Sensei Joseph’s Champion Karate Academy

Sensei Joseph’s Champion Karate Academy

Joseph Rodrigues has dedicated 39 years of his life to karate, having begun since 1978. He holds a 6-degree Black Belt from the World Federation, is a qualified referee at the national level and has won a bronze medal at the world championships as well.

Trends

In conversation with him, we found there to be two interesting trends amongst people. Most people learn karate during their childhood and then leave it, and during their adult years, they prefer to go to the gym. Joseph explained, “The past 40 years have seen a change in the learning pattern among people. Earlier when I started off, my students comprised of adults mostly. Today it is the opposite. Most of my students are below 18 years of age. By the time kids finish their black belt, they reach 10th or 12th Standard, and drop out, due to academics or pressure from family. Very few of them ever join back. As a result, very few are worthy even to apply as teachers. I am looking to change this age barrier and gap that exists here in Goa. Other than being a sport, Karate is also an Art. Understanding it takes time and you have to be mature enough to understand that. The art itself is deep, and I can say that even after 29 years I am still learning various aspects of karate.”

Where are the adults?

Recently there was ‘The Governor’s Cup’ tournament where Joseph had a large participation from women too – more than 200.  There were many participants in the U-14 and U-17 group, whereas in the U-19 there were hardly twenty. Even in the adult (above 21 years) tournaments held at the district level, there were just 2 -3 fighters in each group. Many of the adult fighters got a direct gold medal even without having the need to fight. This shows the age gap dynamic.

Fitness conscious

People today are becoming health conscious. Many people start with Aerobics, and if they find it too hard, shift to Zumba. The Gym culture has caught on very seriously too. The problem with that is many people get tired and fed up by the Gym routine within 6 months. People are always looking to do something different.

There a lot of cycling trips in Goa around scenic roads and places. Many Goan adults have now started venturing into this. The changing environments and meeting new cyclists keeps it interesting. The only difficulties in this sport are the high road traffic and high price of bicycles.

“In the Gym system, there is no specific way of keeping track of what one does. But in Karate, due to the belt system, a person can easily experience their progress over the years of training” says Rodrigues.

With the exception of weight training, Karate gives the same level of fitness as the gym. For cardio, there are Katas and Kick-Punch combinations. For muscle fitness, there are stances, push-ups, and sit-ups; planks for abs as that is a necessary requirement for any athlete and kicks that take off the leg muscles. This way there is an overall muscle development present in Karate. The cardio exercises in karate will help people lose weight too, one of the main reasons why people join a gym. Thus you can see, compared to a gym workout, karate offers the same fitness and an added knowledge of self-defence and an ancient martial art! It makes you hone your senses and reflexes.

Objective

Joseph thus wants to get more adults into the fray by showing them the benefits and advantages of karate. For the next one and a half years he intends to focus on the higher age group. He plans to start a separate batch for adults only. Some adults shy away from training with children. Others can’t make it to the early morning batch of 6.30 am. “Having early morning classes for the last 20 years I know that very few people are on time. The turnout at the class is barely 8 to 10 students at a time. So eventually morning classes don’t happen.”

Joseph has found a solution for this. He plans to start classes for Corporates and Adults, post 6:30PM-7PM in the evening, which will take place twice a week. “There is absolutely no age barrier of any sorts. Anybody can join. I myself am 57 years old and still going strong. Right now, in my morning class, the average age is around 40. There is a variety of professionals who come for the morning classes – a journalist, a musician, a writer, a police inspector, a chartered accountant, a doctor – just to name a few. So you see, people from different walks of life join to learn karate.” The percentage of females to males in his classes is low too. Rodrigues also aims to change this statistic.

He currently charges Rs. 1000 per month for 12 classes. Classes are held every alternate day. These rates are visibly low as compared to the other cities around India. Classes take place at DOJO De GOA at Level 7, Caculo Mall. Its facility is considered best in Goa, and it’s in the top 10 in India. “Karate is now growing in Goa and my aim for the future is to take someone from Goa to the Olympics.” Joseph has some grand dreams for us Goans, so why don’t some come forward and live it!

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