Magazine for local Martial Arts, Sports and Combat Sports TRADITIONAL & MODERN
TM AUGUST 2020 YEAR OF THE RAT
Taekwondo Karate Boxing Kung Fu Ju-Jitsu Tai Chi Silat Thai Boxing The Ki Issue on:
What is rank in Martial Arts? Understanding the levels of proficiency!
Women in the Martial Arts
Kicksisters come and join us!
Kidz in the Martial Arts Develop their confidence, discipline & life skills
40 something & training You’re never too old to start a Martial Art!
Judo Kendo Wrestling MMA Aikido Wushu Freestyle Escrima Hapkido Tang Soo Do Viet Vo Doa Sulkido Iiado
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Aquinas College Heaviley The Torkington Centre Hazel Grove Werneth Young Peoples Centre Bredbury/Romiley Stockport Birmingham University Tel:0161 456 1976 Mob: 07598 413664
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KÍ FORWARD
The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
Ki Points
‘Bringing you the local information about Martial Arts, Sports and Combat sports’
• Local Clubs
2020 The Year of the Rat or is it just a carrier in disguise!
• Training Tips • Instructor Profiles
Forward from the Editor.
STEVE BLOMELEY 6th Dan Editor-in-Chief Contributors Steve Blomeley Testimonial “Time to get back to training for the Martial Artists or if you haven’t had a go already perhaps you should consider starting now that Covid 19 restrictions are beiwe’ve got back nside our dojo’s S.H. Blomeley - The Ki Issue
Welcome to the August 2020 edition of the Stockport Ki Issue. Pronounced like the English word ‘key’ the local magazine aims to keep you informed about the many martial arts, instructors, events and activities in the region. The Chinese new year started in February and as it’s the year of the rat and boy at the moment I think we’d all like to see it scurry off! We martial Artists certainly hope we can get back to some sort of normality and begin training once again inside our club centres. Most of us I am sure would like to Kick this Covid-19 virus right out of the window. The Ki Issue is aimed at bringing you all good news with positive interests and achievements from our local practitioners and colleagues. With the changes in lockdown rules quite a few of us have managed to get a little bit of training outdoors in small socially distanced groups at our clubs and many have been doing online sessions which could become a new norm but it can never replace the interaction with club training amongst your friends, colleagues and coaches. You just cannot replicate the necessary physical interaction you need learning and practicing a Martial Art with another human being. You cannot get the correct feel of techniques unless you are performing them under controlled conditions especially under the watchful eye of your experienced Instructor or coach. So the main aim of this local online magazine is to give a platform for our local clubs which will hopefully encourage existing students back to training after the lockdown conditions plus perhaps persuade many new students to come along and have a go at Martial Arts. They are so valuable in instilling good moral principles, self confidence and self esteem and can be practiced by the whole family. So from July 25th Stockport gyms and physical activity clubs such as our beloved Martial Arts were allowed to open and many of us are back indoors trying our very best to get going again serving the Stockport people in our local communities. Why not consider giving Martial Arts a go and check out a club near you?
• Competition Dates • Results • Seminar Details • Seminar Reviews • Grading Dates • Grading Results • Student Profiles • Kids in Combat • Health Tips • Book Reviews • Product Reviews • Equipment Suppliers • Training Dvd’s • Club Profiles
CONTENTS YIN Page Page Page Page
3 Forward 5 Advertisement 7 Beginning Martial Arts 11 40 something and the Martial Arts
CONTENTS YANG
Page 4 What is rank in the Martial Arts? Page 6 Women in the Martial Arts Page 8 Team Taegers Page 10 Passed from father to son Page 16 40 something and the Martial Arts Page 13 Back Cover Ki Artwork Co. Front Cover We’re back in (side) our clubs
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KĂ? ARTICLE
Animo et Fide - It’s Your Town - Your Team - Your Martial Arts Support Your Local Clubs!
