Let this fierce AF 73-year-old woman sword fighter inspire you

Don’t even think about messing with this this sword-fighting granny.

Meenakshi Raghavan is a 73-year-old grandmother. She’s also one of India’s best practitioners of kalaripayattu (kalari for short). Kalari is a martial art that uses swords, shields, and sticks.

Raghavan says she began learning kalari as a child and now has 66 years of experience. According to Barcroft TV, she regularly beats male competitors half her age.

The woman, who now teaches 150 students as young as 5 years old, says kalari is a way local women can learn to defend themselves while honoring tradition.

“Doing what is good for you is often a challenging task for women. But, since kalari here was a family thing, I had full support from my family and the people in the locality to practice more,” she told YourStory.com.

“I say a single thing to every girl: Learn kalari. I’m self sufficient, I don’t need any security. I go out at night all by myself. With kalari, I don’t need security,” she said.

We needed to hear these kinds of empowering words today.