Social Benifits of Martial Arts

Niall Keane

2 years ago I decided to go down to my local park to train, to be honest partly due to the Celtic tiger and the current rates in renting training space. When I first arrived the park was “owned” by winos and junkies, personally I think a lot of these people get a bad rap as according to studies 70% of heroin addicts actually work for their habit. Anyway, I decided to train there with a few lads from Rathmines / Rathgar and after a few weeks some other martial arts groups did the same, by the end of that summer, there was Kempo, Shuai Jaoi, Karate and a few others along with us practicing in the park. Reclaiming public amenities or what?
Families started to picnic there shortly after we started, using the martial arts groups as a buffer between themselves and the Winos. We used to spend some of the class training with sabres, swords and spears, but I guess the people recognised that we were serious about learning the art of weapons rather than madmen with blades, and didn’t bat an eyelid, some of their kids even coming up afterwards asking questions. (Some of the questions referred to the Power Rangers , but some others seemed a bit beyond a Childs understanding, but close by were their parents standing within earshot.) I have to say I felt this was a very positive experience. Today in England they are calling for a ban on swords.
On one occasion the police did stop me and my students and asked me to hand over my spear and asked what I was doing. To which I replied (my Sifu having advised me as such in London a few years previously) “a tai chi dance”, the word dance is important, a synchronised dance is more acceptable to the mind that technique practice, I don’t believe the officers actually believed what we were doing was coordinated, it being a resistant delivery of attacks and counters, but sometimes diplomacy can win a battle. Anyway the garda took the spear in his hands and announced: “they should give use these, except with and electrified shock at the metal end”, and then he handed it back.
As a teacher of martial arts I clearly believe in the physical and mental / intellectual benefits of training for the student; however this was the first time I also saw an obvious benefit beyond the martial artists themselves. Belgrave Square became what it was designed to be that summer, a place for local residents to recreate. Perhaps that is why the world sees something special about the martial artists in Chinese Parks.
Maybe we should all do this in our local parks, maybe organise a national day of it? Let the nation see that fighting is an art not barbarity!

Regards,

Niall

SorGan

thats cool mate, did you see any winos dance?:D

Khannie

Fantastic post.

takeda shingen

really nice what you are saying there.

DITTKD

Niall Keane wrote:

2 years ago I decided to go down to my local park to train, to be honest partly due to the Celtic tiger and the current rates in renting training space. When I first arrived the park was “owned” by winos and junkies, personally I think a lot of these people get a bad rap as according to studies 70% of heroin addicts actually work for their habit. Anyway, I decided to train there with a few lads from Rathmines / Rathgar and after a few weeks some other martial arts groups did the same, by the end of that summer, there was Kempo, Shuai Jaoi, Karate and a few others along with us practicing in the park. Reclaiming public amenities or what?
Families started to picnic there shortly after we started, using the martial arts groups as a buffer between themselves and the Winos. We used to spend some of the class training with sabres, swords and spears, but I guess the people recognised that we were serious about learning the art of weapons rather than madmen with blades, and didn’t bat an eyelid, some of their kids even coming up afterwards asking questions. (Some of the questions referred to the Power Rangers , but some others seemed a bit beyond a Childs understanding, but close by were their parents standing within earshot.) I have to say I felt this was a very positive experience. Today in England they are calling for a ban on swords.
On one occasion the police did stop me and my students and asked me to hand over my spear and asked what I was doing. To which I replied (my Sifu having advised me as such in London a few years previously) “a tai chi dance”, the word dance is important, a synchronised dance is more acceptable to the mind that technique practice, I don’t believe the officers actually believed what we were doing was coordinated, it being a resistant delivery of attacks and counters, but sometimes diplomacy can win a battle. Anyway the garda took the spear in his hands and announced: “they should give use these, except with and electrified shock at the metal end”, and then he handed it back.
As a teacher of martial arts I clearly believe in the physical and mental / intellectual benefits of training for the student; however this was the first time I also saw an obvious benefit beyond the martial artists themselves. Belgrave Square became what it was designed to be that summer, a place for local residents to recreate. Perhaps that is why the world sees something special about the martial artists in Chinese Parks.
Maybe we should all do this in our local parks, maybe organise a national day of it? Let the nation see that fighting is an art not barbarity!

Regards,

Niall

Deadly.
Does that still go on? I live near there.


Edit: Just saw your other post. I'd be interested in starting up the Tai Chi again.

MaeveD

This post brought back memories....

About 10 years ago we brought over our first French Aikido teacher to do a course. We didn't have the room to do the bokken class in Phibsboro on a sunny Sunday afternoon, so we headed to the wellington monument in the phoenix park.
It was great craic, lots of onlookers and we were joined by a drunk weilding the branch of a tree

Baggio...

Good stuff mate... Very nice idea - be cool if it caught on.

B.

columok

When a area becomes wasteground (literally and figuratively) it takes pioneer species to make that initial step of taking ownership over the place before other species will come in. Good to see you guys helping people recolonise urban spaces.

Dave!

Good job

Lou.m

There used to be an Asian gentleman who taught Tai Chi in St Stephen's Green. I think it was on the weekends. We should start something like that maybe some of the martial arts clubs in town could do something like it.

Or even better we could start up a Boards.ie martial arts club with many people coming together at weekends in a park in town to learn together and that would claim places like Pheonix park and st stepehns Green back for the public.

I was offered drugs in st stephens green a while ago i bet a lot of messed up people would think twice about hanging aroiund if martial arts dudes hung out there.

I noticed it outside the central bank a few people practise parkour or free running there and they help each other out with learning new things and it really made the place a nicer place to be.

SO what do you think a boards park martial arts team all disciplines coming together in the beauty of nature to fend off the undesirables of Dublin.

Oh well just a thought.:p

ThatBloke

Fairview Park always used to have people doing Tai Chi in the morning, I haven't gone past at that time in a couple of years but I'd say they're still there. The group growed over time too, it was always refreshing to see them there.

Valmont

I don't know, I wouldn't fancy shooting onto a needle or broken wine bottle;)

Lou.m

Maybe if people kept going there there would not be those things.

ALthough point taken .

A nice park then.

Niall Keane

So how about saturday - Jult 14 our own martial artists Bastile Day? Celebrating, liberty, fraternity and equality and all?

Nothingcompares

Sounds good to me. The only problem with parks for Martial Arts training is the lack of mats for grappling on.

columok

Grass. Have you not rolled on the grass in UCD when the hall isn't available (Sunday mornings)?

Pride Fighter

Training in parks does not work here. There are too many weirdos, skangers and junkies around. However if it is to be done try the various Georgian square parks throughout Dublin 4 and 6. Upper class people keep to themselves and are harmless. UCD is a great suggestion. Students dont give a crap and the staff there are sensible people. I think training halls are better. But on the street anything goes and it could be practical to train in a place you could possibly assaulted.

P.S. Does this have anything to do with the social side of martial arts?