Disabilities

I can't recall this being discussed but i'm interested in finding out if anyone here has any physical disability, yet still practices any martial art? I'd like to know how you overcome the difficulties associated with it or adapt techniques for yourself and if the disability is always as referred to, a disability. e.g, the debate on the "blade legs" for athletics - are they an advantage over able-bodied persons or not?

Does anyone teach disabled students? If so, how do you adapt the techniques to aid them?

Thought this might stir some discussion, lets see..............

I used to have a student who was blind and in truth, I didn't adapt what we were doing very much at all.

He would be steered into line by the other students (without me having to tell them) and generally guided to where he needed to be. Other than that he was treated pretty much the same as everyone else.

He got to brown belt and became a pretty effective fighter. He was easy to hit - once. But his guard was good and constantly moving and as soon as he knew where his opponent was he would cover up and move in on them. He was very strong and a good grappler so he was hard to get off once he closed.

At the start people would hit him gently or make noise so that he knew were they were but that soon stopped and he was fought as hard as anyone else.

When he was awarded his brown belt, there was no sense in which it was given as a 'brown belt for the blind'. He worked hard (harder than others) and he made the grade. It was a simple decision and it was the one that I felt afforded him the most respect and me the most integrity.

I felt that he would be on his own outside so to overly cosset him in the dojo would give him a false sense of ability. He came to me because he wanted to learn how to fight and that's what I taught him. We all have to fight with what we've got and he was no different.

Courageous and inspiring to all of us.

My wife Jenny has Huntington's disease (a tough one to fight that one - check it out and see just how tough). She trains at my club and is one of the hardest working students in the club using maximum effort to try and counter the effects of HD and she never complains. The whole club supports, trains and loves her just like they do other students except they make adjustments as needed to compensate for any lack of motor skills the HD is taking away. For example they will hold pads for a low kick rather than mid section or high, they may also slow down the pace to ensure every movement is done with maximum power and balance. They may also modify a drill if it there is any risk of her falling over. Martial arts are about awareness and teaching those with some limitations increases our awareness.

At our club we have a policy that we all train together that is we regularly swap partners to promote a community training spirit, this also helps to support anyone who has some limitations as we share the challenge. Some days are worse than others for Jenny, on those days I may make some other adjustments; for example on one occasion I had her hold the end of a rope which was attached to my hand while delivery round house kicks to a kick shield I had in my other hand – after a few kicks I was able to let go of the rope as she got confidence and calibrated her own movement. Sometimes if she has had a particularly tough day (the nature of the illness is good and bad days with no warning) then that evening I will plan my class lessons in such a way that allows me to coach the whole class while being able to actually personally coach Jenny by getting her to partner me all night. I see it as a test of my coaching skills to try and meet these challenges. She always gives me 100% effort. I often find this is the case with students who have some limitations; they try harder than most and rarely complain. Jenny has taken 3 passed 3 gradings over the past 2 plus years and is hoping to take one more grading in the next few months before it becomes too tough for her to grade. But it does not mean she has to stop training if she wants to continue as many of our students just train and are not concerned with gradings.

Martial arts are a great confidence booster and when trained correctly can give physical, emotional, mental and spiritual benefits. The rise of MMA has been good in terms of bringing to the forefront some home truths about martial arts; however we have lost the old martial ways of respect, humility and service to others. Putting ourselves out to help train others who have some limitations helps brings us back to the core of the martial arts. It is not all about who is best at beating someone – that is only part of it and for a very short time – the journey is long and fruitful if we go back to the original Zen core values. Teaching the less able is a worthy effort.

Regards,
Tony. T

What a great post mate
Mick x

There used to be a lad in an old Judo club I trained in who was down syndrome. He got to brown belt jsut before I left and was a very able and skilled fighter.

Thanks for the replies everyone. Some really good inspiring responses. It goes to show that disabilities don't affect the students abilities to learn and the way they are trained and taught may only vary slightly to aid them. I can't say that I've personally trained with anyone or come across anyone with a disability in training that i can recall and wondered how difficult it could be for both student and trainer to adapt to the needs.

Tony your devotion, patience and adaption is an inspiration in itself!! I can imagine it's not an easy road to travel but as you said, going back to core values and helping others is a key asset within martial arts.

Overcoming a disability is a great thing. But of course they affect the student's abilities to learn. That's why they're called disabilities isn't it?

I've certified a chap in a wheelchair as a FAST Combatives instructor.

Derek is a former motorcycle racer, paralysed from the high chest down in a track accident.

He has trained extensively with us, hits like a freight train (but then he would if you see his arms )

He has done extensive training to do this and is a fantastic instructor in his own right.



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