Martial Arts For People With Disabilities

[Melanie]

Please find this article kindly donated by Terry Taylor about how he got involved in catering for students with all sorts of disabilities and what changes he has managed to effect for himself and his student(s):

May 2005

Firstly please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Terry Taylor, a second dan shotokan karate instructor based here in the UK. To say that karate and the wider issues of martial arts in general is, apart from my family, very central to my life would be an understatement. And here's the journey through it so far...

Coaching/Club Activities:
I opened my first dojo up (and we're still going) in 1991, just 2 months after I had attained shodan. This was something I had been more than keen to do for a very long time. This desire was further enhanced by my having been invited to teach for the instructor who gave me my first-ever karate lesson - he also coached at his brother's dojo and had just set up his own. A true honour and pleasure.

Even before I attained shodan I already knew I wanted to coach people with disabilities. That happened just a year later when I took on a group of visually impaired students. A number of them I now count as being amongst my very best personal friends.

Some years later I attained nidan.

With the passage of time the Club's activities have somewhat diversified. For, sadly, even in this day and age it is not always easy for someone with a disability to find an instructor who is willing to coach him/her. Thus in the past couple of years I have also set up long-distance training sessions.

From both the student and instructor perspective this has been far from ideal but, so far, it honestly has worked. Also, by necessity the sessions are longer. The aim of them is to give those who attend a higher level of attention. Thus the sessions are typically fairly small. In one student's case as you will see below this is because he has very specific communications needs. Thus, a small group is very appropriate for him.

So please allow me to introduce you to 'J'. He is both deaf and blind (deafblind being the correct term). He was born blind but with some very limited tunnel vision and at age five, he lost all of his hearing through fever (therefore described as profoundly deaf). He is not the first deafblind student I have ever taught but he is the first one where I have had to adapt my communication methods i.e. away from speech. Instead I use a combination of Block Alphabet (signing in block capitals on his hand) as well as large print on his laptop.

'J' is a very bright individual. He holds a degree and has a full-time job working in the stock broking division of a major bank. What makes it a lot easier for me is he also has a truly wicked sense of humour.

His achievements thus far have been truly excellent. For in the past twelve months he has gained 4 awards/trophies, not bad going for someone who cannot hear at all and who can barely see much beyond his nose...literally.

He began his training in early 2003. His latest two awards were second place in adult kata in a huge 'open' competition (almost 400 competitors took part). This was his first attempt at an external competition with able-bodied entrants alongside of him. Right at the end of the tournament he was also picked out for a merit award for the best male competitor on the day. A great sense of pride was obviously therefore felt by all concerned.

You may therefore also be surprised to learn that 'J' has achieved this based on just one lesson a month. For he travels some 200 or so miles to come to train, hence why I run a much longer lesson for him and anyone else who wishes to join in. This is also the reason why he is only in July about to take his seventh kyu.

'J' trains in between lessons on his own, which is why I said earlier this is not an ideal arrangement. Clearly, however, he is self-motivated. Once he has taken his next grading I have asked him to increase the frequency of visits, despite the additional cost that this will obviously incur for him. In between sessions I provide support to him, principally via e-mail. To use his own words, he is not a 'quitter' and notwithstanding the added difficulties he also has with balance (and because of this, kicks), almost definitely the result of his dual sensory loss (including possibly damage done to the balance organ in his ear, the organ of Corti), I hope to continue training him in the way we have developed together since 2003.

In terms of other students with disabilities during my regular weekly sessions, most have typically been those with sensory (sight and hearing) loss. However I have had the pleasure of coaching those with other difficulties e.g. learning difficulties, the occasional wheelchair user, a couple of students with hemiplegia also a couple of young people with ADHD. A number of those who I used to teach at my earlier-mentioned second dojo of visually impaired students also had other disabilities (technical term is multiply disabled or a person with multiple complex needs).

