Question to all instructors, sensei, sifus ect.

[Grenadier]

First of all, I have the utmost of admiration for you, since you're not one to give up, and that you wish to pursue your martial arts goals, despite your situation. Not many in this world are capable of overcoming such a mental barrier, and you've already taken some really nice steps.

There are many martial arts that can be adapted for your situation, and there are good teachers out there who can adapt the art to your situation.

I am not one of those teachers, though. It's not a matter of teaching skill (or at least, I'd like to believe), but rather, the fact that I simply cannot find a way to adapt our system of Karate to your situation.

 

[dancingalone]

I try to teach traditional goju-ryu karate with some aiki influences. I fear trying to adapt goju for someone with such severe physical limitations would veer into the realm where one is no longer teaching goju.

Goju has a heavy body conditioning component where exercise with various items like clay jars filled with sand or with rods weighed down at one end with a heavy rock. It would be difficult to adapt this type of training for someone in a wheelchair.

 

[kaizasosei]

This raises an interesting question. We've seen all sorts of amazing achievements in sports events by disabled persons. so i can even imagine that one day there might be someone who comes up with martial arts geared for people in wheelchairs. Is it just a matter of time?

j

 

[ACJ]

This raises an interesting question. We've seen all sorts of amazing achievements in sports events by disabled persons. so i can even imagine that one day there might be someone who comes up with martial arts geared for people in wheelchairs. Is it just a matter of time?

j

The reason it doesn't exist (that I know of) is because of a few factors, for instance an art wouldn't have been bred out of military institution, quite a lot of Asian countries, which is more prevalent in western culture as being the MA home, aren't even wheelchair accessible, let alone creating MAs geared for wheelchairs. And being a minority doesn't help either.

But I don't doubt it will happen.

 

[morph4me]

I've got no experience teaching people in wheelchairs, but if someone would accept that we'd both be learning together, I'd give it a shot.

 

[searcher]

ccr-you are absolutely amazing!!! You look to me like you have it going on right now, right where you are. You are an inspiration that many will never even be a glimpse of, let alone, ever become. You show the spirit that I wish many of my students would get.

Keep on working and if there is anything any of us can do, you let us know and we will try to help.

 

[Josh Oakley]

I currently teach one in a wheel chair, and one in a walker. By the way, never trust a guy in a wheelchair on a plane.

They... don't check wheel chairs for weapons...

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

No: I am completely unqualified to do so.

I would likely try to find a qualified instructor for the student who can work with the peculiarities of being in a wheelchair.

I am going to place a qualification on this answer. I could teach them some degree of sword work using light blades or a cane light enough to fence with, as these require only one hand. I could even teach the basic advance retreat, though they would have to either have a powered chair or some way of maneuvering the chair with only one hand while fencing with the other.

Incidentally, there is a wheelchair division in USFA fencing and some of those fencers are darned amazing. Not all are technically in wheelchairs; the division includes anyone with a mobility handicap.

Daniel

 

[ap Oweyn]

I would be willing to do so. But, as others have pointed out, that's different from being qualified to do so. I'm not convinced that there's any terribly formal process for being qualified. It might be as "simple" as familiarizing myself with their situation.

My background is mostly FMA. So I think there's a fair amount of eskrima that can benefit someone in a wheelchair. That view is based largely on the fact that one of my past instructors (Sensei Joe Singleton, JKD, teaching out of Columbia, MD) was wheelchair-bound. And he clearly didn't let it get in the way of his learning to fight, competing in powerlifting, or doing anything else he wanted to do.

So I'm biased. I've seen what someone can learn to do from a wheelchair. And it very well ought to make the rest of us sit up and take notice.


Stuart

 

[Wey]

Depending on your art, of course, but how can you call yourself a TRUE martial artist if you shun away somebody for a disability. As a teacher, you're supposed to bring out the BEST in everyone, but if you deny people the chance to try, then what are you really "teaching" for? Not trying to put any of you down, just a thought.

With that being said, I would certainly give it a shot.

