Indian techies taking to martial arts to bust stress, stay fit

Chennai, Aug 6 (PTI) With increased stress at work place and sedentary lifestyle taking a toll on their health, more and more young IT professionals are taking to martial arts to keep themselves fit both physically as well as mentally. Gyms help train an individual to keep the body fit, but for those working in IT industry, there has to be proper training as per their work culture and the martial arts meets their requirements and boosts their self-confidence, says an expert in MuayThai, a martial art form of Thailand. "Practising regular exercises would not help the body to stay fit, there has to be training as per their body and most importantly their work culture", All India Pro-Muaythai and Mixed Martial Art Association Founder-President J Keshav said. Normally techies work more than 12 hours a day in one place and hence require more than exercises to overcome the stress, he told PTI. Keshav, who has been teaching Muaythai and other forms of martial arts for the last 25 years here, said increasing number of IT professionals were attending his courses. The objective of the programmes offered by his association is to equip participants in practical self-defence techniques and fighting skills and develop mental strength that can be readily utilised when there was a need, Keshav, who has also trained some film artistes, said. "Martial arts not only helps them to stay fit but also trains them to develop self-confidence. So far I would have trained about 5,000 people. Most of them work in the IT companies situated on the IT Corridor," Keshav said. 28-year-old Kavitha Viswanath, an employee of a leading software firm here, attends muaythai boxing classes two days every week. "I was a bit reluctant to join in the beginning, since I wasn't sure of what I was getting into. But now, after a few classes, I think this is an amazing sport," she said. "I highly recommend this to all those who want to defend themselves, channelise their energies and de-stress in the most interesting way," she said. Besides, learning martial arts also helps the IT professionals to take care of their personal safety as they tend to travel at odd hours. "Most of the IT and BPO employees work at odd hours and leave for home in cabs or in their own vehicle. They may face any kind of problem at that time, therefore, if they learn martial art training, it definitely helps them in protecting themselves," he reasoned. Keshav, whose association has 119 offices across the country, said people from Gulf countries also visit the association for training every summer. His association provides training in muaythai, cardio-kickboxing, mixed martial art, personal training, kickboxing for women he said, adding some of his wards have even competed at state and national level championships. PTI