Fukuda Sensei's Legacy Empowers Young Girls in India

"Hers was the magical presence on the mat - no questioning, no doubt, no judgement - just the lightness of pure truth. She embodied truth and her truth was judo."This beautiful description of Fukuda Sensei was written by Navneet Gill, one of Sensei's dedicated female students at Soko Joshi Judo Club in San Francisco. After Sensei's death in 2013, Gill wrote a moving tribute about how her own life's course was permanently altered for the better after meeting Fukuda Sensei. "Sensei taught us how to face any battle in life with courage and grace and to keep trying and giving your best," Gill said.Now, Gill, a native of India, is trying to spread Fukuda Sensei's message of empowerment and encouragement to young girls in her home country. As a young girl growing up in Punjab, India, Gill always dreamed of practicing some form of marital arts, but the opportunity was never available to her. She hopes that young girls living in India today will have better opportunities to learn, grow, and realize their unlimited potential."I want every little girl in every school in every town in India to learn judo - or some form of martial arts - not just for physical development, but also for the mental, spiritual and overall confidence it gives them in their own abilities and power to achieve their dreams. It is also a great training of the mind in discipline and focus that will help them be stronger in whatever they want to achieve in life," Gill said.With the help and support of Shelley Fernandez, President of The Keiko Fukuda Judo Foundation, Gill's dream has begun to manifest itself. After traveling back to India and recruiting a group of loyal volunteers, Gill and her team have begun conducting judo demonstrations for girls and women in schools and colleges across the country. The response, according to Gill, has been incredible."Some of my favorite moments from the initial demos in India were when we would get a volunteer to come up on stage and walk her through throwing someone to the floor. Their face would light up and the one comment I heard over and over again: 'I didn't know I could do something like this,'" Gill said.One by one, Gill and her team, have steadily begun sparking the love for judo and the spirit of Fukuda Sensei in girls across the country."Judo gives girls confidence and opens up doors of possibilities in their mind. They not only learn awareness and self-defense but also the fact that with discipline and dedicated training they can do anything they want," Gill said.With Gill's new endeavor to spread judo and open dojos in India, Fukuda Sensei's spirit will live on in even more hearts and minds.     Check out this video to learn more about the exciting project in India here:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vOuAHvkLpI[/youtube]