Gajanand Rajput- First Indian disciple of Shaolin Temple

A star is shining brightly in the world of Martial Arts whose name is Dr. Gajanand Rajput. KungFu is the rhythm of his breath by which he is trying to materialize his dream of becoming the International champion of martial arts. It was the day of November 28th 1978 when he was born and glorified the name of his home town Sabarmati, Ahmedabad. He was brought up under the care and guidance of his parents Shri Bhagwat Mulchand Rajput and Srimati Jankidevi. He completed his doctorate degree in Philosophy of Asian Martial Arts. He gained proficiency in various arts such as Tae Kwon Do ( Korean Art ), Wushu and northern shaolin ( chinese art ) Karate ( japanese art ), Lan Shou Pei ( Shaolin art ). His Master’s name is Shree Lucky N. Chan Thakuri.

He strained every nerve to be at the top and finally the first award which came in his Victory bag was the medal of School board Martial Arts Competition. At the onset of the year 1995 he became the premier Taolu and Sanshou contestant and added feather in the cap of the nation. The period from 1999 to 2007 was the most fortunate time which placed him at the noticeable height of success. He became the unconquered and the triumphant man of this art. Even after achieving many accolades he walked with long strides and leaped high to be at the surmountable height of name and fame.

During the year 1999 Gajanand Rajput pulled up his socks and kicked his heels to propagate the Martial Arts academic sphere. He organized many district level, state level and national level seminars and competitions. He got an opportunity and hence visited China in the year 2006. He was fortunate enough to receive an official Shaolin Monk name of Shi Heng Chang. His name and fame shone on the pages of various newspapers and journals and thus he became the star of martial arts within no time.

Sometimes the intelligence and talents of a creative-minded person do not give him as much reward as he deserves. But when the winds of praise come from other quarters of the glob then the deserving person gets the reward of his talents and so is the case of Gajanand. When he was admired by the words of praise in various regions then his name twinkled as a star on the sky of fame. He is one of them who dedicated himself for the propagation of this excellent skill of Martial Arts and worked hard to achieve the success and height.

Its my pleasure to share the exclusive interview with Gajanand Rajput on flockpost.com, this precious piece of post could inspire many young sportsmen.

How and when you got introduced with Martial Art first time in your life?

In 1992 when I was 12-year-old growing up in Ahmedabad was introduced to Wushu KungFu and began to learn Contemporary Chinese Martial Arts under the guidance of my area’s best Chinese Martial Arts Master Shree Lucky N. Chan Thakuri.

Why you decided to take training in China? Please tell us your some memorable experience while being in China.

Every sports persons dream is to play at Olympic Games; same like that every Chinese martial arts practitioner wishes to get trained at shaolin temple. My memorable experience while being in china was when great sifu Shi Yan Lu accepted me as a 35^th Generation Shaolin Temple Warrior Secular Disciple and during the Buddhist ceremony at the shaolin monastery he gave me the Chinese name “ Shi Heng Chang” which means long term relations. It was the first time in the history of the monastery that an Indian warrior has been accepted as warrior monk.

Who is your role model or a person you respect and follow most?

I really believe that the person who has changed my life is not less than a role model to me, and made me a better person. I have known this person since I was in the Gurukul and I have loved him ever since. She has taught me what life is really about,

She taught me how to learn from most of my mistakes and taught me the difference between right and wrong.

She taught me a biggest lesson of my life, that by learning how to fight, you learn how not to fight.

How you got the break into the entertainment world? We heard you are action choreographer for the TV serial “Prithviraj Chauhan” .Are their any more projects in your hands?

I have many friends working with the film industry, through one among them I got my first break in the entertainment world. I am thankful to Sagar Films and my friend for giving me a great opportunity to be with them as an artist, fighter and some time choreograph to fight sequence in the absence of the fight master or main action choreographer.

Yes, I have 2 to 3 more projects this year starting from April and of course I can not disclose names at this point of time.

What are your favorite pass time activities?

I normally spend my after work hours surfing on internet, and playing with my nine (9) months old kid, if I am not having dinner with my friends. I like to see where the internet takes me next.

Being trained with best martial arts and wushu experts in China, didn’t you ever thought to try your luck in bigger sports gatherings like Olympics and Common Wealth Games? You know, India never succeeded in making its mark in Martial Art ever.

Yes, you are right I had an opportunity to get trained with World Wushu masters like Master Shi Shin Wang ( master of Foreign Disciples at shaolin temple ), Master Wu Bin ( Famous Movie Star Jet Li’s Master ) , Master Pranil Dhoj Karki ( Founder of the Wushu in Nepal ) and of course my great shaolin master Shi Yan Lu ( Chief Drill master of the Warrior monks of the Shaolin Temple).

Since childhood I saw much politics in the field of Sports so I decided to learn martial arts as an art not as a Sport. I think I am practicing martial arts, not a martial sport. Recently I participated as an athlete and also as a team leader in the 3^rd World Traditional Wushu Championships. International Wushu Federation Secretary General Mr.Wang Xiaolin awarded me Memorial Award in Wuhan, China.

The main reason I think behind not succeeding is that we do part time practice and our competitive countries do full time practice and also their local and regional government supports them a lot which we are lacking here in India.

What are your opinions and views on Indian Martial Art? Do you think we have enough resource to produce best sportsmen? If not, please add your suggestions.

When we think of martial arts, we usually think of China or Japan. Only recently, people have discovered that martial arts had its roots in India “somewhere”.

Martial arts has been in existence on the Indian sub-continent for thousands of years practiced by ancient Tamils of Tamil Nadu,

Long ago, animal fighting styles were imitated by pre-historic man which was a system for survival. The first weapon used was the stick which was an extension of the arm. Various weapons were later invented during the Stone and Iron Ages. At the turn of the 6th century A.D., martial arts spread from Southern India to China by a Tamil prince turned monk named Daruma Bodhidarma. From China, martial arts has spread to Korea & Japan. In South East Asia martial arts was introduced during the naval expansion of the Chola and Pallava Empires of the Tamil Country between the 2nd and 12th centuries A.D.

In the Tamil country, the earliest martial arts known were Varma Kalai (pressure point attacks – similar to Tai Chi or Dim Mak), Kuttu Varisai (hand to hand combat – similar to Kung Fu and Karate), Malyutham (wrestling), Silambam (staff and weapons fighting – similar to the Filipino arts of Arnis, Kali, and Escrima), and Adithada (kickboxing).

Martial arts can also be seen in the classical dance of Bharatha Natayam. Through its rhythmic movements one can see a close resemblance to the stances, blocks, and strikes in martial arts. There is also a close affiliation to Yoga in the stretching and meditating exercises of almost every fighting art.

Yes we have enough resources to produce best sportsmen but we don’t get support on time to time from the local and regional governments.

There are many young martial art enthusiasts and students who are simply attracted to the action movies they see and want to be like the hero, with those flexible moves and well toned body. Can you tell us the simplest formula to be a good or best martial art expert?

According to me, it’s a long process to become an expert in martial skills. It asks a long time practice under the guidance of great expert master. To be an expert in martial arts one needs to work hard and to get proficiency in certain martial arts.

There is no simple formula; I can just say … Practice makes a man perfect.

Any message to our readers by the medium of this interview?

Yes, if you want success in your life, you must take care of your parents. If you are able to take care of them, God will bless you with everything. I have gone through it personally.

I also believe that luck follows hard work. The harder I work the luckier I get. Don’t be afraid to work hard and luck will follow you. That’s my advice.

The photographs of Dr. Gajanand Rajput is the sole property of www.gajanandrajput.com

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