The general public’s perception on martial arts is that it is something to send your children to, but not an adult activity. A local Karate club says it is challenging this perception, as martial arts has so much to offer people of all ages.

Instructor, Charlie Wildish, from Holistic Karate, said: “If you suggest to people in their 40s, 50s or older that they take up martial arts, they usually give a nervous laugh and say something beginning with ‘too’ – too old, too stiff, too unfit.

“Sorry, but this is nonsense. Karate comes from Okinawa, where people studied for an entire lifetime.

“One of the main concerns people worry about is that they can’t kick high enough. I would ask, why would you want to kick high? The Okinawans didn’t kick above the waist, as they considered it bad for balance and less effective in self-defence. It’s a perception from the movies, where flashy moves get bigger audiences. Yes, it is good for young people to kick high and develop their bodies; but older people should kick low, which saves them damaging their own body and is more practical in self-defence”.

Charlie continued: “The other thing that most older people often worry about is that they’ll get knocked about a lot by competitive testosterone-filled, fit young men.

“This is not the case, and would be a complete waste of time. You learn the body structures and mechanics which make Karate work first, and progress to pre-arranged partner work where you learn to use these movements in a safe, supportive environment. Eventually you will progress to free sparring, but it is kept controlled and supervised.”

Charlie’s oldest student, Dawn Ashman, 70, with COPD, admits to being “terrified” the first time she walked into the dojo (training hall). But she was pleasantly surprised by how supportive everybody was, and thoroughly enjoyed the training.

Charlie said: “Dawn is the most consistent student that I have. She’s now training towards her brown belt, her health has improved dramatically (mainly due to the diaphragmatic breathing used with good technique), she’s on the lowest level of medication that she’s been on for decades, and she’s able to do things now that not so long ago, she wouldn’t have thought possible.”

Charlie is serious about challenging what he calls the ageist perception around karate and to encourage adults to give it a try and find out the many health, fitness, confidence, self-defence and self-development benefits of Karate, is offering a complete calendar month of free training (up to nine sessions) to anybody over the age of thirty who joins up during March.

For more information, contact: 07940 852496.