 

[sgtmac_46]

Hello, this is my first post here. i just have a random question for all teachers. would any of you teach or consider teaching someone who is in a wheelchair. i know several people in wheelchairs, and was just wondering what your thoughts are. please be 100 percent honest because if you say yes, but you really would not then i dont get an accurate sense of how things really are and vise versa. thanks for the answers.

There are techniques that would be applicable to someone in a wheelchair......several techniques from Jui-Jitsu would be quite applicable.........one thing about operating a manual wheel chair all the time........it should lead to a tremendously powerful upper-body.

I knew a guy who was in a wheel chair (got shot in the back by a jealous husband).......he was a rough guy before he got put in the wheel chair, and continued to spend his time in bars after. He carried a .38 revolver on him and had one arm of his chair that he could pull off quickly, and use as a bludgeon......which he did on a number of occasions to the surprise of other barroom belligerents.

Being in a wheel chair would be a serious physical limitation......BUT the human mind has always been the real weapon.......a vicious enough will and malevalent creativity CAN overcome physical limitation.

 

[dancingalone]

Depending on your art, of course, but how can you call yourself a TRUE martial artist if you shun away somebody for a disability. As a teacher, you're supposed to bring out the BEST in everyone, but if you deny people the chance to try, then what are you really "teaching" for? Not trying to put any of you down, just a thought.

"you're supposed to bring out the BEST in everyone"

I don't subscribe to that line of reasoning, and it's likely that we have different ideas of what a martial art is or should be, so adjectives like TRUE or BEST are non-transportable at best here.

I have limited time and resources to invest into my students since I do not teach MA for my livelihood. Given this limitation, it makes sense to accept only students that I can help in a meaningful fashion. Sorry, but I don't run an open bar for anyone willing to plunk down a few bucks. I'm picky about whom I accept as my students as is my right.

There are certainly other outlets for people like this young man, going by the majority who seem to be willing to give it a shot.

 

[Tensei85]

I think the concept it self is awesome! But as with anything its easier said than done. Would I give it a shot, yea I would.

But I can understand if someone else doesn't have the time or the resources to do the same. (in the past a lot of Sifu's would only accept a potential student after they proved themself to be sincere) So I guess this would be a factor.

But on a side note to pass all your teaching's from a Shifu to Tu Di relationship I don't feel this would be possible.

But to give a kid something to brighten up there day, cultivate and live for, I'm sure theres a million and one things that can be taught.

But its awesome to see a kid so dilligent to the practice of Martial Arts, its truly an inspiration.

As far as disabilities if you look hard enough were all disabled in some form, so I think it comes down to recognizing a students true potential instead of focusing on the negativities.

But thats just my fairyland talk, but I feel it has some merit.

Anyways awesome vid! keep it up.

 

[Flea]

For what it's worth, I'm profoundly grateful to my teacher that he considers my disability a non-issue. I do need the concession of having to sit on the sidelines a lot, but I'm very diligent and rarely miss a class. It's given me the opportunity to challenge myself and grow in ways that I never thought I could. If he had been less of a person and showed me the door, I would have been devastated but not surprised. Instead, he appreciates that I give my all in every class, which means the world to me. It inspires me to keep coming every week, and to keep growing as an artist and as a person. What more could a teacher want?

 

[jks9199]

Depending on your art, of course, but how can you call yourself a TRUE martial artist if you shun away somebody for a disability. As a teacher, you're supposed to bring out the BEST in everyone, but if you deny people the chance to try, then what are you really "teaching" for? Not trying to put any of you down, just a thought.

With that being said, I would certainly give it a shot.

How can I call myself a true martial artist when I say that I don't know how to adapt my art to a person in a wheelchair or with any of several other limitations that come to mind?

Very easily. My art is simply not something that I can faithfully pass on if I change it enough to accommodate those limitations. Could you teach a person with no arms a sword system?

Perhaps your art is about helping anyone to become their best; mine simply is not. It has traditionally been very selectively taught -- and we remain selective.

But that doesn't mean we haven't taught people with disabilities! I trained a guy who had lost almost all use of his left arm -- and he earned a black belt with no modification to the test or standards. We had to modify some of the forms, and make some other changes in his training, but we did it without losing the principles of the system. I don't know how I could do that with a person in a wheel chair.

