Akshay Kumar will introduce traditional combat karate at his martial arts academy this November. Martial arts teacher Mehul Vora and Akshay also aim to introduce combat karate at their joint venture, the Invitational International Karate Championship 2012. Being a rather deadly form of martial arts, traditional combat karate is practiced secretly in parts of South East Asia. The actor had earlier presented a seven-part mini-series, Seven Deadly Arts with Akshay Kumar, for National Geographic a few years ago, where he introduced viewers to Shaolin kung fu, karate, taekwondo, aikido, muay thai, capoeira and kalaripayattu.
Akshay plans to begin his two-month training in this lethal form of karate in South East Asia soon, for his forthcoming action caper, Rowdy Rathore, directed by Prabhu Deva. A Sanjay Leela Bhansali production, the filmmakers hope to break stereotypical boundaries of action genre films.
Mehul says, “Traditional combat karate is known for its full-contact technique. The fighters use fast-paced high kicking and speed punching techniques to strike at vulnerable points on their opponent’s body. Since no rules are followed, it is akin to street fighting.” He adds, “We wanted to introduce this long ago. Akshay is very passionate about the sport and believes that its introduction will only take the Championship to a greater height.”
The traditional combat courses will range from two months to five years and have a similar process of learning like karate, but the format in which fights are conducted will be different. “Akshay, as usual, will share his experiences, give tips and check on students regularly. His son is also a green belt karate champion.”
As testament to the academy’s prowess, last year’s winners from the Akshay Kumar Karate Championship recently won one gold and three bronze medals in Malaysia at the 12th World Karate Championship.
(Priyanka Jain, Hindustan Times,
Mumbai, June 28, 2011)
