Beyond the football field and the race
track, another sport has been packing quite a punch. Literally! With initial
interest being sparked mostly by movies and the media, martial arts and boxing
have become the most sought-after sports in the state today.
“Fitness and self defence are the two
important aspects that are attracting people to this sport,” affirms Joseph
Rodrigues, President, Traditional Karate Association of Goa (TKAG), a
practitioner (5th Degree Black Belt, WSKF Japan) and teacher for over three
decades. “Today it is more sports-oriented which is precisely why there is a
move to introduce it at the Olympics.” Shifting gears from an adult sport,
today the age group has reduced dramatically, with girls constituting more than
half of the participants. “Previously, there were more adults in their 20s to
40s. Over the last 15 years, karate has become more of a younger generation
sport, with ages ranging from as young as seven to 16. What is more encouraging
is that today it’s practised by both sexes in equal number,” avers Joe.
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To raise the bar, the Association has been
conducting a series of tournaments and camps and State Championships which in
turn qualify the participants for national and international championships. The
recently concluded Advanced Kumite Seminar conducted by Shihan Bharat Sharma is
a forerunner of many such national workshops to take the sport in the right
direction. “Although our instructors are teaching karate in 15-20 schools, TKAG
intends to rope in more schools as well as conduct self-defence camps for
ladies and girls,” he envisages.
Boxing in Goa, which goes back to the
1940s, took off in earnest in the 1970s with the formation of The Goa Amateur
Boxing Association. Consolidating its position since then, the Association,
which is affiliated to the Indian Boxing Association, has set up several
centres at SAG Campal and Peddem, Navelim, etc. Taking over as secretary of the
Association in 1983, Lenny Da Gama is credited with taking the sport to the
level it has reached today. “Today there are a lot of youngsters boxing. Over
the years, we have won several medals at the state and national level. In fact,
in the Asian Youth Boxing Championships hosted by us in 2006, our own Santosh Harizan
won the Gold medal in the flyweight category,” avers present Secretary of the
Association, Clyde Lobo (ex-Super Heavyweight State Champ). Although the sport
has also been attracting a sizeable number in the 40-50 year age group, it’s
heartening to note that girls/ladies between 20 to 30 years are taking to the
sport, mainly for self defence.
Concentrating their energies on schools,
the association conducts camps throughout the year with the intent of tapping
young talent. “A lot of talent has come from the sub-junior levels between 12
to 14 years. While we have a lot talented boxers in the light fly, fly and
bantam weight, there is no heavyweight yet,” avers Clyde. Conducting several
tournaments, the Association has been bringing in national experts/coaches to
broaden the knowledge and horizons of the sport.
Getting sporty with martial arts or boxing
is a current trend that shows great promise.
