Greetings! I am Arnab Sensei. I have been a martial artist for over two decades, and a management professional for about 11 years. Consequently, I endeavour to bring tatami wisdom into the boardroom.
My introduction to budo happened at the age of eight. Our school offered Karate classes, and I just had to enroll. Too many movies already, perhaps. Anyway, that was the beginning of my journey into the realms of the martial arts. Little did I know then, that I would actually come this far.
After the classes at school stopped, I continued practicing - on and off, as one does - looking at books and videos of whatever contained elements of kicking, blocking and punching. Then, at the age of 17, I found my true calling: traditional Okinawan budo. It was after the first Gulf War. I moved to Dubai to join the rest of my family. It was summer, and school hadn't started. So I spent my time looking for dojos. I tried a couple of them, but was not satisfied. A colleague of my father's was a brown belt at that time. Seeing my interest, my father asked him for details. He took us to meet his Sensei one morning.
I was delighted to see a real dojo! They had summer classes on, and I enrolled. That was over 20 years ago. My relationship with my Sensei only grew stronger over time. I was eager to learn everything I cast eyes upon. He recognized my enthusiasm; taught me more and trained me harder. Under his tutelage, I built a very successful tournament career. I loved kumite! I loved training kata, too. But competition, for me, was essentially kumite.
While Sensei encouraged me and spurred me on, he also drilled into me the value of traditional Karate-do, as opposed to its sport form. He let me fly high, but kept me connected to home base. Today, thanks to my Sensei and all the other Senseis I have had the pleasure and honour of training with, I have developed a sound understanding of and a deep passion for the more authentic, traditional side of martial arts.
Combining my passion with my management career gives me ample opportunity to apply the principles of budo in daily life. That gives me a more comprehensive and practical outlook on how martial strategy can be applied in the corporate world; or indeed, anywhere in life.
My introduction to budo happened at the age of eight. Our school offered Karate classes, and I just had to enroll. Too many movies already, perhaps. Anyway, that was the beginning of my journey into the realms of the martial arts. Little did I know then, that I would actually come this far.
After the classes at school stopped, I continued practicing - on and off, as one does - looking at books and videos of whatever contained elements of kicking, blocking and punching. Then, at the age of 17, I found my true calling: traditional Okinawan budo. It was after the first Gulf War. I moved to Dubai to join the rest of my family. It was summer, and school hadn't started. So I spent my time looking for dojos. I tried a couple of them, but was not satisfied. A colleague of my father's was a brown belt at that time. Seeing my interest, my father asked him for details. He took us to meet his Sensei one morning.
I was delighted to see a real dojo! They had summer classes on, and I enrolled. That was over 20 years ago. My relationship with my Sensei only grew stronger over time. I was eager to learn everything I cast eyes upon. He recognized my enthusiasm; taught me more and trained me harder. Under his tutelage, I built a very successful tournament career. I loved kumite! I loved training kata, too. But competition, for me, was essentially kumite.
While Sensei encouraged me and spurred me on, he also drilled into me the value of traditional Karate-do, as opposed to its sport form. He let me fly high, but kept me connected to home base. Today, thanks to my Sensei and all the other Senseis I have had the pleasure and honour of training with, I have developed a sound understanding of and a deep passion for the more authentic, traditional side of martial arts.
Combining my passion with my management career gives me ample opportunity to apply the principles of budo in daily life. That gives me a more comprehensive and practical outlook on how martial strategy can be applied in the corporate world; or indeed, anywhere in life.
