Pulling your punches with martial arts
Date posted: 13 January 2016
Martial arts can help young people wrestle with moral issues as well as looking after themselves in a tight corner, a University of Derby lecturer has told the Institute of Martials Arts and Science.
Black belt, author and Martial Arts Hall of Fame member Charles Spring told Institute members that academic research into the founding philosophies of self-restraint and control behind martial arts are as vital as the physical side of the sport.
He gave demonstrations at their annual End of Year Course at Manchester’s Hough End Leisure Centre and explained how research at the University was making the sport more professional by passing on studies ranging from bio-mechanics to coaching skills.
Charles said: “It’s also a brilliant example of lifelong learning. People can start when they are five or six and carry on into their sixties and seventies.”
Other instructors at the event emphasised that good citizenship and the skill of assessing dangerous situations are also a benefit of learning martial arts.
Charles has just returned from teaching a Sports Coaching and Development course in Martial Arts at the London Institute of Martial Arts alongside Grand Master Taeyong Lee, who represents Korea in the art, and has also trained his country’s Special Warrior Commandos.
He delivered another course, validated by the University, to the Disability Martial Arts Association, showing that martial arts are for everyone and encouraging wider participation in the activities which the Association includes through their breaking down barriers events.
Charles added: “Both of these programmes are designed to give instructors the ability to develop their delivery styles and their knowledge of coaching and teaching to better place them in an increasingly professional environment. In total 27 instructors attended the sessions.”
To see Charles interviewed at the Manchester event, click here
To find out more about studying Sport at the University of Derby, click here
For further press information please contact:
John Phillips, University of Derby Buxton Community Liaison Officer
Direct dial: 01298 330461
Email: j.phillips@derby.ac.uk