AUGUST 2020 YEAR OF THE RAT The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
What is Rank in the Martial Arts? understanding the levels of proficiency WHAT IS RANK OR STATUS? When one joins a Martial Art Club, especially a traditional one the student is expected to practice the techniques of their paricular chosen art and the forms or Kata/Poomsae of it, then take a test or grading. If successful the student is then promoted by the Examiner/Master to the next grade which shows he/ she has attained a certain level of achievement and proficiency in that particular style.
to that point of training. Good Instructors will always endeavour to make sure the students maintain their standards and can do their syllabus, whereas poor ones or poor schools will promote and then rarely cover their previous training again. This leads to the student of the poor school forgetting what they have been taught or cannot adequately
system, once one has achieved their 1st degree Black Belt. This maturity could be considered in performance(technique), the way one conducts oneself, the years training and at the high level the years teaching as well. In essence it is a cultivation of the mind, body and spirit as one should be making great efforts to develop ones mind
In the majority of Martial Arts a beginning student usually wears a white belt which represents the complete innocence of the person and their new undertaking. Further belts change colour depending on the system employed in that style. When one is promoted, a students newly coloured belt or stripe/sash signifies to the other members of the club/association or style of Martial Art what level you are at and the knowledge base that you have regarding the practice in that particular system.
ranks, eventually they may end up teaching when they get to the higher Dan grades. This should be a natural progression and as the years pass by so should the maturity of the practitioner. As they attain a designated high rank in their art they become examiners as well. This gives them through their rank the ability and maturity to promote the lower ranked students to their next level. In a lot of the traditional arts the students of Dan Grade status wishing to be promoted to a higher rank Black Belt tend to go in front of a panel made up of chosen Master Grades of the recognised Governing Body of that Country. In the west there is a big misconception that someone who holds the rank of 1st degree Black Belt are experts. This is far from the recognised truth within the Martial Arts, as really it generally means that the practitioner is proficient in the basic techniques and still has a long way to go to master it. Rank is really a recognition by ones peers and colleagues in that particular style and has many benefits in the training regime, as it helps students and Instructors alike set targets and achievable goals.
A lot of the arts coloured belts or ranks also have some form of philosophical meaning and students should consider that aspect of training. One art Aikido, the students remain with a white belt until they are promoted to Dan Grade (Black Belt). Generally it also means that on being promoted to the next rank the Instructor/Master will start focusing you on the next level of training to bring you on. One thing it does not mean is that one should forget or fail to practice what you had practiced or had been taught before.
perform it. Their knowledge base is lost and therefore in reality so is their rank. The Black Belts (high rank) in good schools still perform and practice everything that had come before thus being able to uphold their rank.
The majority of the Martial Arts expect that if one is a certain rank then a student of that Martial Art should be able to perform everything in their syllabus up
In the old ways rank was awarded not just for proficiency in technique but also maturity in the person was also taken into consideration hence the higher Dan grade
with a physically fit body being the foundation for the intellect to be built upon. A Martial Artists goal is more than just accruing god self defence skills or fighting techniques but the development of good habits and sound judgements. Regular training fosters self discipline which promotes good habits and quick decision making. As a student develops in their chosen art and moves up the
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WO MEN IN the Martial Arts
KÍ ARTICLE
The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
By Steve Blomeley Martial Arts can play an important role in Womens Self Defence and are a great way to help build confidence, strength and skills to combat any potential attacker. There are many different types of classes for women in Martial Arts and when they are practicing will find that their strength improves significantly after only a few months of training. Generally someone looking for a female victim will test a woman before they actually assault them. Innapropriate behaviour, unsavoury comments are all ways perpetrators try to find out how assertive and strong a woman is. If she responds in an assertive way, most will consider choosing another victim. Martial Art training can help a woman achieve a good level of assertiveness and have the confidence to deal with a lot of situations. In a largely male orientated field, forget it if you think the women already involved aren’t motivated enough or have completely unrealistic expectations about training in the Martial Arts. They were just like you once and took the first step through the door of
a local club. In my experience and from what I have seen over the last decade or so, more often than not women lead the way. Just look at the last Olympic Games! which by the way, I am sure you haven’t forgot was in London. The ladies really pressed home how far they have come with Jade Jones taking Olympic Gold in the Taekwondo and Gemma Gibbons a Silver in the Judo, not to mention for the first time ever womens Boxing and boy!(girl!) didn’t they do well. Nicola Adams took Gold along with Katie Taylor doing the same in her weight division for Ireland. If you think that women don’t like to get their hands dirty or lack motivation think again as they are very capable of taking responsibility for their personal safety. Those that join Martial Art or Combat Sport clubs really want to be there and really do belong there. There are many, many strong and talented women in the Martial Arts and the majority who stay in them work as hard and more often than not harder than their male colleagues. As more and more women are now learning Martial Arts and participating in lots of different self defence training sessions it does help a lot of clubs address various stereotyped issues such as “ they are the weaker half of the sexes”.
