(The Budokai Samurai 2025 Summer Games Demonstration in St. John’s NL))
It’s been just over a year since we started the Samurai program, a traditional Shotokan karate program for students who have diverse support needs. In the current class, we have students with developmental/cognitive delays, low muscle tone, and some who are neurodiverse. We have tailored the program based on the needs of the students who are currently in the class but the skills we teach can also be broadened to include other groups requiring assistance like seniors or people with physical disabilities.
This program teaches students real traditional Shotokan karate. Many programs for people with additional needs are centred around socialization, and although this is important, it doesn’t provide the level of challenge that we thought was obtainable. We aimed to build a program where students could strengthen key life skills through hands‑on karate practice. We recognized that this idea was unique, and that meant we needed a deliberate, well‑structured plan to make it succeed.
What are Accommodations?
We started off with our Sensei (Jeff Hutchings) teaching classes that included kihon, kata and self defence. Classes showcase everyone’s strengths and also their needs as a karateka. Over time, we figured out what accommodations were needed and created individualized plans for each student. Accommodations, by definition, were created to eventually be eliminated, so we developed a plan that does just that.
First, I want to define an accommodation. Accommodations are tools that aim to remove barriers that could prevent someone from participating in a specific activity. They allow the student to access the lesson – without requiring significant changes.
In a karate class, this could look like
- Visual markers for stance length
- The coach performing the moves of a kata alongside a student
- Extra processing time or predictable structure
- Verbal cueing (counting for each move, or indicating a direction of a turn)
Activities of Daily Living
After a few months of coaching the Samurai, the ideas (and the excitement) kept growing. We realized that we could incorporate specific exercises and drills into our karate classes that could really help these students with their activities of daily living! Balance, hopping and kicking drills can help students with activities like walking up and down stairs, getting up from the dinner table while holding their plate, or carrying groceries. The trajectory shifted as we decided to delve a little deeper into what we could do to make the absolute most out of our class time. We want to teach the best karate possible while also trying to assist our students with some of their regular daily challenges.
As each student trained, our coaches observed closely to see if/where additional help was needed. For example, one student could walk on a balance beam forward and not need any support. But, when 2 bean bags were added on the beam, and the student needed to lift their legs to walk over them, they required help from a coach for balance. The goal here would be to remove support (in small increments) until the student can do this task independently.
Below are the 3 stages of creating independence in an athlete while performing kata. We have used these accommodations in the Samurai program. Please keep in mind that the list of accommodations is endless, and really anything that can help a person can be an accommodation. Creating relevant, useful accommodations that can eventually be eliminated is the goal😊.
Cross-Body Drills
Samurai classes stand apart from typical karate instruction. For example, we intentionally weave cross‑body exercises into our drills because they’re powerful tools for boosting brain health and neural growth. For people who have cognitive challenges, these types of exercises are especially useful. During a warmup we might do jumping jacks, elbows to knees, or standing toe touches (always across the body to reinforce neural development). We also designate 20 minutes per class for an obstacle course.
This course is designed with our current students in mind. We use a variety of equipment like balance beams for balance drills, pads for impact drills and an agility ladder for speed and footwork. Each exercise chosen for these obstacle courses is a karate skill-builder and selected specifically to build neural connections. During each obstacle, we also incorporate many cross-body elements. The rest of class time is used for drilling basics or learning and practicing kata or self defence (which are also inherently good for promoting neural connections). The class is both fun and extremely functional.
Maintaining the integrity of karate does not mean refusing accommodations. It means holding the destination steady while allowing flexibility in the path. In the Samurai program, the techniques, values, and expectations of karate remain intact – because our students are capable of meeting them. We always presume that once the barriers are removed (ex. limited balance or unknown expectations), that each student can perform the task. We presume competence!
Karate skills translated into Daily Life
The skills that the Samurai are building, help both in their karate and in their daily lives. Some examples of improvements we have seen in class, and how they translate to daily life, are:
- A karate stance that begins higher and gradually lowers. This can help with navigating stairs or sitting and standing from a chair.
- A student who starts with visual cues and no longer needs them. This could translate to a student remembering steps in a daily routine or even remembering safety rules with no cueing.
- A student who once needed constant prompting and now self-corrects. This leads to reduced frustration because there is less correcting coming from someone else.
Every student is different regardless of diagnosis, so we must look at their ability first. Differences in processing, balance, strength, or communication do not equal lack of ability. Coaches observe carefully and adjust activities thoughtfully. By doing this, we know when we should help, and even more importantly, when NOT to help (i.e. by removing an accommodation). Every student who walks into the dojo is presumed capable of learning karate.
Three key takeaways:
- Accommodations are tools, not permanent features.
- Our goal is not compliance – it is independence.
- Knowing when to remove support is just as important as knowing when to offer it.
Oss!
Leave a Reply