For the older potential Karateka...

I've spoken with so many of you that are in your 40s and 50s now, that have tried martial arts when younger and miss it now.  Many of you have been Karateka, are older and some of you have injuries etc.  I know from listening to you that you really feel 'the call' and would like to train again.

Don't worry about what you can or can't do nowadays because of age, injury or disability.  Just do it!  Find a dojo and give yourself some free reign to do something that will make you feel better about yourself.  If you feel that your Sensei can't accommodate your disability issues, find another.

I sometimes make a wrong move or turn the wrong way because of my mental health problem ... and some moves hurt my body so badly that I literally lock up.  Some Senseis don't understand these issues and so don't understand that the act of practising Karate can be an ongoing internal battle ... on top of all the others that some of us fight on a daily basis where any kind of health problems are concerned.  Yet you'll find many Senseis that do understand disability issues and will accommodate your needs.

When teaching I have to be mindful of your safety and your training needs and balance the two. I have to have more than one style of teaching because I know about certain disabilities first hand.  In some dojos you may be shown a new kata twice and not have it broken down at all - then be expected to perform it .  This may be fine if you don't have a learning difficulty and/or a short term memory problem.

If I'm teaching a new kata, I like to break it down so that students can learn it in manageable chunks - eg do  five moves and practise them until they're firmly embedded into memory and then build onto that foundation until the whole kata can be performed to the best of that student's ability.

We have to be realistic when we train with regards to our limitations through any disability ... we also have to be clear about one other thing - as mature students of Karate with disabilities, we are the ones responsible for setting our limitations - no one else.  So we are the only ones that can push our boundaries, endure the pain or difficulties and try to improve ourselves ... but we must be realistic about it and not worsen our conditions/symptoms.

There is no upper age limit in Karate, a man in Nottingham proved that by achieving his Shodan when in his 60s.

The first lesson is free.  You will need to have purchased a licence by your third lesson.  You can train in a tracksuit and t-shirt until you can afford a 'gi' (Karate suit) ... but you must have a gi before you attempt a grading (an examination to gain a different coloured belt) - which will be about three months after you start training ... providing you're comfortable doing so.

We train on the following days:

Wednesdays 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Snape Wood Community Association
Snape Wood Road
Bulwell
Nottingham
NG6 7GH
Tel 0115 975 3299

Fridays 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Sundays 10:00am - 11:30am
Bestwood Estate Community Centre
Gainsford Crescent
Bestwood Estate
Nottingham
NG5 5HT
Tel 0115 976 2391

All of the training fees generated at these two dojos go straight to the Community Centres listed above so that they can run services for the elderly and other members of their communities. The instructors are unpaid volunteers.  Meiyo Shotokan Karate Club is a Not-for-Profit organisation.

Please feel free to pop in and try a lesson without obligation.

Villayat 'Wolf' Sunkmanitu

Image by Will Huggins