Lack of Karate Discipline?

UK -- A karate-trained, 17-year-old youth, reportedly used his martial arts skills against a 70-year-old man, according to thisissouthdevon.co.uk.

A courtroom in Exeter heard the teenager claimed his actions were purely self-defense while he explained how he protected himself against an attack by a the senior citizen in Torquay.

The young defendant admitted he had punched the older man and that he had used a martial arts move to stop him getting up off the ground on July 30, 2010.

The teenager told the court that he had done boxing and karate training and boxing in the past and all of them teach discipline and self-defense.

My thought is that it is one thing to be taught discipline - another thing all together is showing it. Beating down a 70-year-old man i "self-defense"... Right...

Child School Judo Deaths

Japan -- A professor at Aichi University of Education, Ryo Uchida, has conducted research, showing that at least 110 children has been killed while practicing judo since 1983. Between 2009 and 2010, some 13 children have died, according to speroforum.com.

"Judo is an inspiring sport and very educative to one's mind," the professor said. "But schools must have a safety guideline."

Since Japan is scheduled to make the sport compulsory in schools as of 2012, it is reported that a number of parents are worried over these statistics.

One parent, Mr. Murakawa, who's 12-year-old son died following a judo class, said he had nothing against the martial art in itself, but a "military culture" imposed by some judo instructors, allowing punches and kicks as a way of teaching a rigid discipline to students. "The children - he said - for fear of being beaten must respect their coach, and never ask to rest".

Burning Sensation

Here's this guy - a Chinese kung fu master who allegedly has perfected the art of putting red hot knife blades in his mouth.

55-year-old Ding Zhongliang holds the blades in a blazing fire until the steel is so hot it is almost melting.

The Chongqing (central China) man - is reported to have mastered this feat after years of training in "secret" martial arts iron palm techniques. Allegedly, iron palm students toughen their hands in burning hot sand.

The kung fu master claims the knives don't burn mouth or leave even the smallest mark in his mouth. "After years of training and discipline I am now impervious to heat and fire," the man says.

All well and swell. Still I can't help but have this one -- perhaps silly -- question ... why?

Judo Death

Japan -- On August 4, search.japantimes.co.jp had a story about a 13-year-old boy who died of complications apparently brought on by heatstroke from training at a judo camp in Awaji, Hyogo Prefecture.

Authorities originally thought his death might have been brought along from a beating by an instructor, police said. A later autopsy showed how the teenager died of a heart attack, determining there was no direct link between the beating and the boys death.

Police suspect the young judoka suffered heatstroke after training all day long in intense summer heat. They were questioning the people in charge of the camp to figure out how hard they pushed the students.

The 29-year-old judo instructor said he slapped the judo student in the face and kicked him in the abdomen "to discipline him" after supper one day at the hotel where the judo students were staying.

Finding Focus With Karate

Canada -- Eighteen-year-old Duncan Wessels from Metchosin, BC was diagnosed with autism and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) as a child and he took up karate in the fourth grade after sitting in on a class, according to bclocalnews.com.

Through studying karate he has learned to use the sport as an outlet. "When things are stressful, it relaxes me," he said.

"Moralistically karate has helped me out a lot," he said. "It has given me self-confidence, discipline and respect."

Angelina: MA Fan

Mother of six and famous movie star, 33-year-old Angelina Jolie, has claimed that she is a keen fan of martial arts and that she has started teaching it to her children, according to digitalspy.co.uk.

"I love martial arts," she said. "They are ideal for children because they teach them discipline and perseverance. In fact, my son is already starting to go to class."

Martial Arts in School

India -- (Chennai) Timesofindia.indiatimes.com had an article on August 29 about the obvious benefits of having students do martial arts such as karate and taekwondo in school.

And all though a School Education minister stated that "any form of physical training was good for students" -- something which hardly can be objected to -- I have to make one thing absolutely clear:

Martial arts, properly taught, stands head and shoulders above other sports in one particular area - its inherent discipline.

Here are some of the sentiments from the above mentioned news article:

Revathy Bonns, a higher secondary school principal: "About 98% of the parents of children who signed up for the martial arts classes say their children have become more mature and confident. They have more self-control and are able to cope with everyday pressure. They also say that training has improved their personality."

J Abraham, a physical education teacher in Manali, said, "Now around 40 students are enrolled in the karate class. After joining the class, the students are well behaved and more focused. The parents are also happy seeing their children disciplined."

B Purushothaman, the principal from a higher secondary school in Kolathur: "The confidence level of students has increased. My students (...) tell me that the one hour of physical activity rejuvenates them when they get back to their books." He said 322 students had signed up for the taekwondo classes this year.

