MA and physical disorders

[shaolin_hendrix]

I was just wondering, what's it like to do MA while having a physical disorder, such as Marfan Syndrome or Dwarfism? How does your disorder affect your training?

[Albert]

My friend has marfan syndrome, and does some martial-arts, but he has never said anything to me about it affecting what he does.

[Prophet]

I also have a friend with marfan. I got him to sign up as well hehe, so hell be replying sometime today.

[Pat OMalley]

I once had a student who had one arm which had 3 fingures and his legs were not to bright, but he still fought at the WEKAF british Championships and won medals, he also addapted his single stick sparring to deal with double stick, so no problems there.

I also have a young student who has Dispraxia, he is not supposed to be able to co-ordinated his hands and legs or understand when you mention a verbal command to him, he is world Eskrima Forms Champion which requires you to co-ordinated your hands with the weapons and co-ordinated your body and footwork with the weapons movement. The Specialiasts put his never before seen improvement down to their once a month testing him for an hour by making him bounce a tennis ball against the wall thingy. Yeah right, and it has nothing to do with martial arts.

I even had an institutionalised student who was released on day to day basis to train with me eventually released out in to his own accomadation becase as the Specialst's put it, His training has gave him a reason to become part of the normal community. He is now what most of us wouold consider normal.

As far as I am concerned the disability is all in your own head and it is something that can be overcome and even in certain circumstances be an adavantage.

Best regards

Pat

[Davey Bones]

Dang, Pat. That's inspiring.

[Shantari]

wow! it's amazing what determination can do for you, although physical disorders may make it harder, it does not prevent you from doing MA, unless it is an extreme disorder, such as this one i heard about, that causes you to grow bone in the joints and in random parts of your body, making you a living statue, its a scary thing, and the only way to stop it is amputation, but alot of people die from this disease :cry: , very sad, i wish there was something they could do to prevent this

[Bil Gee]

My friend has marfan syndrome, and does some martial-arts, but he has never said anything to me about it affecting what he does.

It shouldn't really be too much of an issue for him if he doesn't have any back or joint problems. He'll have a great reach as well, he'll probably be able to punch an opponent when they're just barely in kicking range.

[Kwajman]

Pat, you hit it on the head. Disabilities are what you make of them.

My area has one dwarf in one of my GM's other schools, I've seen her at tournaments and no one really gives her a second look. We've had women train up into their 8th month of pregnancy (yes the govt. views pregnancy as a disability). We have had students with MS, severe diabetes, an artificial leg, leukemia, I personally have asthma, a blind student and one with autism. Our GM and instructors treat them all the same as much as possible.

[speedbag]

....I personally have asthma, a blind student and one with autism. Our GM and instructors treat them all the same as much as possible.

Here are a few links for Autism that might be helpful

Clinic mixes defense, therapy (http://www.detnews.com/2005/schools/0501/17/C05L-61605.htm)

Non-Tradition Therapy (check out Weighed Vests and Music) (http://www.autism-treatments.co.uk/html/non-traditional-therapy.php3)

Martial Arts Event Raises $11k for ASA (http://www.autism-society.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr005=1dsq1pdbq1.app24a&page=NewsArticle&id=5111)

MARTIAL ARTS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (http://www.twt.org.uk/article.htm) *click on home page for some other MA external links.

Martial Arts Therapy (http://www.martialarts-therapy.com/qvart.html)

Getting to the heart of martial arts:... (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1041/is_4_83/ai_n12935114)

After-school Program Helps Children with Autism (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041203/DATELINE09/41203007/1155/dateline) *Arts & Autism. Read down to the part about:

The program offers classes in art, music, martial arts and social skills. These activities develop language skills and theoretical thinking, as well as encourage task completion, Sikes said.

"It's easier for the children to express themselves through the arts and learn those badly needed skills," she said.

Visual arts stimulate tactile skills and promote expression. Music also develops expressive language and advances sensory perception. Martial arts stimulate tactile skills and improve following oral commands, as do art and music.

"Some of these children could not attend marital arts classes with non-disabled peers," Sikes said, "and we hope that they can learn here and attend a regular class someday."

Martial arts instructor Harry Lawson, a 5th degree black belt at the West Alabama Martial Art Academy, has worked with the mentally retarded for years.

Good show, Harry Lawson, good show. IMO, Martial Arts doesn't get any better than that :)

Put a little Rhythm in your wheelchair (http://www.speedbagcentral.com/Rehabilitation_RehabTraining.html)

[uphoria]

Pat I agree with you full that it is all what you make of it. My Sifu has CP and was told he wouldnt be able to walk when he was 8. He wanted to do martial arts and after much searching was allowed into a school. He was in a wheelchair at the back of the class room and did the arm movements. He slowly worked his way up till he can do almost anything. He is one of the most inspiring and accomplished people I am pleasured to know. After 30 years of studying he now has black belts in i think 6 different arts. Either way its amazing what the mind can overcome when determined.

At our dojo there is also a gentleman that is 7'7".. so in reverse of the dwarfism he is the same.. very accomplished.. no one even thinks twice about him.. but i must say his EQ (i cant spell) is incredible.

[ShoNaiDo]

Great thread, I said this in a previous thread:


We must strive to collectively change the way the people of the world see each other, and methods by which we define our own selves. We start by understanding that disabilities can either be disabling or enabling, depending on how you approach them.

