My daughter who is 20 months old was in hospital this week for a Pnemonia and Asthma problem. It was her second Pnemonia problem needing hospital and first Asthma attack. I have often mentioned instructing when im near my Nidan and it occured to me this week with all the breathing Kata ie Sanchin and Tensho etc. Should i offer classes for Asthma kids etc.

Has anyone done this kind of thing for blind, asthma, wheelchair bound etc groups.

How did you find it works

Is the response different to 'normal' groups.

Does GKR offer specific or free classes for minority groups etc

cheers
Freek

P.S we did spend some quality time in hospital working on her fist and middle block. She has a good back fist from middle block, just ask my wife ( she is not impressed by getting bopped on the nose)

Sorry to hear of your bad run with your daughter freek - hope she makes full recovery.

I had a kid with higher function autism join up once. He was a handful thats for sure but fortunately his mum was fantastic and gave me some great pointers on how to handle him. His grading was probably the high point of my teaching experience, as I went through it with him to give him something to focus on.

There are no special classes, its all in.

Unless you have firm scientific evidence that practing Sanchin and Tensho willl be good for asthma I would stay clear of offering specific classes.If it made the condition worse you might even leave yourself open to a lawsuit.

The Buketo(sp?) breathing method is excellent for helping asthma.

I have trained a blind student, a student with autism and a student with muscular distrophy (sp), all were wonderful challenges and an eye opener for all involved. However I haven't taught in a special class situation (other than seminars for military & law enforcement, I suppose some of those are "special" cases as well).

I prefer to introduce the person to a general class situation but with a higher level of awareness by myself, my instructors and in some instances other students. This is for two main reasons.
1. The student gets to socialise with other students and is not given a "special" treatment that could make them feel less than equal to others.
2. Other students learn to appreciate how other people overcome challenges and atthe same time appreciate what they have in life, learning that others are worse off than themselves but can still achieve.

I'm not saying that other schools may not have a better or more effective approach by offering special classes, just that for me, this seems to work.

Just my 2c worth
Dale

We had a student who was deaf for a while. He was okay in the class - old enough to lip read - we just had to remember to be standing in front of him if we needed him to follow an instruction. Stamping hard on the floor used to get his attention, too. Once again, his mum was awesome and gave us a heads up on how to make sure he understood what we needed him to do. A little support from parents if they're young can go a long way.

Hi - Im new here but thought I would give a 5 cents reply on this topic, if I may be so bold.

I am not GKR, but I am involved in MA and have been for many years .

I currently have 2 mentally disabled students, who, while they will never reach a high belt, get a lot of enjoyment from the class. They are able to mimic those around them, and while not retaining the knowledge of what they are doing, they are getting use out of muscles that they would not normally have the opportunity to do.

I have also had the pleasure of teaching a wheelchair bound student - it made for some great challenges for both of us in adapting techniques to suit his abilities, and I can only say that it made me a better instructor for it.

Nice site. Thanks for having me.