Universal Martial Arts

Sunrunner · Yellow Belt

As an outdoor educator there is an area of programming called Universal Adventure Programming...it refers to working with groups and individuals who have physical and mental disabilities in the outdoors and making things like high ropes courses accessable to them. As a martial artist and instructor I've encountered one person who had a physical disability in my 15 years, she was deaf. Have any of the instuctors that post here ever worked with a disabled individual? Has anyone worked with disabled groups at all? I want to believe that just because someone is in a wheelchair, it doesn't mean that they can't be a good martial artist. How would one open their martial arts school to disabled people? If anyone would like to converse with me more about this, feel free to send an email.

btw: when I say disabled, I mean anything from long-term, short-term, born with it, illness related, mental and physical.

Thanks
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Sunrunner

"train until the art becomes an artless art, flowing from the unconscious."

AngelaG · Pre-Black Belt

I guess the most universal form of disability you'll come across in most clubs is asthma. This can range from very mild to almost crippling.

I myself have rheumatoid arthritis which can range from very light on a good day, to bare mobility in the middle of a flare up. Nevertheless I am an assistant instructor at my club and have been grading according the 'schedule'. I don't let it hold me back - if I go on a day when I am so flared up my stances are crap and I can't make a fist then I let my instructor know and he trusts me to do as best I can based on these facts. If it happened to be a grading he would take all this into account, because he knows that I do know how to do it, and that I always put in 110%

I've also worked with a child with ADHD. It was hard work and he needed a lot of personal attention but MA can be beneficial to these kind of illnesses. The trick is balancing up the needs of one person against the needs of the group as a whole. In a full class situation it would be very hard for me to deal with the normal class and also give someone with ADHD the attentionthey need.

Our ethos is that our Karate should be available to everyone. This seems to work in our dojo, but I guess I could see lots of problems with other MAs, such as full contact karate, or jiu-jitsu, judo etc. I know that I would be unsuitable for these as there are days when it would be highly unadvisable for me to be thrown around.
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47MartialMan · Black Belt

I had taught a person that had 3 fingers on each hand. His name was Wade. He could grab really strong with those fingers. But his best technique was a spinning back fist. He surprised many people in competitions.

Then I knew someone teaching a blind woman. I think her instructor's name was Carl Daigreport, or something like that.

"Special" people really do not want to be treated like "special". They want to do some things that others do.

Shorinryu Sensei · Black Belt

Since 1978, I've had several deaf people, one blind person, two wheel chair bound people, one that had polio since childhood and walked with two of those forearm crutches..and God knows how many with bad backs, knees, necks, etc.

I have taught them all and had to modify what I taught them, or my teaching approaches for them. I see no reason at all why any handicapped person can't progress through the arts. It all depends on the instructor and his abilities to adapt and to accept these people for what htey are.

RavenX · White Belt

Surprisingly i've found that mental retardation is the easiest disability to work around. Although their mind may not be able to handle complex ideas, or grasp things as fast as other people, so of my favorite students (not to be biased) have metal disabilities. They really WANT to learn.
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backfist · Yellow Belt

Although it's arguable as to whether or not it's a "disability", I'd be curious to hear if anyone is successfully training obese students. Not so much, 30 or 40 lbs overweight, but individuals who are morbidly obese.

While riding my train to work this morning, I sat next to a woman who was about 150 lbs overweight. I thought of her--like I do most people--as a prospective student. And at the same time wondered how I could work around her temporary limitations (optimistic).
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SloMo · Orange Belt

We have had some overweight students. A lot depends on why they are over weight. If it's simply bad eating habits and lack of exercise then it's not so bad. If it's a physical problem then it's more difficult because their physical size isn't going to change a great deal.

It's tough for them to get over comparing themselves to oterh students. I tell them that there is no "perfect" student and we don't try to teach them to be perfect. We want them to be effective, which is different.

We had a student who was about 6 months from testing for blackbelt who was over weight. For one class I brought in my diving belt with 10 lbs in it and made him wear it during class. Needless to say he was exhausted by the middle of class. I took off the belt and asked him how much easier it was. I talked to him after class and asked him to imagine how much easier the BB test would be if he could take off another 10 lbs. I guess it made hime realize how much his weight was effecting him. He managed to lose 15 lbs before the test! He'll always be a larger person, but he watches what he eats and is healthier.

Have any of you noticed how many kids are over wieght these days? We're getting more and mroe of them lately.
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SaiFightsMS · KF VIP

I have mutliple sclerosis. For me the learning curve was at times hampered by the ups and downs of the disease. Part of my training was learning how to work with what was working that day.

Mr. Mike · Brown Belt

You just have to tell the overweight people to keep at it, and give them small compliments. For the love of all that is holy, don't ask them if they are losing weight!!! That irks me because it's used mostly by people looking for a quick way to compliment somebody...they wouldn't say that to an anorexic, would they? Tell them the seem to moving around better and remind them that low stamina is temporary.

I've lost almost 80 lbs. since getting back into training in April of this year. I was 360lbs when I walked in the door, and I bet some of the people there were just thinking "oh jeez...not another one..." I never let the weight slow me down. I've had prior training, just made poor choices. So imagine the surprise on the faces of some of the higher belts when I would score on them on sparring night. I had many people tell me that they've never seen a person my size move so fast.

Either way, I wouldn't think of trying to dissuade an overweight person from joining. Quite the contrary. My chief instructor likes to use me as his success story, which in turn gives me motivation to do that much better.

As for how to work around the limitations of obesity, jsut let the student pace him/herself, but don't let them give up. Make them aware that if they push just a little further when they can't possibly give any more, that's when they grow. If we sat down every time we got the least bit winded, where would we get...same thing.
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karatelok · White Belt

After years of study and visiting other dojos, I also meet many special students with some sort of problem.
I am a senior student and coach assisant in the Club I regluarly attend, this year a girl with Balancing problem took up much attention from my Sansei. She just can't balance on one leg, and will naturly led back. Everytime she perform Geri, her eyes lost focus and will blend backward on her wist. We must pay full attention to her and assign one or two person to accompany in case of accident.

In Asia, underweight is a more common problem than overweight. Girls just affected by the standard model body shape that they often seem on fasion magzine or fitness TV cM, and think that a thin and weak body means beauty and healthy. Most girls doesn't interest in MA training, and for those who does, only those type of Boy-alike girls can perform with good power and speed...other still subject to underweigth.

Problem would appear in the future:
Either we would got more black belt who can withstand the training than color belt or we got a normal distibution of belt member with a lower standard...

How would you guys react to this problem?

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