This is an article written by Terry Taylor on the subject of Martial arts for the disabled. Terry is a well respected individual in this area and i would like to thank him for taking the time out to write this article at my request i hope you all enjoy reading it hopefully start discussing the future of Martial arts for the disabled how we should move on and what can be done to improve what goes on just now Martial Arts for the Disabled: An Evolving Program September 2004 Hello there! Thankyou for the various enquiries I have received via MAP since signing up. It is good to know that there is an active community out there interested in the subject of martial arts for people with disabilities. Not before time either. I have been asked to write something by White Wizard about the Programme I have created and developed. Although my website is not as up-to-date as it could be there is a fair bit of history on it so I would suggest this would be a good starting point – all contact details are given at the end of this article. Although I have taught (karate in my own case) right across the disability spectrum, this has principally been with sensory impairment – sight and hearing loss. Also, with one exception (which I’ll talk about later in this article) on an integrated basis. In so doing my students learn to accept each other for what they are and not for what they are not – absolutely vital if we are to move towards a social model on disability i.e. where society does not put restrictions in the way to prevent disabled people from enjoying access to literally anything on equal terms. We can legislate all we want but unless people’s psyche actually changes towards disability or indeed any other aspect of diversity we will be stuck in the ‘dark ages’ (moan over with). So in 1996 I inaugurated what is now known as The South of England Martial Arts Festival for Disabled People. Its original aims are still valid today: that we actively encourage people with disabilities to get more involved with an area of ‘sport’ that perhaps they would not originally have thought about. Back then it was a taster day of various martial arts with an aim to encourage as many participants as possible in to local clubs. At each Festival I have endeavoured to undertake development of this Programme. So, very briefly this is what previous events have now/still are working through up to 2004: · it has provided an invaluable access point for those who attend Festival to join a local martial arts club near to where they live; · it also gives them the chance to try out a wide range of martial arts to see which style they feel suits them best; · the Programme has developed a network of like-minded instructors who either happen to have (a) disability/ies themselves or who are genuinely interested in undertaking their own development work themselves in this area of martial arts; · it has provided some very intense on-the-day disability awareness training to those instructors who are experiencing first-ever close contact with disabled people (as many as 300 of them in previous years). I am pleased to report that in 2004 this will be the vast majority of instructors; · Festival Day has also provided plenty of positive images of people with disabilities engaging in something they clearly enjoy. This is based on the very positive feedback from groups that have attended in previous years but also the ‘sea’ of happy smiling faces that walk out the door at the end. An aspect that indeed received hugely positive comment from our last outing in 2001 was actually watching people with a wide variety of disabilities performing ‘demo’s’; · thus in 2004 we are now launching an all-styles kata/forms competition – disabled people from any country are welcome. The aim of this is to finally establish an international event for all practising martial artists with any kind of disability/ies which on a future outing it is planned to also include freestyle events. In general terms we fully expect the 500 or so places to be fully taken up very quickly (100 competitors are anticipated across all grades). If therefore you either wish to attend in December or you would like further information then please contact me – again, details a bit later. And so to my Club activities. Amongst my students is ‘J’, a deafblind student. Briefly he has very limited residual (tunnel) vision and has absolutely no hearing at all (the technical term is ‘profoundly deaf’). Because he has very specific communications needs I coach him on a one-to-one basis and over several hours in one block to give him plenty to work on in between visits. We use a combination of his very sophisticated laptop with magnified print on it plus hands-on Block Alphabet signing. I also support him regularly via e-mail. ‘J’ has been training for about 18 months now. Because he lives a fair distance away from me he commutes down to Kent on a once a month basis and trains alone at home – not easy and not ideal either from a training regimen viewpoint. ‘J’ passed his first grading with flying colours in February, won his first ever competition in May and, all being well will also grade again in December. We have already begun working on a kata demo to present to Festival. Despite coaching ‘J’ on a one-to-one basis I actively encourage him and my other students to train together as often as possible. This gives all of them the benefit not only of an integrated environment but also gives ‘J’ the opportunity to train alongside others. In the past I have had the pleasure of coaching others with dual sensory loss (deafblind) but in each case they either had some degree of hearing and/or vision which has made it easier for me. Also amongst my past students have been those who are singly visually impaired or who have partial/total hearing loss, also wheelchair users/those using orthotic supports/crutches, also those with learning difficulties. For the future I would like to coach others who perhaps have more complex needs or who have coaching issues that I as their instructor will need to think more laterally about e.g. someone born TOTALLY deafblind and/or someone in a wheelchair. Invites from prospective students happily welcome J For those of you who wish to attend this year’s Festival it is scheduled for Wednesday 8 December 2004 at Cascades Leisure Centre, Gravesend, Kent. On offer this year will be the regular taster sessions in various martial arts styles, there will also be a series of demo’s plus, as mentioned earlier a first-ever all-styles kata/forms competition. Please feel free to contact me. A final note: I would like to thank the armies of instructors and ‘buddy’ volunteers who have been kind enough to give of their time freely in past years, also those who will do so later this year and, I hope, in the future too. This year’s Festival is kindly supported by Gravesham Disability Sportslink, Kent Sports Development Unit and London Sports Forum for Disabled People. For more information please contact: Terry Taylor, Festival Chairman E-mail: terry.taylor@twt.org.uk Web: www.twt.org.uk © Disability Media and Martial Arts 2004. All rights reserved. Once again i'd like to say thanks to Terry for this and both Terry and i would love to hear your thoughts about the subject matter thanks Andrew
Sounds great. Do you know of anyone in the US doing anything similar? I'm also interested in how wheelchair people will compete in katas.
i also am interested in something like this in the U.S. (especially in the Detroit area) i have contacted TT about this and got some advice
