Does anyone here practice the martial arts in a wheel chair or with any other disability, or do you know someone who does? I just found out that if you have a disability that in most national tournaments you are put in your own little disabled division where you can only fight others with a disability. Does this sicken anyone besides me? I want a challenge; if someone has a disability and practices the marital arts I say bring them on! If someone does not have a disability I say bring them on! There should be no division that seperates the two. What do you think?
I’m missing my right leg, study wing chun, and really really love it.
I think the only things we should not miss in Martial arts are: Heart,mind and humility!
BTW, Mr Nunchaku. You better be carefull with ahemRogueahem…He’s sometimes a firestarter!
I once read a newspaper clipping about a woman in a wheelchair who studied Karate and then smacked up a would be mugger. It was p*ss funny. This poor dude hade been beaten up by a middle aged woman in a wheelchair. He was 18.
I doubt that a night would go by where that guy wouldn’t curse the day he was born.
I’m cracking up just remembering 
My instructor said that a guy with only one arm won in this Kuoshu or Sanshou tournament (i cant remember wich). He must have kick ass skills man.
And there was this other one that didnt have a hand, he used some thing to attach the glove where he had no hand. This guy also won a tournament. Kick ass skills again.
Both these were in normal categories, no special disabled tournament.
I think they make that division not as a sign of disrespect but because most people wouldn’t feel right hitting someone in a wheelchair, just like some guys wouldn’t dream of hitting a woman even if that same woman is beating the tar outta them. They would feel akward hence not fighting their best which would defeat the purpose of a tournament. I know the whole deal about not underestimating your opponent and i think in a way both -parties- are being cheated because of not knowing how to defend against all types of people and situations. I’m personally don’t think weight and gender divisions are really necessary and creates the same problem. Maybe a division for different skill levels yeah i agree with that, but how would i learn how to fight a 250 pound strong yet slow male if i were a 150 pound extremely fast and agile female, or vice versa. It would also force a person to step up his or her skill level. Maybe that could fix some problems the martial arts has these days. Nothing wrong with hoping. On the issue of disabled matches only. I dont know if it’s good or bad, never seen one live but i doubt theres a need for it. Would just have to change the way both people fought. Like how would you get in a strike when the person in the wheel chair might have an advantage since its lower center of gravity and most kicks are useless. Dont want to break your leg on the chair now do you, and kicks to the legs if any wont be felt. Your also over extended a bit and your body or face might be open. How would the person in the chair manuever fast enough to avoid strikes, (By the way, its stupid but are the chairs electric or manual) and get their own strikes in.
Wheelchair users have their advantages and disadvantages, so what? Non WC users and WC users have fought each other a lot and there was nothing wrong with it. They can manuever just fine and non WC users normally don’t get hurt or anything.
Yes, some may feel uncomfortable hitting someone in a wheelchair or with any disability, but not doing anything changes nothing. People need to start getting used to it and it will take time, but if we don’t start somewhere then it will never happen.
Ive seen Tai Chi practioners in wheelchairs doing fine. And I read an article about the Shaolin temple :rolleyes: And they had a little kid who was really good, and he had only one arm!
Ive seen a TKD kid with a prothestic <english?
One of our instructors has a brother who is in a wheelchair and he studies martial arts. I don’t know what kind of style the brother does, but the instructor says even he has a hard time getting through the kid’s defenses. I don’t know if the story is true or not; I don’t know why the instructor would necessarily lie about such a thing. Take it for what it’s worth.
Great stories everyone. Here is another, a women in TKD in a wheelchair won a mixed martial arts tournament. She really kicked butt too.
Well…
…I think it should be up to the person in the chair to decide who they fight to be honest. Obv. the other person would have to agree. I think if it was me, and a disabled guy asked me to spar with him, I think I’d say yes. After all, it’d be pretty **** rude not to.
Though saying that, I can’t spar with women. So make what you will of that.
What!
That **** word is: “d a m n”
Why the f u c k would you censor d a m n?
I don’t think it should be up to the one not disabled, but you do bring up a good point, perhaps some with a disability do wish for their own division. I say ask the person disabled and let them do what they want.
