He is a black belt in Taekwondo and now Akshay Kumar is learning traditional combat karate for his role in "Rowdy Rathore".

Directed by Prabhudeva, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala and co-produced by designer Shabinaa Khan, the film has Sonakshi Sinha opposite Akshay.

The 43-year-old actor, who is extremely fitness conscious, will soon be heading to an undisclosed location for two months to train in this form of martial art.

"The movie will introduce to audiences a new kind of sport and being the professional that he is, Akshay has decided to take two months off to train intensively in combat karate," said a source.

"Set in the rustic heartland of the country, the film has a lot of action and required a star who knew the technical know-hows of his dangerous sport. Akshay seemed the perfect fit since being a trained martial arts professional he could pull the role off with panache," the source added.