 

[Wey]

All I am saying is if you don't give somebody atleast a CHANCE to prove themselves, that shows your weakness as an instructor. Now I understand that there are infact systems out there that are highly selective of their students and I understand and respect that. But for those schools that take regular walk-ins that WOUDLN'T atleast try to train a person with a disability, I think there is something morally wrong with that.

I haven't taught anyone that is disabled so I might be talking out of my rear, maybe it really is harder than I think. Just my opinion though. Not trying to slam anyone, I love you all. <3

 

[jks9199]

All I am saying is if you don't give somebody atleast a CHANCE to prove themselves, that shows your weakness as an instructor. Now I understand that there are infact systems out there that are highly selective of their students and I understand and respect that. But for those schools that take regular walk-ins that WOUDLN'T atleast try to train a person with a disability, I think there is something morally wrong with that.

I haven't taught anyone that is disabled so I might be talking out of my rear, maybe it really is harder than I think. Just my opinion though. Not trying to slam anyone, I love you all. <3

Let me be blunt.

Martial arts are physical skills. The use or misuse of them may have moral implications. Whether I honor commitments made to students does have moral implications. But whether or not i choose to instruct a particular student due to their physical disabilities is not a moral question.

I cannot envision a way to teach a person confined to a wheelchair (especially with the OPs significant physical impediments, based on his videos) the martial system I was taught, in a way that is faithful to what I was taught. Might I be able to adapt some moves for their use? Certainly. Can they learn self-defense skills? Without a doubt. But not the martial art that I teach.

It's that simple. You're welcome to believe that martial arts can be taught to anyone, and that they are a tool for anyone to acheive. I simply do not. It is inconsistent with my training and the integrity of what I teach.

 

[Wey]

Let me be blunt.

Martial arts are physical skills. The use or misuse of them may have moral implications. Whether I honor commitments made to students does have moral implications. But whether or not i choose to instruct a particular student due to their physical disabilities is not a moral question.

I cannot envision a way to teach a person confined to a wheelchair (especially with the OPs significant physical impediments, based on his videos) the martial system I was taught, in a way that is faithful to what I was taught. Might I be able to adapt some moves for their use? Certainly. Can they learn self-defense skills? Without a doubt. But not the martial art that I teach.

It's that simple. You're welcome to believe that martial arts can be taught to anyone, and that they are a tool for anyone to acheive. I simply do not. It is inconsistent with my training and the integrity of what I teach.

If you don't mind me asking, what discipline do you teach?

 

[jks9199]

It's in my profile; I'm a black belt and instructor in the American Bando Association.

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

Depending on your art, of course, but how can you call yourself a TRUE martial artist if you shun away somebody for a disability.

Derfine what it means to be a TRUE martial artist.

And if one is not a true martial artist, then does if follow that they are somehow a FAKE martial artist?

As a teacher, you're supposed to bring out the BEST in everyone, but if you deny people the chance to try, then what are you really "teaching" for?

Actually, as a teacher, you are supposed to bring out the best in everyone that you personally teach, not everyone.

As for why somone teaches if they deny people the chance to try, everyone denies someone the chance to try. Not everyone can be in a class of limited size. Not everyone can afford to pay for classes. Not everyone can show up during your business hours. Not everyone can travel to Japan to learn an art that is not taught outside of Japan.

All of these people end up being denied, but because they do not have a physical handicap, they do not inspire such statements as the ones you make.

Not trying to put any of you down, just a thought.

By preceeding this statement with the first statement, you most certainly are. You are outright asserting that if I do not modify my curriculum to accomodate a disabled person that I am not a TRUE martial artist, which is a very nebulous term at best.

What if I refer them an imminently qualified instructor who works exclusively with handicaped students and understands the dynamics of fighting in a wheelchair (something that I am unfamiliar with)? Am I now demoted in my MA status because I did not teach them personally?

With that being said, I would certainly give it a shot.

That is very laudible.

But be careful not to broad brush others who do not agree. Most, myself included, who answered in the negative all cited lack of knowledge or ability on their own part in being able to translate their curriculum to a wheelchair bound student, not out of any belief that the student is incapable.

And throwing around statments such as "true" martial artists is a bit pretentious.

Daniel