Rizwan Reyaz, a 19 year old teenager has pledged to impart self defense techniques to youngsters in general and girls in particular by establishing an academy of Martial Arts and Belt Wrestling in his home town Shopian in South Kashmir..
Rizwan, a winner in several national championships, has established his own martial arts academies while he says that he aspires to bring about a change across his hometown by inspiring the youngsters towards the particular sport. Rizwan says that he has come up with two such academies wherein training is imparted in the martial arts and wrestling with an aim to make a significant contribution in the said sports.
The academies are established for both boys and girls who attend the practice sessions and demonstrate their talent. He says the girl participants join the academy with a positive attitude to adapt the skills of self defense through the techniques of martial art and wrestling as well.
Rizwan’s tryst with wrestling had begun when he was in grade 9th. Hailing from ShadabKarewa , a hamlet in Shopian district of South Kashmir, his journey of fighting in belt wrestling has been overwhelming while success has touched his feet after participating in a number of national games including Belagavi , held in Karnataka.
Continuing with his success, recently, Rizwan participated in 2nd All India open Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship held at Madhya Pradesh wherein he bagged the gold medal adding more feathers of success to his cap.
Rizwan has also participated two times in the national championship of belt wrestling. He has won a bronze medal in Karnataka in School Games Federation of India (SGFI) National 2019 and a silver medal in Chhattisgarh in the National Federation Cup 2022.
At present around 80 players are undergoing training at Rizwan’s Academy, including around 25 female athletes.
“Being an athlete and imparting the same skills and energy to others has been a passion from the very beginning of my career,” he said.
Rizwan said that he aims to provide a platform to youth and carve out some brilliant players who would bring laurels to the country at national and international levels.
“My younger sister is also among 25 female athletes who practice in my Academy. She has played at national level in martial arts,” Rizwan told Rising Kashmir.
He said apart from martial arts, the players are trained in Belt wrestling, Sqay Martial and MMA.
“Our female folk need to be taught self defense techniques. It is actually the need of the hour. I think providing the girls with required training is a small contribution towards my society,” he added.
Rizwan aspires to contribute to the society as much as he can and lset an example for others to follow.
Besides imparting self defence training to young girls, Rizwan also aims to provide the country with the best lot of athletes from his hometown, who can participate in national and international sports events and bring laurels to the country.
Aspiring to become a master in self defense techniques, 16 year old Najmus Sahar is providing training in martial arts and belt wrestling for the past two years at Rizwan’s Academy in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
When asked why she chose martial arts, Najumus says that wrestling and martial arts was a pre-requisite for girls in learning about self defense, ” In contemporary times when crime against women is prevalent in the society, it is important for women folk to train themselves in these sports,” she said