Learning/Coaching:
With all of my students who have disabilities it has very much been a case of only adapting occasionally. If you look at the main article on my website (14 pages in print!) there is a section on coaching techniques in the appendices which may well help those of you contemplating or already working in this specialist area. As I indicated it has occasionally been the student who has suggested adaptations. As instructors, we should not be averse to this either for, in a sense, it is we who are the students too as we learn to coach/adapt if necessary some of the techniques/skill areas we are expected to go through with all of our students whether they be disabled or not. For example, in this instructor's case, trying to explain to a totally blind student about hip power has proved to be quite difficult. This is also true in 'J's' case. For, even with the benefit of the limited vision he does have, this is something we continue to work on together.

And from this instructor's perspective whilst I do allow for a person's disability[ies], in a sense I don't. Basically I will be looking to each of my students to produce a good standard of karate (or preferably better than just 'good'), regardless of whether they have a disability or not. Further, I will only adapt or totally remove a technique from their training if it becomes obvious that this is absolutely necessary. This is not a case of my being hard on them or macho (and I'm definitely not the latter). For just because they have [a] disability[ies] there is no reason why, as instructors, we should accept a different standard, the possible exception being those with learning difficulties. Equally however I have witnessed some truly excellent demo's from this particular client group i.e. learning disabled. We therefore need to remember and understand that a person's disability is just one part of their being, not the whole. As one of my former chief instructors said to me, when any of his students come to train they, in a sense, are also disabled as until they have learned a given technique/concept/kata/whatever they too are disabled. It is up to us as instructors to therefore pass on that knowledge as it is our students, again disabled or not, who are the future of our chosen martial art.

For, one of the pleasures of working within disability martial arts has been to meet/exchange views with an ever-increasing number of fellow instructors who themselves either have [a] disability[ies] or who regularly coach within this specialist area, not only here in the UK but internationally too. I see this as being vital for the development of disability martial arts anywhere as, again, I continue to meet up with instructors who are open-minded and willing to learn along the way. And, again, this is how it should be regardless of dan grade.


Please contact Terry Taylor,
Chairman: Breaking Down Barriers/The UK Martial Arts Festival for People with Disabilities:
E-mail: terry.taylor@twt.org.uk
Web: www.twt.org.uk

© Disability Media and Martial Arts 2005. All rights reserved.

[sosjq]

My son is 9 years old and hearing impaired. he is learning the wing chun wooden dummy. I show him the moves on the dummy n in the air althro he can't hear me his other senses r real sharp

[sosjq]

i would like to know is their a group in the U.S. like yours i can go 2

[BentMonk]

Sosjq - What part of the country are you in? I teach adapted Shaolin kung fu to adults with physical and mental disabilities. If I can't help you personally, perhaps I can point you in the right direction. There is a link to my site in my sig.

[sosjq]

I currently live in NY. I will be moving to Georgia in July of 2008

[sosjq]

all help is needed for us to grow in the martial art world

[Slapstick]

I can try to help. I, like your son, am hearing impaired.

[BentMonk]

Matt Hamill is a pro UFC fighter and deaf. I saw him fight live in Columbus, Ohio at UFC 68. He is a true fighter in more ways than one.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...95671984242235

This is the match I watched.

[Slapstick]

Long time, BentMonk!

[BentMonk]

Originally Posted by twistingtiger4

Long time, BentMonk!

4 kids and trying to support one's self by teaching MA can keep you busy. lol How've you been? How goes training?

[Slapstick]

Sweaty. Working on doing stuff standing.

[BentMonk]

Originally Posted by twistingtiger4

Sweaty. Working on doing stuff standing.

Hell yeah! Glad to hear it man. You still using the walker?

[sosjq]

Originally Posted by BentMonk

Sosjq - What part of the country are you in? I teach adapted Shaolin kung fu to adults with physical and mental disabilities. If I can't help you personally, perhaps I can point you in the right direction. There is a link to my site in my sig.

Hi BentMonk i currently live in NY but I'm mmoving 2 Ga in July of 08 ok i will look 4 your link thank you

[sosjq]

Originally Posted by twistingtiger4

I can try to help. I, like your son, am hearing impaired.

Help is always appreciated thank you

[Slapstick]

Originally Posted by sosjq

Help is always appreciated thank you

Originally Posted by BentMonk

Hell yeah! Glad to hear it man. You still using the walker?

For training? Sadly, i'm still in the chair, but the new thing is doing my katas with a human walker.

Originally Posted by sosjq

Help is always appreciated thank you

What help are you needing?