Johnas Sequeira
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Oct 13: At first glance, he may seem like a harmless bloke, but once he gets into action with his superb martial arts skills, he will have your jaws dropping in awe. Meet Karthik S Kateel, all of just 23 years, who has not only won laurels aplenty in martial arts but is training other people as well, especially women, in self-defense techniques.
Karthik started learning karate at the age of 6 under the guidance of Sensei Eswar Kateel and was awarded blackbelt at the age of 14. From the very beginning he was inspired by martial arts legends like Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Scott Adkins and Jet li. He learnt Taekwondo, Muay Thai and JuJistu on his own, by watching various videos from internet sites. He has even learnt foreign martial arts movements andkicks which are new to India.
Karthik was born on October 16, 1992 to Suresh Kateel, a professor in the history department at SDPTFG College, Kateel, and Shobhalatha, a dance teacher. He is the only son to his parents. Karthik has completed BSc and is presently pursuing masters in English literature.
Apart from his achievements, what is commendable is the fact that he has used his talent to empower women through his 'Swaraksha' programme. He has covered 225 institutions and trained about 55,000 girls and women right from 11 to 65-year-olds. Each workshop is of 75 minutes. He has conducted these workshops in various districts of Karnataka like Mangaluru, Udupi, Mysuru, Mandya, Madikeri and Bengaluru in a span of just over a year. He has even covered the remote government schools and colleges. His mother has been a constant support and has even joined him in this training programme.
Karthik feels all women should know simple techniques of self-defense. "It is better to protect oneself than depending on others. There are very simple techniques women of any age can learn to protect themselves," he says.
He has won lot of appreciation for teaching these techniques. He is of the opinion that every institution should conduct such workshops. "This will make the women self-reliant and give them confidence to fight back, rather than depending on others to protect them," he feels. All the techniques are simple and designed by him.
Karthik aims to cover a maximum number of institutions in Karnataka thereby training a maximum number of students, and then continue his training programmes in other states. His main motto behind starting this programme was empowerment of women, he says, adding that in future, he plans to design martial arts techniques specifically for Indians.
Asked about his workout routine, he said, "I do a lot of workout and walking to keep myself fit. A good workout not only tones the body but brings positive changes in oneself, helps one gain self-respect, confidence, balance, ability to defend onself, and helps in overall personality development."
Karthik's bag of achievements brims with medals. He has won gold medals in martial arts 6 times at the national level and 16 times at the state level. Apart from martial arts he has interest in paper craft, volleyball and other sports. He has also won gold medal in a state-level seminar and powerpoint presentation.
For all these achievements, he has been featured on special programmes on TV channels and radio, besides several articles in the print media. He has also conducted self-defense training under the banner of Radio Mirchi 98.3FM. He has been honoured with the title "Karate Maantrika Karthik S Kateel" by Dakshina Kannada district Ganiga Yane Sapaliga Sangha.
He has also been conferred the 'Yuva Prathibha Puraskar' by district Kannada Sahitya Parishat and Kallkura Prathishtana on the occasion of birth anniversary celebration of Kota Shivaram Karanth.
Indeed, Karthik is an inspiration for all.
Those who wish to contact him can do so at the following:
Karthik S Kateel
Facebook/Youtube/Google :KARTHIK S KATEEL
Email : muaythaikarthik@gmail.com
Mobile number : 9632955086, 7411245545.