A teen martial artist from Mulund is turning disadvantaged kids into little warriors
Arjun Agarwal holds Taekwondo sessions from 9 to 11 am every Sunday at Mulund’s Saptarshi Park
Seventeen-year-old Mumbai resident Arjun Agarwal did not have to look far for inspiration to contribute to society. Growing up, he saw his grandfather’s leaning towards social work, especially for the education of the underprivileged. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and by his mid-teens, Agarwal had found his calling. Today, he is making a difference in a domain he understands well, ie, self-defence. The Class 12 student teaches Taekwondo to around 50 kids in Mulund’s Saptarshi Park every Sunday.
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Agarwal is an international-level Taekwondo player, boasting accolades like a gold medal in Kyorugi at the World Taekwondo Culture Expo in South Korea (2022), silver medals at the UK Korean Ambassador’s Cup and the KMAMA World Open Online Championship in 2021, and gold medals in the International School Sports Organisation tournaments in 2023 and 2022. He got into Taekwondo a decade ago, and today, he is a “Dan-2 Black Belt” (an advanced level black belt) in the Korean martial art.
Kids enjoy a hearty meal post-practice
To gather a batch of disadvantaged kids who he wanted to train, he reached out to Vile Parle-based NGO Bharat Vikas Parishad, which operates across various welfare sectors. He calls his initiative “Project Raksha”. “I was always shy. So much so that I hesitated to ask questions in class. But Taekwondo boosted my confidence. I wanted to teach this to the disadvantaged kids because I felt it would make them confident, strong, and self-sufficient,” says Agarwal.
However, the road to full-fledged weekly training wasn’t smooth. Teaching is a demanding job, a lesson Agarwal learned when he was met with a group of 50 children, all around the age of 10. “So, to gain teaching experience, I began assisting my instructor every weekend, working with a group of 25 children for three months,” he says. By October 2023, he was ready to manage the batch of 50 on his own.
But regardless of teaching experience, a classroom full of 10-year-olds is still challenging to control, so he uses a technique he learnt from his instructor—pairing the kids up to practise attack and defence moves—which keeps them engaged, and is a practical approach to learning self-defence.
Kids surprise Agarwal all the time—some with their moves, and some with their resilience and grit. “I train a girl whose father is in jail and she lives without her mother. Despite this, she shows incredible enthusiasm and fights well. She says she aspires to be an IAS officer.” It has only taught him to be grateful for everything I have, mulls Agarwal.
“I teach the kids combat moves instead of sports moves, as the former will be more useful if the need arises,” he explains. Some of Agarwal’s students are naturally better at Taekwondo moves than others, hinting they may have athletic talent, too. “We train far less than what is required for professional tournaments. But I can already recognise a few children who will perform far better if given professional-grade guidance and proper nutrition. My primary goal is to teach them defensive techniques. So, after a long day of training, we indulge in meals that a professional player would likely avoid, but the kids look forward to it,” he explains.
Agarwal believes discipline is a by-product of martial arts. “You can’t practise a sport like Taekwondo without discipline,” he says. “So apart from the upper hand these kids will have in physical confrontations, they are also learning self-control and respect for other individuals. As a tradition, we bow before and after every fight, and now they even bow before their parents and guardians. It’s good to see these changes in them.” “I will soon be in college to study engineering. But I have started a programme in which selected students will be coached so that they can continue the Project Raksha even in my absence,” he says.
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