Para karate is an emerging sport with a small athlete community in Halifax, but it has seen great growth thanks to dedicated coaches and sport leaders rallying behind it.
The first Nova Scotia Para Karate Seminar was held in Halifax earlier this month. It was presented by the International Canadian Martial Arts Federation (ICMAF) in partnership with Karate Nova Scotia.
The two-day clinic combined education, demonstrations, practical training tips and strategic planning conversations around establishing Para karate programs across Nova Scotia.
“We want to show the ability that these athletes can reach, that they can become world champions,” says Dr. Yasser Mostafa Kamel, president of the ICMAF.
While Para karate is not part of the Paralympic Games sport programme, the first official Para karate world championships took place in Germany in 2014. Para karate is open to wheelchair users, visually impaired athletes and athletes with intellectual disabilities and with participation steadily increasing, the sport has become a vital element of both world and continental championships.
Yasser believes that Nova Scotia can become a hub for Para karate, and that the province could build out a provincial program.
When asked why Nova Scotia for a hub, Yassar cites the province’s size is great for travel, fast communication and the ability to spread participation across all the regions. He also sees the number of facilities and organizations like the Prescott Group as further reasons this province makes sense.
‘We want [those with disabilities] to be included, to be part of this society, not to feel isolated,” says Yasser.
Will Lawlor, who attended the seminar, has been coaching karate at Murphy’s Karate Academy for the last few years. He first started helping around the dojo at age 12 and has been helping with the para division since he helped launch it a few years ago. The club’s Para karate program introduces basic karate techniques for individuals who are intellectually disabled.
“I’m always looking to learn anything about karate, really. But I really like supporting our para athletes in particular, always fun to work with,” he says. “And we are always looking for different ways that we can enable their success.”
Will says one of his biggest takeaways from the seminar is that there is a myriad of approaches their club can take when teaching kata, which is a pattern of movements combining elements like punches and kicks.
The Para karate program at Murphy’s Karate Academy is led by third degree black belt Sensei Heather MacDonald, who also attended the seminar. Heather first put three of her four children into karate, and when she and her oldest saw how fun it looked, they decided to join too.
“I trained in Calgary initially under my sensei, Heather Fidyk, who is the Karate Canada Para National Team coach,” says Heather. “She’s mentored me and I’ve actually come up with a young woman with Down syndrome who competes internationally. We got our black belts together so we’ve trained alongside of each other and it’s amazing what it can do to have a person like that in your class who demonstrates such commitment. She never stops and she’s always training and practicing.”
For anyone who might be interested in having their athlete join a Para karate class at Murphy’s, Heather says come with an open mind.
“Know that we have a very high instructor to student ratio, which I think is very important because we have many different needs,” she says. “Some people need one-to-one to get started and some people are more independent. I’m all about inclusion. I have a son with autism, and he has his black belt. And I work in the school system as an Educational Program Assistant, so this is my passion.”
She shared the story of a student who joined this year who is on the autism spectrum and was having a hard time paying attention and not getting distracted by what was going on in the class. When she suggested that the student wear ear defenders their progress skyrocketed.
“It is extremely fulfilling, watching the joy and the development,” says Heather. “Getting to know these people brings me so much joy.”
To learn more about the Para karate program at Murphy’s Karate Academy, visit their website here: Para — Murphys Karate
