Lifelong Participation

Following on from the last blog I was wondering about the idea of lifelong participation. As someone who studied and then taught in the area of leisure and recreation with a particular focus on sport it is something I have been very invested in. Karate, Kickboxing and other related martial arts are often seen as areas that can encourage this. At conferences I would attend sessions where various researchers discussed what it was about PE in schools that often seems to deter rather than encourage participation and why children are not getting engaged in physical activity as they used too as this leads often, to reduced participation later in life. Well one thing that often came to my mind is that historically it has always been an issue, each generation seems to think it is a new problem for them and so it is somewhat cyclical. But, there is also the rise of social media and technology that seems to have heightened these thoughts at this time. There is also the idea that team sports is a good thing for everyone and personally I have seen this seriously deter some who feel left out and not part of the group because it is really not for them. PE has widened its remit, at times, its offer varies and then is reduced it again due to constraints about what can be taught and the overall costs involved. I have been lucky to be added to the curriculum for some students at a local high school and the sessions have had some excellent success. There are also arguments about lack of drive from children these days which is something I do have a contention with, I honestly believe given the right opportunities children do wish to be active, I have seen the drive many of the children I have taught take them onto achieve great things, not least world championships. I see many children excited and who want to run around and be physical, at my club, in competitions and abroad in many different institutions through martial arts. I think the variety of offers these days are wide and numerous and martial arts is great in this sense as it offers a lot. Sport related offers such as Kickboxing and Judo. Martial arts such as karate and Kobudo (weapons). All have something to give youngsters and if trained in the right way and with good progression points all give a possibility of learning for life. Competitive activities allow participation from ages 5-70 with children’s sections often full to the limit which shows there is drive there. Older students often make up some of the bigger sections these days at competitions, and later on after retirement from the more physical look for something else and I have see the transition from say kickboxing, sport wise to karate for a more traditional activity. Or delve into a new area with say Jujitsu to develop a more rounded self-defence approach. As the aging continues maybe into Tai Chi. Lifelong participation is very achievable in martial arts and is something I will continue to champion as long as I can.
Dr Charles Spring