Cerebral Palsy

Discussion in 'Disabled Martial Artists' started by William MacLeod, Nov 17, 2004.

  1. soctt03

    soctt03 New Member

    A friend of mine has CP. He's just got his 5th dan!!
     
  2. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Hey...sorry for not talking recently...i've had to go through some changes. Just incase your wondering I was William MacLeod. I had to change my last name when I was adopted into a new family this summer, and Joshua is actually my first name. Anyway...if you guys want to continue, i'm getting more up to speed now so we can continue this thread if you want;)
     
  3. Melanie

    Melanie Bend the rules somewhat.. Supporter

    You were adopted at 20? Wow - never too late I guess :)

    Joshua welcome back - I hope you can give some helpful tips and advice to other members on here. If you have any of your own articles to submit on anything connected with MA please PM me :)
     
  4. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Sorry never been asked to write an article...heh but if you want to know anything about what I've faced that you can go ahead and PM me if you want :cool: . Martial arts has actually been huge for me ever since I was 7 years old...which was when I really did alot more in it. I did two martial arts before I did kuk sool won. The first one that I did was just a regular Karate class...and I didn't stay in that for even more then a class :rolleyes: I did TKD for awhile but after awhile my parents and I just knew that I wasn't getting the help that I needed. After about 2 more years I started doing Kuk Sool Won when I was 7 years old, and I've been doing that for almost 14 years. When I started it, it was mostly for physical therapy, but after awhile my Dad started doing it with me, and I did it with him until the year that I went to college. I found out that he had cancer and had to go home early from college. I wanted to stop doing the martial arts, but my Dad kept on encouraging me to do it so I have. I now have my second degree black belt and I'm a second teacher with my first instructor. There are some things that I can't teach like doing some kicks because my balance still isn't very good...and I don't like to be held upside down so when a technique like that comes up my instructor takes over for me;). If you have any more questions I would be more then happy to answer all your questions;)
     
  5. soctt03

    soctt03 New Member

    Hi William - yeah! I know a couple of guys with CP. 1 is an instructor, I think he got his 5th dan about 1 yr or so ago; the other, also an instructor, based in Sweden, but don't think he has his black belt yet also coaches people with disabilities.
     
  6. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Being a person with a dissability teaching other people with disabilities is a great experience...but unfortunately I think it's rare. I have a friend that says that etleast 99% of his class are able bodied students, and in my personal experience I actually don't think i've had any students with dissabilities. Your friend in Sweden is a very lucky person.
     
  7. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    I just finished my first article on being disabled, and what it has done for me in martial arts please take a look at it if you want.
     

    Attached Files:

  8. Melanie

    Melanie Bend the rules somewhat.. Supporter

    Thats very good - very compelling stuff matey. I am very sorry for your loss by the way :(

    I look forward to hearing more from you.
     
  9. soctt03

    soctt03 New Member

    Hi Joshua again - an excellent write-up. well done!
     
  10. Clay Johnson

    Clay Johnson Valued Member

    Joshua,
    Very well written article. Keep up the good work!!

    Clay Johnson
     
  11. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Thank you. I'm going to try to write some more but I don't have alot of time at the moment. Please keep posting on here. I would like to get more feedback on what I said from you guys. thans.
     
  12. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    Afternoon all;) Just got back from a 3 day Kuk Sool Tournament in Longmont Colorado:) Got first place in Sparrin twice, and then forms:) I don't have pictures yet but they will be out soon;)
     
  13. Clay Johnson

    Clay Johnson Valued Member

    Joshua,
    Great job!! Was there a lot of people at the tournament? And were there other guys there in wheelchairs competing?
    Clay
     
  14. KSW_123

    KSW_123 Valued Member

    Joshua, it was very inspiring for me to read your article. I wish you all the best, and maybe I'll have the pleasure of meeting you at a kuk sool tournament some day.
     
  15. BentMonk

    BentMonk Valued Member

    CP & Me

    Greetings William. I have CP also. I have been a student of Shaolin Do Chinese Martial Arts for 12 years. I am currently a 1st degree black belt. I too have balance issues, therefore I cannot kick...yet. My instructors changed all of the kicks in our material to knees and elbows. I told my instructors when I started that I wanted everything I learned from them to have a practical self defense application. They were happy to oblige. All of my fighting is done at zero distance, and all of my techniques work. I am currently working on my grappling game as I am a striker trapped in a grapplers body. I condition hard and spar harder. Kettlebell training has dramaticly increased my leg strength, as well as my overall strength and balance. My current goal is to train grappling enough to compete in some semi-pro grappling tournaments and graduate to full contact MMA tournaments.

    Way to go Josh! Major congrats man keep it up! :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 28, 2005
  16. Joshua Powell

    Joshua Powell A white knight

    That would be awesom my friend;) I would like to talk to you...and compare notes on what weve had to deal with if that's alright;)... Thanks the congrats, and thanks for posting as well;)
     
  17. BentMonk

    BentMonk Valued Member

    Cool

    Greetings Joshua. I think having a Mom that treated "can't" as if it were profanity, and being a MA nut since I was four are responsible for my attitude towards training. The biggest obstacles in my training are balance and mobility. The two most effective ways I have found to improve both are kettlebells, and forms training. The kettlebells increase overall body strength. Forms increase balance, coordination, and mobility.
     
  18. BlaznAzn

    BlaznAzn New Member

    Hi everyone....just thought i would comment. I am thinking about getting into jujitsu and have CP. Its not too bad I have full movement and the only thing that is affected is my balance more or less. My only conern with joining this Dojo is the fact that I wont be as good of a partner for other people. I just want to know how to get over it...or some tips. I tried judo and really liked it too but im just a bit nervous. ANything to calm the nerves????
     
  19. NightWanderer

    NightWanderer New Member

    Japanese or BJJ?

    I trained briefly in BJJ and I can say that once you're on the ground it won't matter as much as you think, so don't worry. Just get down to business, set your worries aside and train, you'll love it. I have CP too (in a wheelchair) and I joined this forum in the hopes of finding a system that focuses on nerve and pressure point utilization in south florida, if anyone can help me out.
     
  20. Mike866

    Mike866 New Member

    Hi! I know its been a while since this post was made but if you still havn't tried the jujitsu class I would really recommend it. I have CP and am studying shaolin kung fu but have some jujitsu experience. One of my favourite things about martial arts is how welcoming and supportive I have found my teachers and classmates to be. There's no need to worry at all I'm sure you'l be fine!
     

Share This Page