Kicking Autistic Boy

Texas -- A 20-year-old man from Troup, has reportedly trained martial arts since the age of 6. He recently told a court how he has "a very short temper" and an "anger problem".

This young man has been found guilty of using kick boxing to "discipline" a young autistic boy - with the approval of the boy's mother, according to tylerpaper.com.

The boy's mother, 34, allegedly did nothing to stop her boyfriend from repeatedly kicking her then 11-year-old son as a neighbor videotaped the abuse.

The woman admitted at her trial that she caused bodily injury to her son by striking him and by failing to protect him during the incident on April 24.

Oh dear...

Another Low Blow

Cases like this is probably amongst the last of things the martial arts need. Even if this is one local school, it affects us all.

One parent in this story from Bakersfield, California, expressed her disappointment like this: "It's frustrating because this art is supposed to teach respect and discipline and obviously they have no respect for other people."

Sad, but true.

The kenpo karate school allegedly closed it's doors with nothing more than a two days written notice. Not only that, they were reportedly collecting tuition just days before they cleared out.

"They didn't give us any indication that there was a problem whatsoever," another parent said.

This is a Master

The term master is used far too often these days in my opinion, giving way for grandmasters, 'great grandmasters', 'really great grandmasters', 'even greater than that really huge grandmasters' - and what have you not ...

Make no mistake about it - there are true masters (and grand masters out there). And this guy here seems to be one.

Someone who has this kind of bonding with the students and who can bring out these kind of emotions, of progress and pure fun - has definitely got what it takes in my book. Read the story - it is absolutely great!

Story:
"When I see a kid like Patrick become this confident kid, I say to myself - 'Hey, what's better than that.' "

Sidnam has many similar stories from his 25 years as an instructor, stories that demonstrate how karate and its discipline, its philosophies of self-awareness, can heal a wounded psyche. He remembers a father who brought his daughter in for lessons, saying she was on the brink of suicide and in desperate need of self-belief. The daughter became an average student, a "mediocre kicker and puncher at best," Sidnam said, but grew emotionally.

"Wow, what a difference in confidence," Sidnam said. "With these kids, its about breaking down the barriers that they don't think they can get through."

Source

Courage

Earning a black belt in tae kwon do takes dedication, commitment and discipline for any child, but for two autistic SouthCoast boys, it also took courage.

Ian Mayo and Collin O'Brien have been studying at Kwon's U.S. Tae Kwon Do Center in North Dartmouth for four years. Both boys earned their black belts on Jan. 27. Both boys are autistic.

Ten-year-old Ian has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. As a result, he has limited social skills and sensory problems. Those limitations made Pam and Robert Mayo of Dartmouth nervous about putting their son into tae kwon do. "What if he doesn't behave? What if he doesn't listen? What if he runs around? That's all I could think of," said Mrs. Mayo.

Ian surprised everyone, not only with his enthusiasm and performance in class, but with how much he has grown through the program.

Source

Dicipline, focus, passion

Besides being Verona's rock-solid No. 1 golfer and Badger South all-conference choice this season, Jen Engelke is also a second-degree black belt in karate. Ask her about combining the two sports and she'll tell you it's the best marriage since music and the iPod.

Engelke uses the same discipline, focus and passion to succeed.

"In karate you often deal with focus. That comes in handy in golf because when you hit a bad shot or have a bad hole, you use that focus to put it behind you and keep going," explained Engelke, who has that rare ability as a teen-ager to look adults directly in the eyes when she speaks to them.

"It's the same thing if you're doing a form at a (karate) tournament. If you screw up, you have to keep going and stay focused. You can't stop and start over again."

Source

School karate

South Africa -- The Human Rights Commission plans to hold public hearings on the level of violence in schools which are said to be out of control with deaths and severe injuries to pupils.

Parents and the education system have been blamed for ill-mannered children and with no immediate solution in sight, the HRC has opted for public hearings.

A Johannesburg school is teaching karate as a way of adding discipline to the curriculum. Olga da Silva, a principal at the school, says they are experiencing all this verbal abuse at home, so they are frustrated, because of the conditions at home, and they come to school, it spills over into the school.

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Bullied no more

Ever since he started school, Mark Hunt pretty much knew what he could expect each day. There was the routine of class work, lunch and recess. But Mark, now an eighth-grader, knew most days also would include something much more sinister: relentless bullying at the hands of his classmates.

To help him learn how to defend himself, his parents enrolled him in group tae kwon do classes in Weston. Mark immediately took to the program's discipline and camaraderie.