With the increasing accomodation of women to the field of Martial Arts or Combat Sports and the acceptance of them in their chosen discipline, it helps support their choice in strengthening their authority and capabilities. I remember teaching and training one young lady student at my club whilst although I could hit that bit harder (not that much!) I always looked forward to sparring with her and thoroughly enjoyed it as her skill level brought out my own, perhaps much more than any other male counterpart. I also had another teenage female student who famously beat all the teenage boys in one sparring tournament to take the Gold. This wouldn’t happen in today’s politically correct world but it showed that many young ladies have the right spirit and determination to equal the opposite sex. Another important note regarding women and the increasing participation and rising prominence of them in Martial Arts is that within the disciplines is the fair practice and exercise of rights between men and women. Through scientific training and modern nutrition there is now the contention that women can achieve similar strength. There are now more options than ever when it comes to practicing Martial Arts for women. Societies go through constant change and so do gender roles. Women rising in the Martial
Arts is directly proportional to society’s shifting view of what women can do and should do. People are more open than ever to the idea that women can provide the same level of achievement as their male counterparts and the Ki Issue would love to see more and more in the Dojo’s, Dojangs and Gyms here in Stockport. In the Martial Arts there really is no gender bias in terms of what a person can do. In the majority of the traditional arts there are many women who have achieved high rank or Dan grade status and they have become Instructors, Teachers and Coaches in their own right. The female Instructors in many cases tend to bring that little more technical aspect to their teaching, as they seem to approach their own training from that aspect a lot quicker than their male counterparts. Perhaps this is because of their physical and mental make up which the men could learn a lot from, as more often than not we tend to have to battle through the brute strength approach before “the penny finally drops” as they say. So! Ladies, Mums, Girls why not get yourself down to your local Martial Arts Club or Gym and follow in the footsteps of our recent female Olympic medallists. You will find that they offer so much to you in fitness, strength, weight loss, toning, confidence, self esteem and your self defence capabilities. Happy Training!
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KÍ ADVERTISEMENT
The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
T
www.thekiissue.co.uk
Beginning Martial Arts with the Basic Movements and Stances
he majority of Martial Arts has its own unique system of basic skills and a beginning student first learns how to make or perform the basic movements along with traditional stances. A good instructor will explain how the parts of the human body are used in your particular style of martial art and the different ways they can be utilised defensively or offensively.
Too many students and instructors these days want to rush through this process! Maintaining correct stances and posture enables them to execute techniques with speed and prevents characteristic habits that can telegraph their intentions before an attack.
D
he basic movements of most martial art styles include hand techniques, foot techniques and a combination of both, Taekwondo is no different. At first it is very, very important that the beginning student acquire the fundamentals of the basic movements and stances as they are the foundations or cornerstones of understanding the physical movement for your chosen art, and it is a poor instructor that neglects these things for his students prefering to do “more exciting” things!
epending on the individual students personal progress combinations are also taught if they are at the stage where they can cope with the physical and mental co-ordination skills. At later stages of their advanced training it is here where it is key, that the basic movements have been ingrained through hours and hours or repetitive movement. Any good instructor/ student knows bad habits are extremely difficult to unlearn plus it is where they themselves have a realisation of the time, patience and understanding their coach or instructor has given to them.
B
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eginning and intermediate students need the very fabric of the martial art and build progressively their performance of the basic technique. It is this foundation that they can fall back on when they encounter difficult times in training, trying to master or understand more advanced techniques or strategy.
asics are the most important part of your curriculum and by being taught via a progressive approach in the fundamentals, you the student can master and progress in steady, solid steps. As you develop, you begin to see that the variations in even the most basic techniques are limitless, but if you haven’t had
that grounding in the first place it can be so difficult to acquire the skill sets!
