The day of Raksha Bandhan is upon us. The annual festival
which is meant to commemorate the abiding ties between siblings of opposite
gender is on August 29 this year. The day is marked by a beautiful ceremony in
which a woman ties a rakhi, which may be a colourful thread, a simple bracelet,
or a decorative string, around the wrist of her brother(s). The word ‘raksha’
signifies protection and ‘bandhan’ is an association signifying an enduring
bond; and so, when a woman ties a rakhi around the wrist of her brother, she
signifies her loving attachment to him. He, likewise, recognises the special
bond between them, and by extending his wrist forward, he in fact extends the
hand of protection over her.
While the underlying concept of the festival is absolutely pure, with changing times and with cases of violence against women having increased manifold, the brother may not be around at all times to protect the sister. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that the sister be self dependant and be able to defend herself.
Former journalist, Sharin Butani’s passion for the sport of kickboxing saw her train as a kickboxing instructor in Mumbai. Butani now conducts cardio kickboxing classes in Goa, which she describes as ‘a fun way to lose weight, boost confidence, get into great shape and arm yourself with self defence techniques’. Butani says, “It is important for every woman in today’s world to be able to defend herself. If not karate or any other form of martial arts, I think every woman should at least be able to put up a fight, if not win it. Show the guy that you aren’t a weak person. Every girl has been touched inappropriately some time in their lives. While growing up, I experienced that as a woman you get pushed and touched inappropriately and all sorts of wrong things happen to you. Especially in crowded places, people think that they can take undue advantage of you. When I was learning kickboxing in Mumbai, I remember this one time, when I was making my way through a crowded Malad station, one guy brushed up against me inappropriately and deliberately. I just elbowed him and he fell down, after which I went all out to hit him. If not for my training in kickboxing, I would have let it be and felt bad about it later. I wouldn’t have known that I could actually use my hands and my legs to defend myself. I teach Cardio Kickboxing and not Professional Kickboxing that is practised in the ring. But I tell my students that they should have the attitude of a fighter. My students say that now since they know how to kick and punch, they can defend themselves. I think brothers should encourage their sisters to fight for themselves.”
Sensei Joseph Rodrigues, 6th degree Black Belt and a veteran Karate instructor has been training students for the past 30 years in Goa. Commenting on the need for women to know how to protect themselves, Rodrigues says, “Personally I feel that it is absolutely necessary for all the girls to enroll themselves in self defence courses – be it a short self defence course or regular martial arts. The streets have become dangerous. With the amount of rape cases and eve-teasing happening, it is necessary that women arm themselves with the technique of defending themselves. Self defence in itself is not very difficult; it incorporates very easy techniques. It is just that the common man does not know about these techniques and they need to be advised about it. Almost 45-50% of my students are girls. It is pleasant to see that more and more parents are encouraging their kids into martial arts because they know the importance of it.”