what ma

[Humblebee]

A friend of mine asked me what MA if any he could take up,due to a motorcycle accident he lost both his arms but remains very supple and can lift his legs over my head by hardly moving himself so i suggested Tae kwon do because of the emphasis on kicking.Was this correct to suggest tkd and are there other MA's that would be suitable.Thanks.

[gedhab]

well, although he may be very flexible, to perforrm many of kicks in TKD or any high kick, it requires the use of the arms to balance oneself so it may not be ideal for your friend.

[kungfutim]

i saw a documentary a while back where the practitioner was a disabled martial artist and held a black belt in tkd.he also entered a mma match but with obvious restrictions,all very interesting and good to see.sounds like your friend has the same type of disability and same flexibility.

[CobraMaximus]

Hapkido is very much leg based

[E-Rocker]

IMHO, the instructor is probably more relevant than the art. A good instructor will adapt his or her art to suit your friend's needs.

[Poop-Loops]

gedhab: Not really. Not when you practice them enough. Especially if you learn without your arms to help you in the first place.

Cobra: Hapkido has a lot of grappling and joint locking. I don't think he'll be able to do that. :rolleyes:

Yeah, I'd say TKD or Savate (french boxing). Both very leg-based.

PL

[Humblebee]

thank you everyone very much

[Pog]

Interesting, peoples perception of balancing and the need to move your arms. Why?

If you are waving your arms around you are doing something wrong (or doing impressions of chickens). Admittedly, in the early stages they help to correct mistakes. However, if your friend takes his time and slowly increases the height of his kicks, there should be no problem.

Everyone has the right to defend themselves using whatever facilities they have (and it's great fun learning).

[laugarkuen]

IME if you have to move your arms out to aid balance when kicking then you are probably opening up your guard. I'm sure he will be able to adapt to kicking without arms to balance with and if not then there are lots of arts that have low kick emphasised more than hich kicks.

[TkdWarrior]

IMHO, the instructor is probably more relevant than the art. A good instructor will adapt his or her art to suit your friend's needs.
agree with E rocker...
ask him to talk to instructors... good one will be able to suit his needs..

If you are waving your arms around you are doing something wrong (or doing impressions of chickens). Admittedly, in the early stages they help to correct mistakes. However, if your friend takes his time and slowly increases the height of his kicks, there should be no problem.
agreed...
-TkdWarrior-

[wynnema]

i saw a documentary a while back where the practitioner was a disabled martial artist and held a black belt in tkd.he also entered a mma match but with obvious restrictions,all very interesting and good to see.sounds like your friend has the same type of disability and same flexibility.
Yeah I saw that, his kicks were good considering. I respect the guy for putting himself through that but at the same time I felt it ridiculed the no rules fighting scene as the other guy had to be heavily restricted on what he could do. I thnk it was unfair to put him up against an able bodied person.

Respect though.