उद्भव (Udbhava): Choosing Good Over Pleasant. The Story of a Young Girl Who Refused to Quit Kickboxing
- Shikher Gupta
- Aug 4
- 8 min read
About उद्भव
उद्भव (Udbhava) is a series of conversations with students at Kombat Hall. Stories of people who chose to keep showing up and did not quit.
Through honest conversations, we explore उद्भव (Udbhava) or The emergence of one's truest self through consistent practice.
We begin this series with Shukti, a young girl who joined to learn Kickboxing for self-defence, but discovered something else. Let's be a part of her journey.
Editor's Note:
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and readability. Filler words, repetitions, and obvious transcription errors have been removed, but every answer faithfully reflects the student's own words and experiences.
Interview with Shukti
Shikher: Welcome Shukti. A quick introduction for readers please.
Shukti: Hi, my name is Shukti. I'm an 11th grader ( August 2026), and I've been doing kickboxing for around 2 years. I'm a green belt as well 🙂
Shikher: Why did you start kickboxing?
Shukti: Because I wanted to engage in some sort of sport or physical activity, but I also thought that a self-defense activity would be the best because it would also make me feel more confident in myself, if I was ever faced with any adversity.
Shikher: Was it your decision or your dad pushed you to join?
Shukti: My decision. It was my choice from the beginning.
Shikher: How would you describe Shukti of two years ago?
Shukti: Shukti of two years ago was more hesitant, and more quiet, even when she started kickboxing, she thought, "I'll just do this for the sake of it, and then if I don't like it then I'm probably just gonna drop it." And she wasn't that resilient, she was kind of just doing Preya, not Shreya. [laughs]
Lord Yama explains to Nachiketa:
"Both the good (Shreya) and the pleasant (Preya) approach man. The wise man, examining both, distinguishes between them. The wise chooses the good over the pleasant, while the foolish, out of attachment to worldly gain, chooses the pleasant." — Katha Upanishad (1.2.2)
Shikher: Thanks for remembering Shreya and Preya. Please go on.
Shukti: I think she wasn’t fit, she didn't really ever test herself. She had that potential to do more, but she would just give up really easily, so she never actually got to show herself that she was stronger than she thought.
Shikher: I saw some photos, the confidence looked down, the shoulders were dropped, weight appeared more than what it was, What was going in her mind then?
Shukti: I don't know, I guess she was just not confident, and maybe she didn't like being clicked in photos, I don't know.
Shikher: What did you like in training?
Shukti: Kickboxing is fun. Besides the actual physical labor and everything...
Shikher: How is it fun? people get beaten up, they have bruises :)
Shukti: To do different combinations, feels cool and fun to throw a punch or do a kick, and then it lands, and it sounds really good, and then you just get that kind of like, "Oh my god, I did that, and that was so cool." It's empowering, in a sense.
Shikher: What are the changes you have seen, observing yourself as a third person?
Shukti: The first change, literally started within the first month of kickboxing when the old Shukti had just joined and after the first two classes, her back was so sore, and she hated it so much. She literally couldn't get up without being in pain. And she told her coach, and then her coach just said, "Just wait for one month, if it doesn't go away in one month, then you can stop, but I'm telling you, like endure it for one month." So now Shukti doesn't give up that easily, she'll give something time before responding or reacting to it.
Shikher: Did the pain go away?
Shukti: Yeah, it went away in 15 days. It never came back. [laughs]
Shikher: Tell us about some incident where you almost gave up?
Shukti: During my 10th board exams, because I was literally not getting the time to do anything besides study, and then at some point, it felt like kickboxing was just like another external pressure, and I had so many things on top of me at once. I was like, "Why do I even have to go anywhere? Let me just stay here, and I'll see what I have to do about that later." So at some point, I literally was just considering putting it on pause or just thinking like, "No, like there's already too much going on," but I didn't.
Shikher: Good. And what made you not quit?
Shukti: I missed it, I didn't realise at the time, but when I stopped doing kickboxing for a while, it had a lot of negative effects, I had more brain fog, which was also really annoying when I was trying to study. I started to feel exhausted or tired. I just felt fatigued all the time, but I had no reason to be fatigued. It was all just mental, and I realised I literally wasn't doing anything, so...
Shikher: I remember a few incidents where you almost got physically and mentally challenged here for giving up, do you remember?
Shukti: It happened a bunch of times. If I'm doing a dead-hang which I hate, because I'm scared of going up, and then it hurts my hands. So I have to really resist a hang, if I give up early, I'm gonna get a really bad punch in the gut, and that leaves me sore. I know the punches and kicks hurt.
I literally had bruises all over my legs and stuff, and I was like, "Oh..."
Shikher: Tell us about some incident which made you cry.