While the initial goal was to teach him how to hit back, Mark and his family soon discovered that martial arts training espouses the opposite approach.

''Tae kwon do taught me not to act on my first impulse, which is to fight back, but instead to think things through and do what's right,'' he said.

Last year, after seven years of hard work, Mark was awarded the coveted black belt, the 10th-highest level of skill.

His new self-confidence and refusal to react to confrontations wore his tormentors down. Finally, he could enjoy going to school.

Source

Big drum-drum

Sure, Taiko is cool (taiko actual means big drum, or big fat drum, so the often used term taiko drum is - shall we say - a little strange), and it's sometimes being used today as an element along with martial arts.

In feudal (like in "many moons ago") Japan, taiko were often used to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. The drummer was responsible for setting the marching pace on approaching or entering a battle.

But to present a sentence like this: "They practise their unique style of martial arts drumming from dawn until dusk," is eh.. *slightly* over the top.

Taiko is NOT martial arts, it's a traditional Japanese musical art form, some times used alongside martial arts. Taiko, which has a history of about 2,000 years, refers to the art of drumming and the drums.

Apart from the warrior aspect, traditional Japanese music often developed as a part of drama, such as Noh, Kabuki and Bunraku.

Story:
They live in a tight-knit community in the mountainside of Kyushu, Japan. The 16 members of Drum-Tao practise their unique style of martial arts drumming from dawn until dusk.

And, no, they don't get complaints from the neighbours.

Their 10-hour day training involves a lot of mental and physical discipline.

Story

Quite a kick

"Defensive kicking" - now that's a new one! And here's another: "We looked at all the self-defence sports," and chose taekwando over judo, jui-jitsu and karate because "it strengthens both the upper and lower body." I wonder what parts I miss out strengthening - apart from my brain?

I you look past these bloopers, this is a heartwarming and inspirational story about a 32-year-old with Down syndrome.

Story:
Phillip Sherman gets quite a kick out of taekwondo.

In fact, over the past 13 years of slow but steady training, Sherman, 32, has given, and tried to block, quite a few during regular practice sessions.

Defensive kicking is the mainstay of taekwondo, the martial art that retired teacher Julia Sherman chose for her son -- who has Down syndrome -- to help him develop strength, discipline, respect, pride and independence.

Source

Focus of energy

When he was a rambunctious 6-year-old, Michael White's mother, Debra, decided karate would be the perfect outlet for her son's energy.

Karate has allowed Michael to focus his energy in a variety of ways, his mother said.

"Michael was a wiggle worm at school," she said. "My husband and I wanted to direct his attention to something that taught discipline and allowed him to focus his energy in a positive manner. He took to it instantly."

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This is Tao

As beginners in the martial arts, this trio of Vancouver students started out on unsure footing.

One sixth-grader was a self-described "girly girl" too shy to talk to new people. A second child was so squirrely, he actually bounced off the floors before classes began. And a teenaged boy who has never enjoyed sports said his first reaction to signing up for tae kwon do was a flat "No."

But that was Zen, and this is Tao.

Parents are discovering that martial-arts programs can offer children more than a way to kick up their heels. Students say they're gaining self-esteem, discipline and the ability to set long- and short-term goals.

Source

Positive effects

Antigua -- Her father said 9-year-old Ariel's success in karate has also produced a positive effect in her studies and other activities.

"The focus that you must have in karate helps to transform all aspects of your life, especially on the discipline aspect. For sure she is a lot more focuseded, she is a lot calmer although she has never been a very hyper person. You can see her growing and making wise decisions," he said.

"Karate has certainly helped her with the discipline of everyday life, getting ready for school in the morning, doing her homework, going to bed and it has translated in her studies because she is a straight A student."

"She is really excelling and enjoying school very much. She is also very involved in other activities. She does ballet, modern dance (Hip-Hop) and she has just started playing soccer as well."

"The karate certainly helps with the ballet and modern dance and even her ballet teacher is saying it is incredible what she is capable of doing since some of the stances she needs in karate are transported into balancing for ballet."

Source

Drawing strength from inside

Rhode Island -- Ms. Angers said she had to fight for her confidence, overcoming a childhood where "the first answer was always no."

"As a kid, my parents provided all the necessities of life, but we were never encouraged to try things. I think this (learning martial arts) actually gave me the ability to draw strength from inside me, and bring that out."

"I knew nothing about martial arts. My neighbor said it was good for focus and discipline, so I took my son for classes. When I first walked in the door, a chill came over me, I could feel it in my stomach; this was something I had to do."

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