Twice a week, the campus of the Pallavapuram Municipal Primary School in Zamin Pallavaram comes alive with the sounds of children practising karate.
With nearly 40 students having enrolled for the classes conducted at a concessional rate, the school has been churning out karate champions.
M. Aaris, a Class 2 student, A.M. Siddesh Hariharan and I. Hari Govind, both from Class 4, who participated in the 5th Open International Semi Contact Shotokan Karate Championships in Sri Lanka on October 6 and 7, have come back victorious with five gold medals and one bronze medal.
The young students had to compete with nearly 1,500 students from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia and had an enriching experience in which they learnt a lot and met young martial arts enthusiasts from across the globe.
“We have been encouraging our young students to learn karate for the last two years. While we offer the classes for ₹100 a month, students who want to learn but aren’t able to afford the fees are helped by the school. We also mobilise funds for the kids to attend tournaments in the State when they get selected,” said Karthikeyan Natarajan, headmaster.
At a recent tournament in Aranthangi district where students from all southern States participated, the school won the overall shield and was the only government school to have won prizes. The classes are scheduled for twice a week after school hours in the school courtyard where the students line up in their karate uniforms.
‘Big boost’
“We want our students to stand out and learn something different. We are very proud of the students who have been winning laurels so far and the wins at the international tournament is a big boost for us,” said A. Geetha, a teacher in the school who took the initiative to introduce karate.
Stating that students as young as six had been winning laurels, Ms Geetha said that the younger students were extremely observant when they were taken to tournaments and were always eager to learn. This is echoed by their karate teacher, R.S. Sreenivasan. “When I saw the level of interest that the students had and the eagerness of the school to offer these classes for them, I decided to conduct evening classes for them. Though I was initially expected to take eight classes a month, I take up to 23 classes now,” he said.
Support from Minister
The school’s interest in karate got noticed by the School Education Department recently and Minister for School Education K.A. Sengottaiyan stepped in to facilitate the students to attend the Shotokan Karate Championships in Sri Lanka.
“We are being encouraged by the department to train more students now and are sure that more students will take to it after seeing the recent wins at the international tournament,” Mr. Karthikeyan said.