Teaching a blind student

[Carol]

One of my instructors has a new challenge...teaching a blind student. So far he seems quite pleased with the student's reactive skills.

Do any of you have experience teaching the blind? What was it like? Any stories to share?

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

One of my instructors has a new challenge...teaching a blind student. So far he seems quite pleased with the student's reactive skills.

Do any of you have experience teaching the blind? What was it like? Any stories to share?

I have taught a few with disiabilties, wheel chairs,deaf, etc. No blind students at this time. The thing to remember, is a lot of what they need is a way to socialize. Find what they can do and support them in that development.

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

One of my instructors has a new challenge...teaching a blind student. So far he seems quite pleased with the student's reactive skills.

Do any of you have experience teaching the blind? What was it like? Any stories to share?

Sorry I feel the need to say this as well. I have taught some who do not even share the same language. So I learned small words or phrases to get my point across. Over time we both learned enough of each others language to have a very good class.

[Carol]

I have taught a few with disiabilties, wheel chairs,deaf, etc. No blind students at this time. The thing to remember, is a lot of what they need is a way to socialize. Find what they can do and support them in that development.

Thanks so much Mr. Marshall. That is something that I would really like to pass on to sensei. The blind student has a normal-vision companion that joins in the class and they work together really well as a pair, but perhaps they may also need to work with other students a bit more.

I don't attend the group classes unless I'm on vacation so I don't know if he does this or not.

[Carol]

Sorry I feel the need to say this as well. I have taught some who do not even share the same language. So I learned small words or phrases to get my point across. Over time we both learned enough of each others language to have a very good class.

Sensei once told me that sometimes he'll do a 5 step sparring drill, and the students will take turns counting to five.......only everyone has to do it in a different language, or in a different fashion.

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

Sensei once told me that sometimes he'll do a 5 step sparring drill, and the students will take turns counting to five.......only everyone has to do it in a different language, or in a different fashion.

Forte bine, esta minunalult.
( Very Good, this is wonderful)(Romanian)

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

Thanks so much Mr. Marshall. That is something that I would really like to pass on to sensei. The blind student has a normal-vision companion that joins in the class and they work together really well as a pair, but perhaps they may also need to work with other students a bit more.

I don't attend the group classes unless I'm on vacation so I don't know if he does this or not.

I think once the student is comfortable with the movement, and learns to trust the members in class,would be the time to switch partners. This student needs to feel the different types of aggresion,and learn the control needed for each response. He/she cant do this with the eyes.

[Carol]

I think once the student is comfortable with the movement, and learns to trust the members in class,would be the time to switch partners. This student needs to feel the different types of aggresion,and learn the control needed for each response. He/she cant do this with the eyes.

Makes sense.

[Kenpo-Owl]

I've helped teach students with all kinds of disabilities. I think you might be amazed at how well your blind student can do. Sometimes its just astonishing how well people can adapt.

Some suggestions:

1. Sticky hands- A blind martial artist will have issues with moving opponents. Both in the dojo and in 'the real world'. One of the BEST ways to help them deal with that is to teach them 'sticky hands'. Trapping drills will benefit them TREMENDOUSLY. Learning to control their opponent this way will help them take the control of the fight away from their attacker.

2. Grappling/ground work- This is in line with the sticky hands idea. Grappling will help them to position the opponent to where THEY want them to be. Or at least let them know where they are and how they're positioned so that they can strike accurately. Also, teaching them how to fight in extreme close range will improve the accuracy of their strikes...and again takes away the power from an attacker who doesn't know how to fight at this range. As part of this, also teach them how to yank an opponent off balance and KEEP them off balance through the duration of the fight.

3. Aggressiveness- Teach them to ATTACK. Very few people expect a blind person to attack in a confrontation. Teach them to use this element of surprise as a great defense!

4. Learn how to cover their target areas- Teach them to duck their chin the moment a fight starts, and to use the bow stance to pinch off their groin. Using their rear hand to cover their solar plexus is a must. It might even be worth considering teaching them a modified bow...instead of placing the rear hand at the solar plexus, perhaps it would make sense to teach them to cover their throat with that hand, and angle the arm down their body to cover their solar plexus at the same time? Think knife fighting...

5. HIT THEM!!!- Teach them how to take a hit/kick/etc... Don't baby them. Don't beat them either (obviously!), but let them learn that a hit won't normally kill them. Teach them to use their reaction to being hit as part of their response. Once they learn that being hit doesn't kill them, they'll get to a point where they can anticipate and take that hit just the same as anyone else. They just won't ever be able to develop the visual cues to anticipate it like others do.

6. Get them sparring!- See 'hit them' above. Pair them up with an upper belt who can help them to learn to spar. Learning to move, learning to anticipate what your opponent is doing...will be key to their skills.


Hope this gives you and your instructor some things to think about to help them!

[Carol]

Those are great ideas KenpoOwl! Thank you so much!

This is a Filipino school so we do all the things you mention.....grappling, trapping, clinch, groudfighting.

So far sensei has said is that the student will likely have to eat the first punch, but then control and subdue the attacker from there. I will definitely show this to him, its got some great ideas in it...and its really good for me to learn from too. I'm a long way from teaching, but who knows, maybe 10 years from now it will be me working with a blind student.