It's culture, a perspective on life, and means by which we can seek to understand each other on a higher level, in all things, even in the Martial Arts...

and


I am not sure of the quote, but it's from the movie by Christopher Reeve, about this girl who became disabled...

Her mother said, and pardon my memory loss, something like this,

"You can either allow this disability to hold you back, or you can let it set you free - the choice is yours..."


School Motto:

Never give up, and do whatever it takes!


:)

[inosanto1]

i have scoliosis(curvature of the spine), training seems to have helped in many ways and has improved my way of life and i train just as hard if not harder than most, again bruce's determination rubbed off on me :D

[ShoNaiDo]

Way to go!!!

:)

[inosanto1]

thanks, i train in jkd,kali,escrima and grappling and i find it the most flexible and open minded environment for disabled people to learn martial arts and i have an excellent teacher, which really helps

[Bitsy]

I was eight when i started karate and am now 17, but when i was ten i was diagnosed with rheumatiod arthritis. It affects all the joints in my body and i was out of Karate for nearly three years when i was diagnosed. My instructors know about my arthritis and don't have a problem with me taking a break when it really starts to bother me. My problem however is that i tend to push myself to far. I have to push myself anyways because my joints always hurt. So unlike most people who would stop when they feel pain i have to try and fight it or i would never be able to keep doing Karate. My instructors sometimes notice this and make me rest but usually they just let me deal with it my own way. I think the arthritis has really pushed me to keep going and i truly value the goals i have accomplished. At one point those goals would have been to try and attend as many classes as possible but now my goals are often just to be able to make it through a whole class without stopping, and of course to some day achieve the level of black belt!

[Bitsy]

(this is sort of a P.S.)
At my club we also had a student who was deaf, a girl who was in a wheelchair, a student with leukemia, and another girl with arthritis in her knees.

[mrs.bleicht]

Wow, to read all these posts is just an inspiration for me.
When I was a young child, I was hit by a car, the doctors and neurologists told my parents that I would be dead at the age of twenty five, after the accident growing up I always wanted to be a martial artist, but my parents discouraged, they do not like MA, and it was to expensive. This is why I find Pats post interesting, a majority of people where I live are against MA, and they would never consider putting an institunationalized person in MA.
They way the accident affects me is I tire really easy, and when I tire my thought processes seem to slow down somtimes even shut down. I have a tremor on the right side of my body, the car accident shifted my right hip slightly, and you could notice it when I walked that I had a slight limp. That did not stop me, I was always able to do the splits( left leg in front), I am now 34 years old, and I am a black belt instructor in training, and I find that I tire less, and I also have improved flexability I can do the splits better (left leg in front, both legs same time, but am still working towards right leg in front). Now I am suffering from severe osteo arthritis and I still keep going, I am preparing to become a certified instructor, but what is even more impressive is we had a 17 yr old girl with Cerebial Pulsy in our class. She had a wonderful attitude, and when it came to sparring, there was almost no defending yourself, here I was A red belt, and she was just starting her blue belt, she had use of only one of her arms, and she was amazingly strong, and fast even though her legs were handicapp as well, she would more or less chase me around the dojang. As far as I know she is still a blue belt and moved on to traveling with her mother, and speaking in front of handicapp groups and showing just exactly what she was learning, and being a inspiration for others. It was so good to read all of your posts, there are times that I am so tired, and I just want to give up, but I know if I do I will never have achieved, what I set out to avhieve, and besides that I would be unhappy. Thank you for your inspiration.

[inosanto1]

i was told that i would never train again, that i would never be able to lift weights and that i would suffer great pain as i got older, that was when i was 17, "think not" first thing i did was start to run and stretch and then went back to MA, i must state that since that day i have become stronger as a MA and a person,even the doctors cannot believe the progress. the two things you need in life to accomplish anything is the 3D's Discipline and Determination and Drive :D . what is it about MA that they do not like? :confused:

[inosanto1]

believe in yourself even if others do not(really important)!!!!!!! :)

[mrs.bleicht]

i was told that i would never train again, that i would never be able to lift weights and that i would suffer great pain as i got older, that was when i was 17, "think not" first thing i did was start to run and stretch and then went back to MA, i must state that since that day i have become stronger as a MA and a person,even the doctors cannot believe the progress. the two things you need in life to accomplish anything is the 3D's Discipline and Determination and Drive :D . what is it about MA that they do not like? :confused:
I don't know exactly, I think because they still have it in the back of their minds that ma is violence. My parents keep telling me its not their thing, so they never came to my black belt testing, they've never once came to a tournament to see me compete, even though they were invited, and I do believe that they got a personal invite from my instructor, but my grandmother, and my aunt, very old senior citizens, who do not like to drive in snow, came to a regional tournament, that I was competing in, just to see me, and now their attitudes about ma have changed.

[inosanto1]

i reckon thier problem is with themselves, not the MA in general, i reckon they have issue with you 3D's,maybe they are not happy with your direction, or they may not understand your dedication to an art, they may find it hard to dedicate themselves in the way you have, i take my hat off to your aunty and grandmother, i wish my grandmother had seen me develop in the MA, bless her soul. i only say the above because i have a father that is exactly same, and he has achieved nothing in his time on this earth, not that your family are the same, just that i am giving you a comparison