A
s the student progresses and develops a good understanding and fundamental movement, often combining these they progress onto 3 steps in Taekwondo, or in some cases they also practice in a 4 step mode for balanced training. All Martial Arts stress realistic training situations as a means of better preparing the student to defend themselves. The three steps are the basis for understanding reasonable or realistic types of attack. Three step sparring with its multiple punches allows the student to develop timing and application of their blocking/parrying tools in a good structured stance plus can lay the groundwork for free sparring. Too often these days in sport oreintated martial art clubs this is often overlooked.
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raditionally three steps are taught to the beginning stage students and should be continued for the more advanced stage students as self defence is not so much learnt, but more so acquired. The three steps can aid advanced practitioners deal with multiple hand attacks if done in the correct manner as more often than not the 1
steps do not do this. The student has to master the physical aspects of a particular technique they wish to add to their arsenal and therefore the beginning stage students can comfortably practice with more advanced ones, each working on their own particular needs.
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KÍ ARTICLE
Animo et Fide - It’s Your Town - Your Team - Your Martial Arts Support Your Local Clubs!
The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
Team Taegers! Tiger Tae, Taeger the Tiger & Tiny Tiger Tae
at the UK Martial Arts Show with famous Martial Art stars T
he Taegers of Taekwondo Ki’s by now famous mascots were invited to attend the UK Martial Arts show being held at the Doncaster Dome. They cheeky big cats jumped at the chance to spend the weekend at the Doncaster Dome with a gathering of Martial Art stars old and new. On the bill were people like Scott Adkins, The Edmund Sistas and the legendary Bill “ Superfoot” Wallace from the USA. Master Blomeley has trained with Bill Wallace many, many years ago when he was conducting a seminar here in England.
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here were plenty of stalls from various Martial Art suppliers promoting equipment, training, seminars along with quite a few demonstrations from different groups. The Edmund Sistas did a few shows with their routines and also a mini flexibility seminar of which Tiny Tiger Tae (aka Cora) was very interested in. What was surprising was that she is nearly as tall as all of them being only eleven!
T
he Taegers were once again a popular hit with not only the ki-dz but many of the adults too who all grabbed a chance to have a photograph with them. Of course The Taegers themselves being a little star struck, got photos with plenty of famous practitioners for their own memento’s and scrapbook. The Edmund Sistas had just finished one of their routines and the girls were great posing for pictures with The Taeger the Tiger, Tiger Tae and Tiny Tiger Tae whilst not even having got their breath back.
I
t was good to bump into old friends and fellow Martial Artists too from our own area such as Chris Boughey who also posed for a picture with the mascots whilst also making new friends from the various styles and systems attending the Martial Arts show. On wandering around The Taegers also paid a visit to the Martial Arts illustrated magazine stall who were the major sponsors of the event. Who knows one day we may even see them featured in the well established Martial Arts magazine here in the UK and further afield.
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lot of the security staff were quite amused when our cheeky mascots were coming through and didn’t quite know what to make of them but again
joined in the fun and posed for a snapshot. One of The Taegers dissapointments was that they didn’t get to meet Scott Atkins and the Ginger Ninja due to the timing of events but were sure there wil be other opportunities next year as the event was deemed a success and has been pre-booked for 2016.
K
i Taekwondo wants to give a huge thank you to its members Darren Kay, Darren Green and Cora Blomeley who all gave their time up to help promote the Characters created by Master Blomeley, Taekwondo and the upcoming Grand Prix to be held in Manchester this October.
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hey did of course enjoy themselves getting a few souvenir snapshots of themselves with famous people and no doubt will look forward to attending another one in the near future, especially as it promises to be bigger and bettr next year. Who knows we might even get to demo?
The Taegers with the legendary Bill “ Superfoot” Wallace at the UK Martial Arts Show.
KÍ ARTICLE
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Animo et Fide - It’s Your Town - Your Team - Your Martial Arts
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KÍ ARTICLE
Animo et Fide - It’s Your Town - Your Team - Your Martial Arts Support Your Local Clubs!
