Rohit Nair is an MMA, Kickboxing, and Jiujitsu player and coach. In addition, he is a Qualified Strength and Conditioning Expert. His adventure as a self-defence trainer began when he became 14, and he has never looked back ever since. Able to represent India has been at the pinnacle of his priority list, and he motivates everybody to pursue their dreams. He claims that if you pursue your desire, everything else will follow you.
1) The field that you chose, isn’t something you see a lot of people doing, which is interesting. So, how did you get into becoming a kickboxing and MMA instructor?
>> I started with boxing in my school days which was the start of my martial arts journey. I competed in many senior National tournaments after winning state championships in boxing, after which I took a break and later started with Kickboxing and MMA. This later helped me to represent my nation in Bahrain and at the World Championship in Kazakhstan.
2) Was there a special intensive training that you had to go through to become a professional MMA fighter and kickboxer?
>> Yes, I trained rigorously under coaches from various disciplines such as my boxing coach at the start and later under my coach Mayur Bansode for MMA and kickboxing and under Paulo Silva from Brazil for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from whom I got my purple belt in the art.
3) Is there a difference between traditional martial arts, which is usually popularly known to common folk, and MMA? Could you please tell us a little bit about it?
>> Mixed Martial Arts is a combination of all martial arts. In Mixed Martial Arts a kickboxer can fight a wrestler, a judoka can fight a boxer. Therefore every competitor must learn the basics of every art such as striking (boxing, kickboxing) and grappling (wrestling, judo and Jiu-Jitsu)
4) Looking at your extremely impressive and amazing profile, you have worked with a lot of different celebrities, can you tell us a little bit about your experience?
>> I am fortunate enough to work with people like Pratik Babbar, Ali Fazal, Mrunal Thakur, Varun Dhawan and various other celebrities. It is very inspiring to see that these people are not only hardworking in their field but also are dedicated to keeping their minds and body fit and healthy.
5) Were there any personal challenges you had to conquer to get to where you are now?
>> At the start of my journey a lot of people didn’t believe that combat sports could help you make a career in India. We had to work very hard to prove the naysayers wrong. Also on the sports front, I had to face a lot of favouritism and politics in boxing at the start and also in Mixed Martial Arts. Despite these difficulties, I am thankful to be in this position today.
6) Would you say that martial arts or MMA are something people should learn or experience as a survival skill?
>> Combat sports are not only good for self-defence but also for fitness, mental health, presence of mind and other faculties of the body. It helps to build discipline, dedication and willpower. I strongly feel everyone should train in combat sports at least once in a while.
7) Is there anything you would like to tell people about you, your beliefs or your profession?
>> I believe that everything happens for the best and the opportunities are always there to better yourself. You just need to know how to make the best use of these opportunities.
The chief journalist of India Voyage took part in Mr Nair’s interview to receive and pass on the advice from this renowned MMA player to all the combat art enthusiasts and anyone willing to learn more.
