Can a blind person learn martial arts?

wolfeyes2323

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Can a blind person learn karate , absolutely , there are several skill sets that
Comprise karate, theaverage sighted person focuses on visual skills, sometimes
To the exclusion of others. Once in contact at close range (sighted or not) ,
we must rely onfeeling , our vision of the opponent torso and limbs is very
limited (like looking through a peephole at a elephant). Manysighted students
struggle with or ignore this feeling skill set, The unsighted student can excel at
this, their mind andsenses are not distracted by sight. Alsothe sighted person
does not listen as well as the unsighted, listening with ears and body (other senses)
is just as important as seeing . In a sight dominated art we tend to forget ordown
play these other skills, but the complete karateka should not, or we are aschallenged
in hearing as the unsighted is in seeing.
 

WaterGal

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Yeah, I heard a radio interview with one of the 2012 Paralympic Judo competitors, and they said he was one spot shy of making the regular US Olympic Judo team, so clearly you can do it pretty competitively even blind.

I guess the alternative is some fantasy comic book thing where his body compensates for the blindness by giving him incredible hearing so he can hear every move his opponent makes. I doubt that's very realistic, though.
 

geezer

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A blind person can excel at arts that involve constant physical contact. That includes most forms of grappling arts, and at the striking range, Wing Chun. Tai chi could also offer much.

I have taught visually impared students Wing chun and once an opponent touches them, they can fully apply their skills. They can be pretty scary too, since once they touch you, they never let go ...till it's all over!
 

K-man

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I actually tried a little light sparring with my eyes closed last night. It's actually surprising how your hearing comes into play. While you have contact it's not too bad but when you lose contact completely it becomes interesting. You keep your guard up, elbows in and groin protected and surprisingly you can anticipate most of the shots.

Don't think I'll take up blind full contact anytime soon though.
:)
 

Buka

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Stev, go to youtube and look up Longstreet. It was a tv series in the early 70's. James Franciscus played a blind insurance investigator. Bruce Lee was his martial arts instructor. I think it only aired for one season. It was a pretty good series, dated now, but still an interest for martial artists.

Best of luck with your writing!
 

tshadowchaser

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welcome to MT
If your "book student" has been blind from birth or is newly blind will not make much of a difference in what he can learn but it might.
The hearing and sense of smell of a person born blind might be much stronger than one born with sight so he might be able to learn swordsmanship or some of the kicking and punching arts easier than a person new to his blindness.
If newly blind (as has been said before) an art that relies on touch is best suited: grappling or striking once he as made contact
 

wingchun100

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Well, obviously they wouldn't be able to see a punch or kick coming so they couldn't fight back until they were engaged, but yes, there are plenty of styles that teach the use of sensitivity and feeling. If the person learned one of those styles, sight wouldn't matter.
 

oftheherd1

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I am writing a fictional novel about a young boy (age 10) who gets temporarily blinded for 4-5 years. It’s fantasy so obviously that even won’t happen in real life, but in my book all are aware that eventually he will get his vision back.

If you were assigned to teach a 10 year old boy any form of fighting (from any form of self-defence/fighting that you know/trained in) who is blind, what style(s) would you teach him? How do you think you would approach this? (Pertaining to those who have experience)

Well the art I am belted in is Hapkido. A good art form. It tends to be a little more aggressive than some other arts, but is mostly defensive. That might be fun to play with in a novel (or maybe not). But I think any art could be turned to advantage. It mostly depends on the student, and how quickly he has learned to hone his other senses. The advantage of grappling is that once you 'know' where your opponent is in your 'space,' you can apply any appropriate technique. Since it is a fantasy novel, helping him enhance skills of hearing where an opponent is, or sensing by ki, should all be good.

Would you have him work on strength/endurance/flexibility skills for 4-5 years and then start the actual training when his vision comes back?

Strength, endurance, flexibility (especially in a grappling art), are important for any MA. Teach the boy what he has to know for the level he is at, at any given time. How would you expect him to just do calisthenics for 4-5 years, and then suddenly learn an MA?

Could a blind person learn to do rudimentary fighting techniques (Ie. hand/hand combat…not sure what else)?

Already well answered above.

Please let me know, I have no knowledge of martial arts except for stereotypes and I would like for it to be realistic (aside from the fantasy genre with unrealistic qualities…)

Also if you have any random info you think might apply to this let me know.

Thx so much

Who are you writing the novel for? If for MA then you probably wouldn't want to go overboard with improbable fantasy, but some would be acceptable. If primarily for non-MA, then a little more fantasy should be well received.

Also an after thought: If a student learned daily one on one practice with a coach for 4-5 years, what would they be like after their sight came back? Would they have an edge to other students when they learn a wider variety of fighting styles or any hindrances you could think of?

Great replies so far thx a lot!

They might, but in a fantasy novel it would be up to you to decide and make work.

I read an article a while ago about a nearby Wing Chun school teaching a blind kid...

Found it: Absecon teen overcomes lack of sight to advance in wing chun - Absecon | Port Republic - Press of Atlantic City

You might want to do some searching and try to contact any blind students and/or teachers for their opinions. I am assuming you are willing to research beyond us here at MT?

EDIT: Do you intend to write a serious enough novel that you would consider studying the MA you finally want your character to learn?
 

Dirty Dog

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Since it's a fantasy story, feel free to allow your hero to feel air movement or somesuch.

Blind people can certainly learn to defend themselves, as can anybody. I know a woman who had both eyes removed due to a rare cancer. I taught her to use the rapier, though it was for sport, not self defense. We compensated for her lack of sight by asking her opponents to wear a bracelet with a bell on it, and by training her to maintain blade-to-blade contact with her opponent. The combination allowed her to both hear the location and movement of her opponents arm, and to feel it through her own blade. She also trained to be quite aggressive; the more time they spend blocking, the less they can spend attacking.
 

geezer

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Seeing as the OP has never returned to post again, I suspect that he has drifted away to write his fantasy. Good luck ...I guess.
 

drop bear

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Since it's a fantasy story, feel free to allow your hero to feel air movement or somesuch.

Blind people can certainly learn to defend themselves, as can anybody. I know a woman who had both eyes removed due to a rare cancer. I taught her to use the rapier, though it was for sport, not self defense. We compensated for her lack of sight by asking her opponents to wear a bracelet with a bell on it, and by training her to maintain blade-to-blade contact with her opponent. The combination allowed her to both hear the location and movement of her opponents arm, and to feel it through her own blade. She also trained to be quite aggressive; the more time they spend blocking, the less they can spend attacking.


Deus ex machina.

Have a power out.
 

arnisador

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Judo or one of its close variants is the only way to go here, and people have had success with it.
 

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