AS & Martial Arts: My Success Story

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Since It worked well enough with me, I thought I'd share it with everyone else and get their opinions on it. To start off, I grew up in Lowell Mass during the fun lil wannabee LK/Crip/Blood wars for reference to things. I was diagnosed around 6yrs old. At the time, I was fairly severe with my AS. Social inadequacies and such to say the least. I grew up however in a rough area. Most AS do get bullied, yes. I however, got jumped(Or for the more literal, beaten on by large groups of kids) On a near daily basis. My family however, wouldn't allow me to just be a victim. My uncle and grandfather taught me how to box and my mom signed me up in TKD(Tae Kwon Do)

I started when I was 7. Around when I became 8 however, the beatings and jumping stopped, at least for the most part. Turns out, bullies don't like to get beaten themselves, who would have guessed

Alright, I've been self training myself now in various martial arts ever since. It became one of my 'interests' so to speak. Anyway though, this stopped the bullying but it helped me in other areas.

Dexterity: Not from TKD, no. This, I had improved from both Guitar playing and from Ninjutsu(Or Bujinkan/Togakure Ryu) And Brazilian Jujutsu.

Cooridnation/Balance: These were helped significantly by TKD. While I still have very little feet-off-ground balance(Riding a bike), I'm can balance myself normally with falling clumsily and such.

Destimulating: This, is important for when I got overwhelmed. One of the key factors taught in Martial Arts of any kind(If it isn't taught in the art, it isn't worth going into imo) is meditation and focusing oneself. If need be, when overwhelmed, this is a vital tool for us.

Understanding body language: Believe it or not, I learned alot about reading body language and facial cues via Martial Arts and sparring. You learn how to read aggressiveness, intent, and such in one's movements and lean it well in sparring actually after awhile

Releasing: Us with AS, especially me, tend to bottle in emotions. Whilst meditation can help, sometimes the best way to vent it out is in sparring or on a punching bag.

Discipline: The good teachers teach you this. Knowing when to be aggressive and non-aggressive, how to react and rationalize whether an action for a situation is necessary and how much action is required.

Mercy: For those that are wondering why this is important, think about how AS kid's can get bullied. Rage uncontrolled can deal serious damage, trained or not. This, along with discipline, is vital in going through the day without strangling someone.



Ok, I've brought up my validity and my points, back in the ASCAVE!! !

-disappears in a poof-

I'm a martial artist myself in Kumdo which is the Way of the Sword. I want t learned after wacthing plenty of Samurai programs and happened to be a club on Mason. I try it and stuck with it because it was a great form of exercise for me. I'm a purple belt in Kumdo now as well.

i've done kempo for 8 yrs, aikido for 8 yrs, some judo and grappling (mainly brazilian jujitsu) to lesser extents...

and i must say that they have helped tremendously with physical coordination, though i still manage to be oblivious to things that i pass by and am somewhat clumsy.

I am currently trying to open a club for aikido at my university, where i would teach the class.

good stuff, keeps you humble and honest... and tough.

I have done Wing Chun (Gung Fu) for almost 3 years. I really wish I had started martial arts much younger, I believe it would have been helpful.

Just stay away from the politics and you will be alright.

Last edited by 0_equals_true on 16 Sep 2008, 2:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

I karate for years and years, agree completely... one of the best things anyone could do, let alone we Aspergians.

Indeed Martial Arts is the completion of the soul ^_^

And some style I haven't heard of here or in awhile are coming up, awesome ^_^

My styles are varied, I've tried as many as I could to experience them lol

Ones I stuck with are Ninjutsu, Brazilian Jujutsu, TKD, and Muay Thai. ^_^

I've done so many over the years (yay for obsessions). Martial arts aren't too bad for the "aspie" when compared to many other group-orientated recreational activities; it's more "serious" than "social" from my experience.

It didn't aid me in developing at all, as my motor skills have always been good, nor did it help with anything else in relation to Autism; it didn't teach me to fight (my sister did that), but it was fun.

IDPA was the coolest thing I've done (it's a martial art); it was far more "empty mind" than stuff like Kenjutsu or Karate; performing tactical reloads on the run whilst approaching cover detached me from myself like nothing else I've done.

honestly, when i started with my aikido club during my undergrad... it was the the high point in my social life. i was con campus... and there were a ton of people there who liked to talk about something in common and would often go out and do things together.

That is the weird thing: I have no desire to make friends with the martial arts posse outside of martial arts. I just prefer to be training buddies and nothing more. That means there have been times where I had to dodge some awkward questions, especially from one nosey person.

This guy was also a programmer and tried to get me to do free programming work for him the cheeky bastard. He was a bit of the dick in general. Fortunately he pissed off our former sifu by loosing his temper due to a misunderstanding over the time of a private (individual) lesson, so couldn't return. Turns out I wasn't the only person that was glad to see him go.

Now I get on well with the guys there. But I still feel apprehension just before every single week. I just have to force myself to get there and once I get into the warm up is usually goes relatively smoothly from then on.

They are pretty accommodating too. I remember when I was on some pretty dodgy medication, I completely lost all sense of direction or coordination, it was shocking. But they didn't rule me out due to that.

I get the feeling you would be rather an engaging Aikido teacher Sedaka.

That how we roll. (Click on pic.)

Is that your club or linage?

This guy is the master who trains my sifus. It is the Yip man lineage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDnm0YiN ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcNZTCrHUiE

This is him with is friend now (dececed) the great Carlson Gracie of Brazillian Ju Jitsu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3jJ-lb7N8A

Yeah, that's a pretty sweet irimi nage by my Sensei (Suenaka).

edit: nvm

sorry the clips couldn't be embedded so I put links.

That's great Sedaka

I want a wing chun dummy.

The dummy is one of the advance level disciplines. Although we have some be taught some moves in the dummy. Technically all the basic moves are in the forms but the dummy is a refinement exercise to heighten impact/emphasis, responsiveness, and probably other stuff that I haven't learnt yet.

this is a funny clip of Ip ching breaking the dummy "bad wood"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDBCYxsB6lY