Australia Up Close Martial Arts Taking Hold Among Both Young and Old By DARREN McLEAN	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
武道が老若男女の間で人気 大学の授業のストレスを発散させようと、筆者は最近、武道を習い始めました。この武術は、空手とキックボクシングと柔道をミックスさせた、自己防衛を目的としたもの。筆者は武術を学ぶことは、体を強くするばかりではなく、精神衛生にもよいと言います。

As I work through the third year of my engineering degree, I am finding it harder and harder to break free from the stresses of university life. I decided recently it would be a good idea to start a form of stress-relieving physical activity, so when a friend invited me to join a local martial arts school on the Gold Coast, I said I'd give it a try.

At first I found the idea of learning martial arts quite daunting, as I had no experience with any form of self defense. My only glimpse of martial arts had been when I watched the movie "Karate Kid," and all I knew was that you have to be extremely agile!

But after my first class, I realized how much fun the sport could be. Even more importantly, I found it to be a fantastic form of stress relief. The stress seemed to be transferred to my tired, aching muscles.

I study a combined form of martial arts called the universal art of self-defense, which combines various skills from karate, kick boxing and judo. I recently passed my first grading to earn a yellow tip at the Universal Self-Defense Academy.

Kurt Dalton, a friend of mine from Griffith University, is heavily involved in a range of martial arts. Kurt is learning four forms of self-defense at Australia's largest martial arts school, the Bob Jones Martial Arts Center.

The Bob Jones Center has over 1,000 clubs, with more than 20,000 students throughout Australia and New Zealand. The most popular style taught at the Bob Jones Center is "zen do kai." Zen do kai is a modern form of martial arts developed in Australia over the past three decades by grand master Bob Jones, who is also formally referred to as "kyoshi sama." Zen do kai translates as "the best of everything in progression" and encompasses principles from martial arts forms around the world.

Zen do kai is not taken primarily from Japanese martial arts, but it does draw on the principles of karate and jujitsu, mixed with kick boxing and a range of other forms. Zen do kai is Australia's most popular form of martial arts.

Kyoshi Steve Nedelkos is one of the chief instructors of zen do kai. "The beauty of zen do kai is that it is an open system, meaning we are open to influences and ideas from all over the world, but are guided by the knowledge handed down to us from previous generations," said Nedelkos.

Muay Thai is a more vigorous self-defense system, originating from Thailand, taught at the Bob Jones Center. It focuses on punching and kicking, and the use of knees and elbows. Unlike most disciplines, students wear colored singlets instead of colored belts to indicate their level.

Kurt's favorite form of self-defense is arnis, a Filipine discipline using weapons, which has only recently been introduced to Australia. Arnis teaches students to safely use a range of weapons, including daggers, sticks, broken swords, machetes and bows, as well as how to disarm an opponent when under attack.

Perhaps the most physical style of self-defense Kurt practices is shoot submission wrestling. It is called submission wrestling because the first person to make his opponent submit to pain by banging his hand on the floor mat wins. This seemed a bit agonizing for my liking.

Martial arts are for people of all ages. Kids' kickstart karate classes are specially designed for children aged between 5 and 13 years old. In fact it has been proven that teaching martial arts to children as young as 5 years old has a significant leveling effect on a child's nature, making aggressive children more tolerant and shy children more confident.

Many elderly Australians have taken to the gentle turning and stretching movements of tai chi. There is an Australian Golden Age division of tai chi, which is dedicated to improving the health of seniors. Many people find the exercises act as therapy for a wide range of health problems, including poor circulation, high blood pressure, arthritis, back pain and digestive and nervous disorders.

Martial arts are becoming increasingly popular in Australia because they promote good health and well being, and teach valuable life skills such as self-discipline, respect and confidence. From my brief experience with the sport I highly recommend trying martial arts as a great form of stress relief as well!

Shukan ST: Aug. 13, 1999

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