The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
passedfrom Father 2 Son & Daughters Too!
I
t’s no big secret that I like football, always have and gave up playing for my pursuit of Taekwondo. The majority of people I meet on the Taekwondo circuit are just the same too, they support their team and cheer them on and we have the banter between ourselves when we meet up at competitions, seminars etc. Quite often a “big” game will be on the tv at a venue we are competing at and it’s rather amusing seeing loads of people in doboks gathered around it whilst wishing the result went one way or the other, even if they don’t support the team on the box at the time.
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artial arts has a similarity in a way as things are historically passed down to family members regarding supporting your local club and developing an affinity to it. Traditionally in the Martial Arts techniques would be passed down to an eldest son or in some cases a daughter and in retrospect they become a family art, especially if the senior figure was very knowledgable. Today a lot of these roots get lost through commercialism but there are some of us who continue to steadfastly support our local team or town
and I am no exception. I don’t have a son but a daughter and she follows in my footsteps in both the Martial arts and supporting our local team Stockport County. I hope that she gains certain values following the same paths so that she is a well grounded individual who eventually will grow into a young caring passionate adult with good skill sets.
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ot so long ago I was pleased to see our old manager had taken our team “ Stockport County” to a local boxing gym to put them through their paces. You could see his old school thinking and what he wanted to impress on the team about commitment, a good work ethic and giving your all. It’s pretty much the same in all combat arts and sports albeit we are generally not in a team but on the mat individually, but there a certain core principles. Watching the video of their training session did give the impression that the team really enjoyed it and how the cross training can benefit the individual in their chosen sport or profession.
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riends are made or should be made in our pursuits of sporting greatness and this should transcend all boundaries. the last couple of seasons at Edgeley park have seen friendships develop with an Italian team who have a similar ethos to our own club which is “support your local club” and from that we have developed
a shirt to help get that message across so that people don’t lose sight of what is important. In the Martial Arts there are many ups and downs as you try to improve and there are times when you seem to be getting nowhere or only making minute gains which you can’t see clearly, but true practitioners or supporters will stick through it. We’ll savour those moments like the other night when a Stockport County player put the ball past the Manchester Unied U21’s keeper from 40 yards like we will savour the moment when we finally achieve that hard earned victory on the mat or the next belt earned.
H
ere at Ki Taekwondo we’ve adopted County’s anthem albeit with a few words changed here and there to represent the belt instead of the scarf but those of us in Stockport know what the gist of it means.” It’s forever being beautiful” and we wear it proudly around
our waist as we do the scarf around our neck. If anyone of our members is interested in the shirt please don’t hesitate
to contact us at Ki or at Passedfromfather2son to purchase either a printed T-shirt or an embroidered polo/hoodie etc. PassedfromFathertoSon copyright Steve Blomeley 2015
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KÍ ARTICLE
By Peter Jones
Being Forty Something and a father I had started taking two of my daughters to a local Martial Art club. After watching training sessions and getting bored with continually driving to and from our house and the club I decided to join in the training. I thought why not I am sat here anyway watching them, waiting for them. On speaking with the Instructor and getting assurances that I would be able to take it easy because of my age, I turned up nervously at the tender age of 44 years and 9 months to begin my indoctrination with 10 other young hopefuls. After about half an hour three things we’re apparent to me:1 Regardless of the assurances training is not as easy as it looks 2 Martial Art training is physically demanding 3 “I was knackered” and wished I had kept up some form of physical exercise in my thirties! At the end of the hours training I had forgotten the three things above and spent all my concentration staying upright. I remember nothing about the latter part of the training session. The next day I was a little achy, but I thought I had recovered well. I got into the my car and drove to work. My problems started in the car park. On opening the car door I was surprised to find that I couldn’t move my legs to get out. After a few contortions I managed to get upright and spent the next few days with aching legs. The next week I ventured out again with similar results but after about a month I noticed that my legs were no longer permanently aching and my stamina had improved so that I felt OK within an hour of the end of training. My Instructor had quipped many a time during sessions that the benefit doesn’t come during the lesson, it’s after! I realised I was beginning to become fit! Also to my surprise my co-ordination was improving and I was beginning to get the
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Animo et Fide - It’s Your Town - Your Team - Your Martial Arts Support Your Local Clubs!
