Karate, as documented in Hollywood movies, is usually a series of elaborate acrobatic moves with a combination of noises and typical asian music in the background. For a discipline as heavily documented in mainstream media, it ignores the fact that Karate takes years if not decades of practice, hard work, persistence and dedication.

Mr. L. Nageshwar Rao is an 8th DAN Black Belt from Japan, 6th DAN Black Belt from the World Karate Federation and the Indian Representative of All Japan Karate Do Goju Ryu Kai, Member of JKF Goju Kai, Japan. For an individual with such a majestic CV, Mr. Rao’s humility towards his craft and his polite demeanour is his most impressive characteristic and his contributions are revolutionizing the way Karate is perceived in India.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Mr. L. Nageshwar Rao, Joint Secretary of Karate Association of India (KAI) speaks about the popularity of the sport, especially amongst the youth, training under the most renowned Grandmasters in the world, overcoming challenges, his vision for Karate in India and much more!

Q 1) As an esteemed Karate coach, what is your view on the popularity of the sport in India, especially amongst the youth?

According to my view, Indian Govt. should encourage all sports & should provide support, training facilities so that the youth of India can become involved in more and more numbers and engage themselves in sports activities to build their career and bring laurels to the country. The Govt. should also arrange training for sports persons and the coaches through Sports Authority of India (SAI) and provide scholarships to medal winners to encourage them.

Q 2) What are your roles and responsibilities as Joint Secretary of Karate Association of India?

As Joint Secretary of Karate Association of India, I am looking after and encouraging Karatekas of all State Karate Associations to participate in State level as well as National level Karate Championships and win medals.

Q 3) How was the experience of training under some of the world’s best Karate Grandmasters on your visit to Tokyo and Okinawa? What are some of the practices that you learnt in Japan that are adopted in your training methods in India?

I have taken rigorous Karate Training under World’s best Grandmasters of Japan, Malaysia and have learnt various advanced karate techniques which I have shared with my senior instructors and trained them accordingly. My senior instructors and myself have achieved a lot due to these trainings. I have visited Osaka, Japan in the year 2007 & in 2011 Tokyo, Okinawa in Japan. The Grandmasters are Hanshi Katyusuki Fukatoshi, 10th Dan, Chairman, All Japan Karate Do Goju Ryu Kai; Hanshi K. Takasaki, 9th Dan, Chief Director, Japan Karate Do Goju Ryu Ohshikai Association; Kancho Zansuki Hamawaki, 8th DAN, Japan Goju Ryu Taisukai. On 4th March, 2020 I had to visit Tokyo, Japan, but unfortunately due to COVID-19 I could not visit the same.

Q 4) According to you, what are some of the challenges that aspiring Karatekas face in India? How can they overcome these challenges?

According to me, the main challenge faced by Karatekas is that there is more than one Karate Association & lack of proper facilities to support the Karatekas. According to my view, all the federations and associations of different states should come under one umbrella, so that the Ministry of Sports, Govt. of India and Indian Olympic Association will be able to help these federations. Ultimately the Karatekas suffer a lot as they do not get facilities from them.

Also read: People call my journey a miracle, I call it a process – Indian martial artist Chinmay Sharma

Q 5) How big an honor is it to be an International referee of Karate?

To me, International Referee of Karate is a very big honour as we have to perform as Referee in other countries and there is a lot we can learn from these International Karate Championships.

Q 6) What is your vision for Karate in India for the future? How can that vision be accomplished?

According to my thought, it is the vision of all Karatekas of India that Karate should be added in Olympic games and this has come true as Karate has been included in the Tokyo Olympics. It’s a very proud moment for the Karatekas of India. If Indian Govt. and Indian Olympic Association fully support Karatekas of India, then it will be the proudest moment for me, as maximum Karatekas will be able to win medals in Olympic.

My vision is that all Karatekas and Coaches should work under the guidance of the National Federation so that the desired goal can be achieved.