan Karate Federation.

The United Nations had invited him to train security personnel at Vienna. The trainees included about two dozen personnel from the US.

Says Pervez: “The beauty of the body is in the balance — balance between front and back; balance between the left and right sides, and balance between the upper and lower halves.

It is all about balance. And correct posture plays an important role.”

Asked about his take on the fast life that the generation of today has embraced, the fitness guru points to the problem of unhealthy food habits. “These days people are racing against time.

As a result, they are gobbling food instead of eating properly,” he said.

So, what does he suggest? “Eat slowly, chew thoroughly. And one should also drink water in sips instead of gulping it,” is the simple solution.

Above all, the key to a healthy and fit life is to attain “moderation,”— be it in doing exercise, eating or drinking.

So, a fit body and a healthy mind are that difficult to attain.

All one has to so is follow the tips offered by the fitness guru and “live life to the fullest” in a healthy way.