"It's a conscious decision to keep my son away from limelight. I think it is better to keep them (children) away from all this that is seen everywhere in newspapers and all. I want to give them a normal childhood," Akshay, 46, said in a media interaction here. After having obtained a black belt in Taekwondo while in India, Akshay studied martial arts in Bangkok, Thailand. And now Aarav too is following his father's footsteps.
"My son is a brown belt. He has just won gold medal in judo in national championship. I am a proud father. I am happy he is doing this," Akshay said. The actor, who studied in Thailand, said he is of the view that children should be taught martial arts from a young age.
"I want kids should be taught martial arts from school. I do tournaments (of martial arts) where we invite children from all over the world and then even send them to Japan," he said. The actors wants government to make martial arts a compulsory subject as it is crucial for self defence. "I am in talks with government to have martial arts as a compulsory subject for boys and girls.
I look forward to that day where every student would be learning martial arts in schools for at least three years. It is my dream," Akshay said. "I feel this is important than physics, Maths etc. What I understand from martial arts is self discipline, self defence and taking care of your health," he added.
At a time when Bollywood actors are investing in cricket and football leagues, Akshay is not keen about venturing into this. "I do what I believe in. I believe in martial arts and hence I promote it. I want to put my money on it. For me martial arts is not about earning money. It has taught me a ot," Akshay said.
