| | | |  | Gavin practices Lop Sao
with Alain | | |  | James practices strikes
against attacker | | |  | James defends against
choke from behind | | |
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| The idea of the Kick Start activity course is to tap into the proven benefits of venture activities as a
way to encourage and motivate individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury. This is not about turning people into adventurers but rather to use it as a catalyst to motivate and encourage people
to look beyond their present personal expectations. | | | | Kick Start Programme - Self Defence Belgium 2008 | | | | |  | | October 2008 | | | Spinal Injuries Ireland has just completed the first activity under our Kick Start Program. This program is possible thanks to the generous donation from the family of the late Niamh McGrath, a special friend who was one of the driving forces behind Spinal Injuries Irelands venture program.
Four participants took part in a self defence training weekend in Antwerp, Belgium and the consensus from all who took part is that it was a great success.James O’ Donohue from Galway, Mark McNulty from Donegal, Gavin Fox from Dublin and Neil Chick originally from Devon now living in Louth, travelled to Antwerp in Belgium on 17th -20th October to take part in a two day training course in street awareness, self-defence and Jun Fan Gung Fu with Alain De Preter.
The Self Defence Kick Start group flew out bright and early from Dublin Airport on Friday the 17th of October. On Friday evening Colm and Declan met with Alain and his colleagues and went over the training program. Saturday morning the training began in basic self defence in the ASMA vzw Centre for violence prevention and self-defence.
By the afternoon the group were sparring full on with Alain and his colleagues. Practising everything from defence against strikes, punches, grabs and holds.
The self defence weekend in Antwerp was a huge success thanks to all those involved. The participants were able to spar on a one to one basis with Alain and his fellow students and it is reasonable to say that Alain and his students were impressed with the ability and work rate of the visiting Irish contingent.
Thanks to the support and continued training of Martin O’Neill the techniques that were practised over the weekend worked extremely well under the real pressure of sparring. There was no concession asked or given just because some of those taking part were wheelchair users. By the end of the weekend all those present had a commonality. “They were all martial artists”. The training continued on Sunday morning with participants getting the opportunity to refine the techniques they had learnt on the previous day.
All participants thoroughly enjoyed the program and were presented with a certificate for participation in the workouts which included street awareness, self-defence and Jun Fan Gung Fu presented by Sifu Alain De Preter.
As part of the evaluation and to assess the value of the program we asked participants for their feedback which thankfully was very positive. Overall experience of the Jeet Kune Do self defence weekend was 5 out of 5. Participants felt it helped with their confidence re travel, self esteem and also felt motivated to look at getting more involved in sport, training, education and work. This is really what the essence of the program is all about. “We are all far more capable than we realise, we just need the support and right environment to challenge and push the boundaries we sometimes impose on ourselves”.
Spinal Injuries Ireland would like to thank Alain and his students for giving up their time and all the hard work involved in making the weekend possible from the hiring of a wheelchair accessible toilet to the fitting of a ramp into the training centre and the banquet laid on at the end of the weekend. | | |
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| | |  | | Mark parries a strike from Frank |  | Gavin practices strikes
against attacker |  | Gavin, James and Neil
take a break |
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