A die-hard fan of Bruce Lee movies as a teenager, Madhu Viswanadh grew up to become a noted martial arts instructor and recently qualified as an A-grade referee with the Asian Karate Federation. The 55-year-old from Kerala’s Thrissur district was among the 26 Indians who participated in the Asian Karate Federation Seminar and Referee Exam, which included participants from 40 countries, held in Uzbekistan from December 10-20, 2022. Among the six Indians who successfully became a karate referee, Madhu was the only person from Kerala.
Madhu says that he has always wanted to build a career in martial arts, adding, “I travelled a lot to learn martial arts and learned different forms of karate.” In the 1996 Asian Pacific Karate Championship, he represented India on the Goju Kai (a form of karate) team and won the bronze medal. He trained under RV Vasantha Kumar, brother of Karate Mani, the renowned martial artist and Tamil actor. Madhu says, “In Kerala, karate tournaments were few, and the quality of those tournaments was poor. It was very difficult to become a good player without tournaments. But I was lucky to get training from some of the best masters who helped and inspired me a lot.” His travels across the world offered him great exposure. “I met many masters and trained in different types of martial arts like karate, kung fu, aikido, and jujutsu,” he recounts.
Madhu, who is known by the honorific Shihan Madhu (title for senior instructors) is currently the president of the Gojukan Karate Association based in Thrissur, general secretary of the Thrissur District Karate Association, and Kerala Karate Association Referee Commission vice chairman. He runs dojo (halls where martial arts are practised) branches across Kerala and Karnataka. He has also worked as a trainer for the Police Academy in Thrissur and has given self-defence training for girls and women under various government projects. “It is hard to be an instructor as I need to update my knowledge at every level to be in that position,” he says.
According to him, people's attitude towards martial arts is changing. “Almost every school in Kerala now treats karate as a subject. I have more than 30 schools under the Gojukan Karate Association. Parents and school managements are aware of the importance of martial arts. Parents are also very supportive of children who want to participate in championships and training sessions. Last year, karate was introduced in the Olympics too. It has the highest number of students in India compared to any other sport,” he adds.
Madhu’s life has been dedicated to karate. “Karate made me who I am today, everything that happened to me is because of the martial art. The respect as an instructor from my students all over India is my biggest achievement,” he says. His partner Mridula Madhu, who is also a martial artist, was the first woman to represent Kerala in kumite karate at the National Games. She holds a black belt in karate and is also a referee.