ASD and Martial Arts (karate)

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Tried it today, whenever they instructed me on something they had to repeat the information 5 times. Life is tough. I'm a bit worried I won't be able to hold a job in the future because of my inability to remember what others say, the information goes through my head.

I find it easier when shown or practised rather than simply being told. Explain you find it hard to follow and they may try a different way to demonstrate.

I did Shotokan karate, kung fu, kajukenbo, capoeira, and taekwondo.. I did martial arts for about 7 years. I think my autism made me better at it. My savant thing. I channeled all of the sensory overload and social awkwardness into powerful and graceful katas/forms.

Watch the movie Chocolate. It's about an autistic martial artist girl, she's around 12, and she gets in fights to save her mom. It's in Chinese though but you can have subtitles on it.

Martial arts is very peaceful, I miss it but at least I can do gymnastics. Exercise is very thereputic I wish I remembered my katas but I do remember basics, techniques that Shotokan karate instilled in me. I did it to learn and to be strong and powerful I want to really understand, not just earn a black belt. I have heard that your real martial arts schooling starts after earning a black belt. If I could choose one, I would go back to Kung fu (wu shu) because it is my favorite. I hope someday I will.

I did Karate for a year, when I was 9-10.

those who do too well on their first day already have experience in similar matters. it only took you a few tries... that’s rather good.

anyway, if a practitioner of anything is great, it doesn’t naturally make them even a decent teacher. don’t beat yourself up over not understanding something. if any teacher turns out not to be successful at bridging their teaching to your learning style... seek another teacher(if you’ve already given your best while they refuse to). a black belt doesn’t denote mastery, but simply another beginning... don’t take it at face value that they’re masterful when they’re students like you who have much to teach one another.

lastly, rank prerequisites are typically cumulative. even at highest ranks, you’d still regularly practice rudimentary forms... there’s no rush to excel at what cannot be perfected.

I found that my Asperger's helps me excel at martial arts. I have my black belt in Isshinryu Karate, it usually takes 3-5 years to get to Shodan (1st degree black belt) I did it in 2. I think the ability to hyper-focus helps, it also helps that I am reasonably athletic. I have been practicing now for about 7 years.

I did 3 years of kung fu and I was slow to learn too. My boyfriend explained to me that when you bow as you enter class that you are leaving your ego at the door. That really helped me to get my headspace right. We learn a bit differently, at a different speed but for me once I understood something my form would be really good. I miss that class a lot. I get way less awkward around other people when we're doing something else together and the focus isn't on the social interaction.

A good teacher knows that students have different styles of learning. Some people need to reason through the moves, some learn verbally, some learn visually, and there might be another one that I don't remember. For me I need someone doing it right in front of me and I copy their movements. I need to watch them do it a few times in a row to get the feeling or energy of the move.

If you're worried about it in a job setting you can tell people that you prefer to communicate over email or that you need written instructions.