Madurai's Taekwondo couple is kicking up a record storm

When we went to their home to have a chat with the couple, the whole hall was filled with shields and awards won by them. Recently the couple has tried to set a new record of 154 kicks in a minute and it is yet to be recognized by the Guinness committee.
Interestingly, Narayanan has worked as a techie in one of the leading software firms in Chennai before starting an academy in Madurai. “I started learning Taekwondo only after joining college, the sport fascinated me a lot and I started taking part in open tournaments in and around the city,” he recounts. Even when I got a job in a software company I didn't let go off the sport. In fact, after knowing my achievements in Taekwondo, I was asked by the Human Resource Manager in the company to teach self-defense classes to the women employee in free time which helped me to stay close with the sport. The idea of starting a big academy in my hometown was always lurking at the back of my heart, and one day I packed my bags to Madurai- that was in 2016. At first, everyone was shocked by my decision. I was about to get married shortly while everyone in the family was scared of my profession and even advised I won’t be getting a bride. Months later, when I was introduced to Sruthy by my family, she was happy with my profession and we got married.

Ask how his wife got interested in the sport? and Narayanan says," she used to come to see me teach at my academy which made her develop an interest in the sport. Then one day, I asked her whether she is interested in learning Taekwondo, she immediately responded with a yes. I was the happiest man on earth when she said, yes says Narayanan with a big smile. Then I used to teach her daily, but she picked it fast in six months. It was easy for me to learn because I had flexibility in my physique as I used to practice Bharatanatyam before my marriage quips Sruthy. After she learned Taekwondo it was easy for me to approach many colleges to teach self-defense classes in Madurai as many administrations wanted a lady instructor chimes in Narayanan.

And what about this craze for amassing Guinness records? "when I came to Madurai to start an academy it was very tough to popularise this sport even when it is authorized by the government. Every parent of my students used to confuse Karate with Taekwondo, so I thought we have to do something extraordinary to make people aware. In October 2016 we were called to Hyderabad to participate in a Guinness record event. The event featured 50 people from different states and we were given a task to record thousand kicks each in one hour and it went viral in media which made me think about featuring records in Guinness. Then in April 2017, we organized the largest Taekwondo display in the country, with a minimum of two hundred participants in eight venues around the country. Then finally in December 2017, I recorded my first individual record of 160 elbow strike in one minute. Till date, Narayanan has recorded eleven records including breaking 15 watermelons in 30 seconds with a barefoot, 81 kicks with five-kilogram ankle weight in 3 minutes. Then I was the one motivated my wife for a Guinness record, she recorded 210 elbow strike in one minute. "Initially, I felt a little nervous as there were cameras kept in different angles but at last, I pulled it off," says Sruthy.

Narayanan insists he wants to explain the difference between Karate and Taekwondo is, In Taekwondo we use eighty percent leg movements wherein Karate, it will be 50-50. I really love to spread this sport in rural pockets of Tamil Nadu especially villages around Madurai. People here have the aggression we just need to give them the technique say, Narayanan. Right now, I am training the government school students in Alanganallur Boys higher secondary school in Madurai, the children there are learning faster than students in private schools says, Narayanan.

Around a hundred students of different age categories are getting trained in Narayanan's academy while many of his students have won many national levels and state-level tournaments.