Hudson & Joanna Ireland, Australia
Karate has many benefits, from the physical to the mental and emotional. Joanna from Tasmania shares her and her son’s experience with GKR Stories and the positive impact karate has had on their lives.
Hudson started with GKR Karate in 2020, and despite having autism and suffering from major anxiety, he was welcomed into the dojo in Hobart like he was a regular kid. The instructors in class helped him with his confidence week in – week out, and it was heart-warming to see Hudson find an activity that he enjoyed and was good at.
After Hudson achieved his yellow belt grade, we moved up to Launceston where we found another great GKR dojo for him to train. He eventually progressed to his orange belt.
Soon after this however, Hudson suffered an anxiety setback which required me (his mum) to be there with him at the class. As a result, I joined GKR Karate as a student. To be honest, I expected to last about 10 days, or at least just long enough to help him over the hill of anxiety. I’m not very sports inclined or fitness oriented, and I was sure karate was not going to be for me. As it turned out, I loved karate just as much as Hudson did.
In September last year, Hudson and I took a break from karate due to surgeries and personal reasons. The good news is that in July this year we moved back down to Hobart and started training at the Mornington Prime full-time dojo. Once again, we were welcomed back, encouraged to train hard and pushed out of our comfort zones. The GKR instructors see us as people, and not as our disabilities or anxieties.
I’m pleased to say that Hudson and I just graded to our green belts; have started entering tournaments; and now train 3-4 nights a week. We have certainly found our way back to karate, through trials and tribulations, fears and anxieties on both our parts and GKR has helped us overcome them.
My lesson to anyone who has anxiety or a disability and is wanting to do karate is, just go for it! GKR is very accommodating and helpful to everyone. With the right mindset, environment, passion and grit, you can achieve anything you put your mind to and GKR certainly provides the optimal environment to thrive in.
I can’t wait to see where GKR takes us next on our journey. It truly is an incredible experience and has created a bond with my son that is indescribable.
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