Till 1.30 pm on Wednesday, forty students, including boys and girls, of the Government School for the Blind, Vazhuthacaud, were like any other visually challenged children.
The way they moved and mingled with each other was ditto the way the inmates of blind schools elsewhere behaved. But, as the small open auditorium in the school got crowded by noon, the children in white karate uniforms took the centre stage and what followed was something that would have made even normal kids jealous.
The students, some of them completely blind, performed karate moves and techniques in a sublime manner which inspired awe among the spectators who had arrived at the school to witness the karate belt distribution to the pupils who have been undergoing karate training here for the last three years.
The karate classes for blind students were started by Sensei Ram Prasad Sharma of International Gerikan Karate School of Martial Arts three years ago.
Initially, the school officials and karate instructors under the sensei were a little doubtful whether the children would be able to pick up the lessons fast. But once the classes commenced, the children showed great enthusiasm, which surprised even the instructors.
“It is not easy to train children who can’t see. Some of our students are fully blind while others are partially impaired. So, we had to first make them form an image in their mind on all the stances and movements in karate. Then, they were imparted training. The biggest hurdle in the way of teaching them is that the students should be taught to depend on their hearing, tactual sensation and concentration than anything else,” the sensei said.
While the instructors were giving yoga-meditation tips to the students, they quite surprisingly found that the children already had a superior concentration and mental focus, which came from their struggle against darkness. The training not only enhanced their physique, but also strengthened their mental presence.
“Now, if any strange hands touch them, they will automatically grip the touch. Some of them are very talented and I hope that at least 10 of them would become eligible to earn a black belt within the next two years,” the sensei added.
The young ‘karatekas’ also feel that learning karate has helped them in several ways. ‘’It is a great feeling to receive a green belt. Karate is now a part of our life,” said Vishnu, a seventh standard student who could not even see a faint ray of light.
Pachalloor Vijayan, a teacher at the school, felt that learning the martial art would help the students to get fit, confident and more than that, a sense of security.
The belts and certificates were distributed by Health Minister V S Sivakumar.
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