A Black Belt since 1972 — and still on the dojo floor.
For more than five decades, I have made it my business to keep Hyderabad moving. What began with karate in the early seventies became, over the years, a much wider mission: to bring the disciplines of fitness — serious fitness, the kind that asks something of you — to a city that was only just beginning to ask for it.
The Work
I am, by training, a martial artist. I am, by trade, a fitness columnist. And I am, by temperament, a teacher — which is to say, I cannot help but pass along what I have learned.
Over the years I have introduced to Hyderabad & Secunderabad:
- Karate (since 1972)
- Aerobics (among the first in the city)
- Cardio Kickboxing (fast, fun & furious)
- Tai Chi (slow movement, sharp mind)
- Weight Training & Personal Conditioning
I have trained the trainers. I have written the columns. I have appeared on Gemini TV & All India Radio. I have, more importantly, watched two generations of students walk into my classes uncertain & walk out a different shape — in body & in mind.
The Philosophy
There are no shortcuts. There never were.
What we call “fitness” today is too often a marketing exercise — a piece of equipment, a packaged supplement, a six-week promise. Real conditioning is older than that, and quieter. It asks for honesty, repetition, and the willingness to show up tomorrow as you did today.
I tell my students: don’t think of exercise as losing valuable time. Think of it instead as time devoted to carving out the shape of your muscles, maximising recovery, & conditioning your delivery system — heart & lungs — for a higher level of health & fitness.
That is the work. That is all the work.
Beyond the Dojo
When I am not teaching, I am most likely at the piano. Jazz, mostly — classically trained, but the standards are where I live. There is more in common between a good kata & a good chord progression than people imagine: both ask for discipline first, & only then permit improvisation.
Get in Touch
For training enquiries, consultations, columns, or media work, please write to me through the Contact page. I read everything personally.
— Zareer Patell Hyderabad · Secunderabad