Grand master Ashraf Tai recovering steadily

Martial art expert had been rushed to hospital for blood pressure and sugar problems.

KARACHI: Famous martial arts expert Grand Master Muhammad Ashraf Tai is showing improvement after he was rushed to a local hospital for blood pressure and sugar problems.

"Tai is okay. Currently he is in ICU but expected to be shifted in the ward on Wednesday," his wife Samina said on Tuesday. She denied reports about his kidney failure.

President's Pride of Performance winner Ashraf Tai played a vital role in launching and promoting martial arts across Pakistan.

‘Grand Master’ Tai became the pioneer martial arts teacher in Pakistan when he brought the method here in 1970. He immigrated from Burma and began giving lessons at a small centre at Hill Park known as Mairaj Amusement Park. His luck changed one night while he was at the movies with his students.

The son of the Tai Centre’s owner was at the Capri Cinema when Tai jumped the queue outside – literally. Tai skipped across the line using one of his bando techniques and nabbed his tickets, leaving the rest of the people waiting enraged. When they tried to attack him, he refrained from fighting back initially. However, the disappointed looks on his students’ faces and the crowd’s abuses fired him into action. He took on 13 men and defeated them all with a series of back-hand shots to the temple. The owner’s son was so impressed that he offered him his father’s ground for training.