Teaching women to say ‘No’
For a gym newbie, the complicated equipment, schedules can be intimidating. Throw in stylized marital arts fitness training and you might see your new year’s fitness resolution fade away like sweat on a yoga mat. That’s where “The Shed” stands out. Located down Thilaka Gardens, Nugegoda, the open room surrounded by trees and ample parking is an inviting change from a usual gym setting.
Pix by Indika Handuwala and Athula Devapriya
Established in 2016, ‘The Shed’ offers their clients group and individual training in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Jeet Kune Do (JKD), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and Fitness focusing on movement and free weight training. They also conduct self-defence classes for ladies and children based on techniques of Jeet Kune Do (JKD) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ).
Behind the unique fitness centre is a two man team- Tithira Perea (33) and Prageeth Thoradeniya (32). Both Tithira and Prageeth shared an interest in martial arts but never shared it with each when they first met while studying at Informatics Institute of Technology back in 2006. “I got into it because of Bruce Lee,” Tithira shares, the legendary martial artist and philosopher heavily influencing the then 9 year old who would encompass his philosophy as an instructor almost twenty years later. His introduction to JKD came with Instructor Sifu Kirk Weicht had experience training Navy Seals etc. Under his guidance Tithira secured an apprenticeship and made connections with his head trainer in India- Arun Sharma founder of BJJ India and JKD athletic club India and Sifu Harinder Singh of the Jeet Kune Do Athletic Association while attending training sessions in India for a few weeks. “They saw potential in me,” both Sifu Singh and Sharma suggested he start a class back home.
With their help, he obtained a license, the content and syllabus which paved the way for the creation of ‘The Shed’. Pictures of Sharma and his other instructors line the wall of the Shed. They even drop in whenever they are in Sri Lanka to conduct seminars.
Like Tithira, Prageeth had a background in karate as a child. However, the two friends and later coworkers discovered their mutual passion for martial arts only when Tithira saw Prageeth’s posts on Facebook related to Mixed Martial Arts. Overseas for a few years, Prageeth came back to Sri Lanka in 2013. “I suddenly realized that Tithira knew much more than he did before.”
Prageeth
Their chance to test their new partnership came in the form of a Girl Guide project. Prageeth’s cousin- who was a Guide at the time needed help with an assignment which found the duo travelling to Maliyadeva Girls’ College to conduct a session on self-defence to school girls. After the first awkward five minutes “we synced very well,” Prageeth remembers. Their session was followed by several other free seminars for schools and their involvement in the Damini Project, which began with their project at Maliyadeva Girls’ College .
The duo also found themselves conducting workshops for corporates and companies. “I used to daydream about starting my own centre” Pageeth, a business analyst at the time was fed up of the lifestyle. One day after conducting an eight hour seminar for the Special Task Force “I was ready to quit my job and start.” With the support of his family, Prageeth and Tithira opened the ‘The Shed’ in November 2016. They started with two students and were approached by a girl, who asked them to start classes for women, which would draw up to twelve students at a class. “People asked us if we had a female instructor,” but for the duo, getting their students out of their comfort zone and introducing them to a realistic approach to self-defense was the goal.
“The first step was to teach women how to say no,” the duo said. Their self-defence classes are spread across the week in four sessions.
“Repetition is important,” they say, even though the technique involves a natural flow of movement and mental stimulation based on a syllabus followed by JKD athletic association (USA) .
Tithira
They find that the women train harder than their male students, and maybe the surroundings help. They’ve watched their shy pupils grow in assertiveness, calling out the common bus harasser and their more aggressive students hone in their energy with strategic moves. The classes shy away from the karate kid-mainstream myth about martial arts, allowing their pupils to discover comfortable ways to counteract harassment in a way that best suits them.
As of 2018, ‘The Shed’ has recruited a few new instructors and a consistently positive feedback. “It becomes addictive,” they laugh, reminiscing on all the concerned messages they had to reply to when they closed the center for a month in December. “I knew we would grow, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon,” Prageeth admits.
Backed by a continually modified syllabus, realistic training and a strong community, not to mention the laid back room, it’s not difficult to understand the appeal.
For more information check out their Facebook page www.facebook.com/theshedlk/
