We have had the pleasure of interviewing Sanjeev, a Karate instructor based in Nepal. Sanjeev has been kind enough to answer our questions. We hope you find his answers as interesting as we did.
How long have you
been practising karate and why did you start in the first place?
It's been 15 year's
How many students are
in your club?
I have 50 students. Most of the students are from local area.
5 to 20 years old. We have morning and evening classes, 6 days a week. My club
is in Biratnagar the second largest city of NEPAL and is the industrial capital
of NEPAL.
Why is your club
called Manakamana karate dojo?
It is named after Manakamana temple.
I am not alone in my karate my sensei helps me a lot to run my club he have never arrived in my club but he is always there when I need any help.
Describe the
environment where you practice? Always outside? Or do you have an indoor space?
We have indoor but we practice mostly outside. I have to pay
for indoor but from this session we are facing some problems. Actually I was
having indoor class with aerobic teacher he used to teach aerobics and I was
teaching karate but now the owner of that place wants to use that place for
some other business purpose so we are outside now.
What do other local
people, and the parents of your students say to you about karate?
For most of the parents they know the value of martial arts
they think it's very good for kids in their overall development. Some parents
send their children just because their children wants to learn otherwise they
think it's dangerous sports. It is very difficult to convince those types of
parents.
What do you find more
satisfying, teaching or practising and why?
Practicing and teaching karate has become part of my day to
day life. One day without karate it's very difficult to stay without karate.
Have you experienced
any problems with the running of your club? If so, what were they and how did
you overcome them?
Yes I did face problem while running my club. When I started
my karate club there is already one club which was situated over there but it
was not running regularly so I started my club and when I started my club the
coach of another club who is also a senior master called me and tried to
convince me not to open new club but u look after club (both club as one)
as an assistant coach but we couldn't work together for long time so I
decided to work alone but it became very difficult because he was a well
established coach (government coach) and I am volunteer coach but trying my
labour hard to bring best out of me and my students.
What has been your
biggest challenge so far and what has been your biggest success (or what are
you most proud of)?
For me success is not when my children get medals I find success when I teach them something and they do it better than me ,I find success when a new student who is not capable of kicking high or stretch full but try his/her 100% to learn , I find success in the smile of small children from their heart
Have you ever studied
any other martial art apart from karate and, if so, how do they compare?
Yes I did try to learn other kinds of martial arts but I
don't compare any martial arts with each other because for me each type of
martial arts gives us opportunity to learn something new.
What are you most
looking forward to over the coming months?
For upcoming month there are so many competition going to be
held especially junior karate competition so I'm focused on that.
If you had any one
piece of advice for a person starting out on their karate journey, what would
it be?
For those who are going to start their journey of karate I want
to tell them that every champion was beginner when he/she started their journey.
No matter how many times u fell down always keep learning. Don't set your goal
for winning medal rather than set your goal for learning and developing your
skill.
Thank you Sanjeev for such an interesting interview. We wish you and all students at the Manakamana karate dojo, the very best of luck and good fortune in all that you do.
