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STROPPY passengers feeling a touch of air rage coming on had better strap in and shut up if stewardess Monica Kamka is on duty.
For the shapely attendant is much more than a trolley dolly and could easily deal with any trouble in the skies after mastering one of the most challenging martial arts.
Monica, 42 from Juffair, has become the first student to achieve brown belt status at the Bahrain Tai Chi & Wushu Centre close by, after 18-months of gracefully slashing through the air with a long sword.
Tai Chi instructor Shao-nian Bates, said: "Even in China only a few people have mastered it to such a level in such a short time. I am very proud of her."
Monica was inspired to learn the age-old martial art after watching an exponent using its mighty moves in a shampoo advertisement on television and believes classes in the art have helped improve her immune system as well as her sleeping habits.
She said: "While flying, getting some good sleep is very important especially since we can work such odd hours. Soemtimes our biological clock gets disturbed because of flight schedules.
"I am also a smoker and so my immune system used to be really low. Now, however, after practicing Tai Chi, I feel able to catch a good night's sleep and be fresh for work. I feel so much younger, healthier and more relaxed now."
Ms Kamka has been flying with Gulf Air for 14 years after leaving her home in Jakarta, Indonesia.
"This art creates confidence within you," she added, "and it is also a great tool for self-defense. If we are attacked we can use the attacker's own energy to subdue them. It can look really easy but in fact it is very strenuous exercise."
The centre she attends was one of the first Chinese martial arts set-ups in Bahrain and has been attracting enthusiasts from across the kingdom as well as students from neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Instructor Bates, 59, who also lives in Juffair, said: "There is one lady who drives down here all the way from Riyadh, takes her lessons and drives back home.
"Our classes aim to help students to obtain better health of body and mind. Our programmes are mainly orientated on aesthetics of body movements, on the cultivation of internal chi, on the refinement of human virtues of respect, discipline and perseverance. It is about obtaining good health and reaching Dao (the ultimate enlightenment) through self-cultivation."
On reaching higher levels during the course, students are encouraged to consider taking part in specialist summer programmes in China.
Originally from China, she trained as a Tai Chi practitioner and came to the island with her husband from the US two years ago.
She said: "I fell in love with Bahrain and find the place so peaceful."
The centre offers classes for children and adults.