Shukti: At some point, I was really inconsistent in class, so I already felt kind of bad, as I wasn't giving it my all, and then I would also come late to class as old Shukti was not that punctual, but now she's more mindful.
But yeah, I came late, and then I think I just wasn't doing a lot of things that I needed to do for training. And then my coach got really mad at me, he said, "You don't come on time, you don't come consistently, you're coming late, you're not doing this, you're giving up easily." And then I just got really like, it felt like it all just came crumbling like everything was coming, and I was just like crumbling down to all of the external things.
Shikher: So what was the lesson?
Shukti: Sensei helped me understand that just because someone says a lot of negative things to you, it doesn't mean you have to let it affect you. Like, just accept what’s to be taken, understand it, and let it go. It's fine.
Shikher: Tell us about the Shukti now. What are the changes, if any?
Shukti: I don't think I can name any negative changes. I think I'll have to look into myself a lot to realise that, but I think the positive changes through training were that the Shukti now is definitely more confident. It's a recurring theme. She's willing to do things, even if she knows that she doesn't like them, she's still willing to do them because she knows it's good for her. She's more open to new opportunities. If an opportunity comes her way, she will say “yes” now, which is not something the old Shukti would've done.
Shukti: And the new Shukti, again, doesn't give up easily. If her mind is telling her, "No, like this is too difficult," or, "Just leave it, you could be relaxing, you don't have to do this," then she's gonna argue with herself and just tell herself that, "Give it like maybe 10 more minutes," or, "Give it a week more," or, "Just give it a few more hours and then see how you're gonna deal with it."
Shikher: What is that you have gained outside the techniques?
Shukti: I've gained the experience of knowing so many people, whether it's during group classes, belt tests, during a competition, or during a workshop. I've learned about how people fight their own battles during training. The new Shukti, she doesn't know everything about the world, but she knows a lot more than she did before.
Shikher: You touched upon a topic earlier referring to Shreya and Preya, what have you learned?
Shukti: Okay. So, in the most basic sense, something that's pleasant for me- like procrastinating, e.g., I won't go to class today, but I'll go tomorrow," or, "I'll skip today, but then I'll go next week," or something like that. That's pleasant for me because then I can just stay at home and chill, and I know I don't have to do the hard thing of showing up and then actually doing the work.
But what's good for me is that I do go whenever I have to, because I know at the end of the day it is gonna be better for me to sleep, and I'm gonna feel more healthy.
It's pleasant for me that I'll relax, but what's good for me is that I show up.
Shikher: Recently, you also volunteered for a self-defense workshop, where you helped to train more than 300 girls. What was your experience?
Shukti: I didn't witness anything on a personal level about them, but I can imagine compared to me what kind of privileges they don't have and why it's even more important for them to know self-defense than me.
I always have a car, to leave home or to come back, meanwhile these girls, they probably have to walk or use an auto, or if it's really long distance, they have to use a public metro, and all of these options are clearly not that safe.
I noticed most of them did not know basic self-defense, which really shows that there needs to be more awareness about this, especially among class 9th/10th girls.
The fact that they don't know how to defend themselves makes them vulnerable. I really liked that they were asking questions and they were imagining themselves in bad situations and what they would have to do.
For example, if we were explaining a technique, some girl would point out, "What do you do if this thing is happening, but someone's holding you from the back?" or if we're explaining a technique, they'll point out a weakness in it, and they'll say like, "Okay, but what if I don't if I can't use my hands at that time?" So that was really nice to see.
Shikher: So they were more involved in training.
Shukti: Yes, they really wanted to know how to protect themselves.
Shikher: What did you gain from that workshop?
Shukti: I learned how to explain techniques to others, how you can understand and help others.
Shikher: Why should everyone do some sort of training for self-defense?
Shukti: It's not that I should know self-defense to say, "Oh,I can hurt anyone,", every individual should know how to protect themselves.
If you haven’t trained, then you can't protect yourself in a bad situation. It's as simple as that. Even if you think, "I know how to punch someone, simple," but it's really about the practice, and, you know, adrenaline, it can only do a little without training. Good training teaches not to start a fight, it does teach how to end a fight. It means that if someone tries to attack you, then you know exactly how to give your 100% and to just end it there so things don't escalate.
Shikher: Without panic we freeze, you experienced that, right?
Shukti: Yeah! And that just makes things worse, It makes you even more vulnerable.
Shikher: Your message for everyone at Kombat Hall?
Shukti: Just keep training, do things that make you uncomfortable, and help out wherever you can, and just keep doing what you do and keep reading the blog, it's pretty nice. [laughs]
Shikher: [laughs] Thank you so much and all the best for your new journey.
Shukti: Thank you Sensei
It’s almost like lucid poem. Nicely written conveying all emotions and hurdles inherent in growing up. Shukti has overcome and has opened fresh chapter.
Good wishes for her and her coach.