Be a Boss – Planting the seed of Entrepreneurship in Young MindsKrav Maga – A self Defense Workshop for Women

Atrocities on women have become an everyday reality in India. Our increased efforts to combat impunity and punish and deter perpetrators can only be effective if we also increase our investment in the leadership and empowerment of women as the only viable, long-term strategy to get to the structural, social, and material roots of sexual violence. Krav Maga an Isreali Self Defense workshop was conceived with this goal in mind and conducted at the famed Durbar Hall of Raj Bhavan.

The workshop was conducted by Mr.S.Sreeram who is affiliated to the International Krav Maga Foundation and teaches civilians and Chennai City Police. Flo members and the specially invited 60 women working in ITES Companies and the 20 Nurse Aids sponsored by FLO who attended the workshop, ensured that the hall was packed to capacity.

Mr.Sreeram’s presentation was crisp and lucid and served to bust the myth that women cannot overpower bulky and aggressive men. He explained that Krav Maga borrows elements from other techniques of self defense such as judo, karate, etc but has tailor made its moves. He proceeded to identify the vulnerable spots in a human body such as eyes, nose, mouth, groin, feet, ankle, knee which remained the same from birth and didn’t differ between men and women. Hitting these spots caused immense pain without causing any threat to life. These moves could be used to immobilise the perpetrator and take flight.

Being practical and avoiding getting into dangerous situations was the first best strategy for women. Simple things like a ball point pen could also be used as a potential weapon in situations. He then called for volunteers and many responded with enthusiasm. He demonstrated a series of strikes, including the signature moves using hands, elbow, feet depending on the sticky situation the lady was in. He was ably assisted by his team in this.

After some sumptuous snacks and tea, it was time to greet His Excellency, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr.K.Rosaiah who was the Chief Guest for the workshop. For the first time, a Governor of Tamil Nadu graced a FLO event. The Chairperson Ms.Mrinalini Maher thanked him for agreeing to being the Chief Guest and also having given permission to conduct the workshop at the prestigious and historic Raj Bhavan. A demo by the volunteers who learnt some of the basic moves was very well received. The programme ended on a high note with the Governors Address.

The workshop was sponsored by Kumaran Systems and Aspire Systems., 1:30 – 3:30pm, at Shri Shankara Senior Secondary School

As a continued exercise of Joy of Giving Week, FLO Chennai planned to have a session on Entrepreneurship development programme at a school, to inspire young minds to be their own boss. About 80 students from class 11 and 12 participated in this session.

Our FLO member Dr.Geetha Premkumar, a first generation entrepreneur who has been successfully running a business for the past 24 years conducted the Programme. She has conducted several such Entrepreneur Development workshops and programmes at universities, engineering colleges, including Anna University, Madras University, Vellore Institute of Technolgy, Entrepreneur Development Institute of Tamil Nadu and several others.

Being a CBSE school, Entrepreneurship is part of the 12 class curriculum, they were now exposed to the practical aspects of being one’s own Boss. How to start a business and how to nurture an idea of business. Special focus was given on educating students to carry business with ethics. Specific examples were given from different entrepreneurs’ lives. They were also provided information on how to find an opportunity and to convert that as a business. Being a Startup and the concepts surrounding USP. And that being an entrepreneur is not only about making money but necessary for the health of the economy.

A lively Q & A session ensued. The session was well received by the enthusiastic students who preferred to hear from an Entrepreneur rather than deal with it as an academic subject.