AUGUST 2020 YEAR OF THE RAT The Ki Issue by Steve Blomeley email: thekiissue@hotmail.co.uk Tel: 0161 456 1976
Something and starting taekwondo! idea behind the very basic blocking, punching and kicking of my style. It looks so simple when you watch from the sidelines but seems almost impossible when you try to copy them. Flushed with success I took my first grading and to my astonishment gained an A grade pass along with 11 other students (average age 17) who also took the same test. The next few lessons were a major shock!. Passing a test or grading was not something to be taken lightly as it simply led to even more demands on my inadequate physique and stamina. By this time was beginning to realise I had three major obstacles to overcome. 1 I wasn’t fit enough 2 I wasn’t quick enough 3 I wasn’t flexible enough Still I persevered (one of the tenets of the Martial Arts) and continued through 3 other gradings to green belt level. This was the level that most of the senior club members were when I joined and I considered this to be a major milestone as it had originally been my ultimate goal. At this level I was pretty fit and had attained a reasonable level of proficiency at basic blocking, punching and some of the basic kicks, although I was weak at side kick and turning kick. By this time the original 11 who started with me had reduced as some of them had fallen by the wayside. Also another 20 or so students had turned up for a few lessons but soon realised that perseverance and consistency is the key, to keep up the training routine to attain the goals(grades or belts) set by the Martial Art Instructors. By now one of
my daughters had moved up into the adults class from the Childrens class. Two gradings later I was awarded my Blue Belt having made it in advance of my original group that started. My youngest daughter had also joined the rest of the family in the adults class. This was the time when I had a couple of setbacks which dented my confidence a little bit, but with encouragement from my Instructor who had now also attained a much higher Dan grade status I managed to work through them. He explained nearly everyone has a few of them on the journey or Martial Path. With his help and my fellow students help I moved forward and took the next two grades elevating me to Red belt status. At that stage I had a realisation that I had come so far and within a year I could achieve something I never thought possible when I started out and that was Black Belt! I found each succeeding level more demanding in skill, physical effort, concentration and mentally more daunting. I still had weaknesses in my stances and reaction hand, problems with my turning and reverse turning kicks which I didn’t seem to be able to resolve there and then. However I found that considering three and a half years before I couldn’t run round the room much less raise my leg above my head, I had made tremendous progress. I knew I would never be a brilliant Martial Artist in the physical sense compared to the young ones as I didn’t have their balance and flexibility but I found the training enjoyable, a release from everyday mental tension and pleasantly fatiguing. I also tried my
hand at judging and refereeing at competitions, so as to be actively involved when the club travelled for its up and coming young stars. This side of the Martial Arts means that even though I had pushed past forty I could still contribute and help the others within the club and Association. That next year passed considerably quickly as my Instructor put more and more focus on me to attain that coveted 1st Dan (Black Belt status), of which I am very pleased to say I attained as did my two Daughters. It’s something I never regret doing and have made some wonderful friends through the Club and Association, as have my Family. There’s is a tremendous bond developed between fellow students and practitioners which lasts a lifetime. So, If you are over 40 and have a masochistic streak (ha ha ha) or want to join great friendly clubs to learn some physical skills for self defence and improve your fitness then the Martial Arts are for you. It is one of the only things that you can partake in alongside your children at the same time learning together, developing together. Check with your Doctor and tell him what you are thinking of undertaking, get his approval and then check a club out. If it is a well run club with a good Instructor then by all means give it a try and remember when you get past the first few grades, you will be able to have a little smile at the antics of the beginners you once were. There may be a few setbacks along the way but if you stick it out the personal rewards are worth your efforts. I managed it and it and that Dan Grade certificate I have on my wall at home I am so proud of, as is my Club and Instructor. Martial Arts are a two way thing, between student and Instructor or student to student, a Yin and Yang, We achieved it together. Don’t try and compare yourself with the younger ones as the Instructors certainly won’t and they will tell you The only opponent in the Martial Arts is yourself. Happy Training!...
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