Thanks very much.

[kit]

Hi Carol
I had a 33 year old blind from birth female student. She did great. She had a real sense of movement, the clock really gave her the direction of her movement as well as her opponents. I told her to imange two clocks, stacked, as in, she was facing 12 and her oppoenet was facing 12 (facing her) or coming at her from his twelve. So two perspectives her and the opponents. She said this really made it easy for her. This may all seem complex but it was like chess over the phone. She learned the shape and contents of the Dojo and only needed cues, if things had been moved. As Master Moses Powell once said, "if you touch me I got you."
Hope this helped.

Kit

[Carol]

Hi Carol
I had a 33 year old blind from birth female student. She did great. She had a real sense of movement, the clock really gave her the direction of her movement as well as her opponents. I told her to imange two clocks, stacked, as in, she was facing 12 and her oppoenet was facing 12 (facing her) or coming at her from his twelve. So two perspectives her and the opponents. She said this really made it easy for her. This may all seem complex but it was like chess over the phone. She learned the shape and contents of the Dojo and only needed cues, if things had been moved. As Master Moses Powell once said, "if you touch me I got you."
Hope this helped.

Kit

Thank you so much sir! I can see where that would be very helpful. Great to hear tht you had good success with her challenges. I am sure that will be a big benefit to our school

[Rob Broad]

I worked with a gentleman who was clinically blind and he was great as soon as someone put a hand on him. As soon as there was contact he could defend himself as well as any student.

[Latinvipers]

my last class my sensei, told me to close my eyes and we started sparring, are hands touched as we moved and he would instruct me, and when he disengaged his hands he would kick so after awhile sparring i could defend myself some what, i think a blind person's higher hearing would help alot, so over time i really think a blind person would do well.

[Epak_matt]

Just a suggestion that might help.

When in doubt about how to teach this new student something, perhaps trying it "blindfolded" yourself would help?

Perhaps if you take a class with a blindfold and see how you get the information given by the instructor and what helps you understand what to do, directions, movements, distance between you and your partner, etc??

And of course I would say to always have feedback from that student about how he feels it is easier for him to learn. Etc...

Anyways, just a suggestion. I'm convince this student is going to do very well once he adapts and as time goes by!

OSS!

Matt

[Kempojujutsu]

The lady I helped several years ago, was very adapt at many jujutsu techniques. Blind people tend to want to be close to the attacker. So many kicks will not come into play for them. But striking, sticky hands and jujutsu techniques work great. Also teaching them how to use there cane would be a must too, or some kind of stick weapon.

[SPorK]

This is a Filipino school so we do all the things you mention.....grappling, trapping, clinch, groudfighting.

I trained in wrestling for six years (high school & college; collegiate, freestyle & greco-roman) and during that time, I had the opportunity to train with a blind grappler.

As kit stated, once we touched (when wrestling with a blind opponent, both wrestlers start with their hands clasped together) he was in charge. Many times I found myself in an 'awkward' position, LOOKING to find a way out, only to be stopped short of any escape. The wrestlers sense of my movement allowed him to leg wrap, arm bar, twist, whatever he really wanted to do to keep me in check.
What did I learn? I learned that not only my hands a part of my toolkit, but also the feet (more so than I had previously thought). Now when I grapple, I try to continually implement using strikes that I cannot SEE, and to FEEL my opponent.

He/she will probably surprise you with how fast they pick up certain things, and what they get from a technique from their perspective. (To sub-quote Epak_matt)

Peace,

SPorK

[kenposikh]

Hi Carol,

I have taught blind students and in fact I was blind myself for three weeks. The problem here is with the types of techniques to deal with.

Hands on techs are obviously easier I run a few trials with the student to ascertain the level of sensitivity they have reached with their touch senses (depends on how long they have been blind). Ranging from push grabs etc.

A simple exercise is to place your hands on t he student and get them to work out whether it's left right and the orientation of the hand, then from that position get the attacker to draw back a fist and see if the student can state when this is happening.

The student needs to approach this differently and in a quiet environment and graudally moving into more regualr environments and be able to do the same.

Lots more can be done but iti requirires patience on both parts.

[MARSHALLS KENPO]

Hi Carol,

I have taught blind students and in fact I was blind myself for three weeks. The problem here is with the types of techniques to deal with.

Hands on techs are obviously easier I run a few trials with the student to ascertain the level of sensitivity they have reached with their touch senses (depends on how long they have been blind). Ranging from push grabs etc.

A simple exercise is to place your hands on t he student and get them to work out whether it's left right and the orientation of the hand, then from that position get the attacker to draw back a fist and see if the student can state when this is happening.

The student needs to approach this differently and in a quiet environment and graudally moving into more regualr environments and be able to do the same.

Lots more can be done but iti requirires patience on both parts.

This is very good, Thank you

[John M. La Tourrette]

I have taught a few with disiabilties, wheel chairs,deaf, etc. No blind students at this time. The thing to remember, is a lot of what they need is a way to socialize. Find what they can do and support them in that development.

I'm curious to why anyone would teach a blind person kenpo.

Isn't that sort of like teaching a legless man how to walk?

So if someone is blind, they really do need to start with something like Judo or Jujitsu, or wrestling...

...which does make sense, and I have done in the remote past.

DOC