And if someone with a disability asked you to spar, and you said no, that would be very insulting.
Exactly
If you refuse to spar with them its negative discrimination, and that kind of sh!t sucks c o c k better than BinLaden’s mother.
One more thing, this isn’t a debate about women vs. men, though that is another very important debate. We are talking about men who are disabled vs. men who are not and alternatively women who are disabled and women who are not. We are NOT talking about a man who does not wish to fight women just like he does not wish to fight men with a disability. If a man feels bad about fighting a man with disability, then that’s just plain too bad but he should have to fight him anyway. But if he feels bad about fighting a woman, well that is a different debate entirely.
I completely agree
I find it real hard to fight women.
Guys hitting women is one of the things I really detest, and although sparring is different, I find it really hard to do. I always try and refuse, but there are times at my school where I have to fight the ladies, and I get my absolute arse kicked. I pull my punches, deliberately miss my kicks and just generally try and stay defensive, and I get my arse handed to me on a plate every time.
Has someone already done a Women vs Men debate topic? I’m new here so I wouldn’t know. Oh yeah, while I’m at it, is it possible to change my profile? I can’t seem to figure out how, heh.
Back on topic though, stupid me I forgot to mention that I am in a wheelchair. Have been all my life. My legs are not paralyzed and I do have both of them intact (there are plenty of other reasons for being in a wheelchair). It is just they are very weak and I cannot use them like I can use my arms. I am in tae kwon do and it is one of my favorite things. At my school we spar a whole lot and I do pretty well even against the black belts (not to say I am that good, but my point is I am a decent sparrer and am getting better as I learn). I have been kicked in the leg, yeah it hurts. People have kicked my wheelchair, yeah it hurts. But no big deal, no one has ever gotten injured or even slowed down when fighting me. I have never been injured when sparring (well I have, but not because I am in a wheelchair).
I think the thing that I am most proud of is that when I first started TKD people would spar me and use no kicks. I asked around and most admitted that they thought it wasn’t fair that they use four limbs when I could only use two. Now I have proved to them that they can’t do that. When people spar me they use everything they got. This is the kind of change that I am talking about. It can happen if people would let it.
The way I see it if you pull punches on anyone that your trainging with your just short changing their training. I wouldn’t want anyone giving me special treatment or holding back on me during training. Thats just not the way its going to come down in the street. Its just another way of holding them and their training back.
Anthroman.
To change your profile, go to User Control Panel at the top of the page, and change the options under that.
On a more personal level, I really admire your determination. Don’t let anything hold you back.
I’ve never sparred with anyone disabled, but I’d be cool with the whole thing. I think it’s better if people have an open mind. But don’t blame people who don’t, or who do feel a little awkward. My ex-girlfriend’s brother was paralysed from a motorbike accident, and when I first met him I was a little awkward about it, not because I was prejudiced, but because I was overcompensating for it.
I suppose the guys who refused to kick were doing the same thing, I guess they were trying to be polite.
But to tell the truth, it shouldn’t matter at all. Give as good as the rest of them I say.
Thank you, but I’m not as determined as my favorite TKD instructor, who would have to be my biggest role model. He too has a disability, though he claims it to be minor and irrelevant. One side of his body does not function well. That means that one of his arms is weak and one of his legs as well. And as you know, if one of your legs is weak then it will hamper kicking with either leg. If you kick with your good leg, you are standing on a bad one, if you stand on your good leg, you are kicking with the bad one. And yet, this guy kicks some major butt!
He fought in Vietnam (has a purple heart from shrapnel stuck into his head, has a hole in his skull to this day) and his TKD skills have saved him in real situations many times (lived in a rough part of NYC for most of his life). He might not win all the tournaments, but he is a heck of a fighter. He eats boards for breakfast and cut loose on me once when I knocked his glasses off in sparring with a ridge hand, lol. I would get maybe one weak hit in only because he allowed it so he could get 3 good ones in, heh.
BTW, I’m glad this topic has turned out well. Everybody has great opinions on the subject.