LOCAL PROFILE MCN
NOVEMBER 24, 2011 • VOL 2, ISSUE 17
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Photo: Courtesy of Lauren Burns
Olympian gold medalist talks Taekwondo By Tom Valcanis
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self-discipline, harmony, compassion and clarity of mind in its practitioners. As recently as 2009, the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development recommended that children of school age to take up coordination enhancing sports such as martial arts. According to it’s Early Years and Development Framework this would encourage a general sense of wellbeing and help pupils to become “confident and enhanced learners.” Lauren Burns, Taekwando instructor and Gold Medallist for Women’s Taekwondo (49kg division) at the Sydney 2000 summer Olympic Games
believes that martial arts can be beneficial to children of all ages and real improvements can be seen in children with learning difficulties. “[Martial Arts] definitely promotes mental fitness from any age, at any level,” Lauren says. “I see a lot of kids come in with learning difficulties, difficulties with concentration or other troubles at school and through the elements that they learn through training, it’s made a real impact on their school situation from an educational perspective.” Some spiritual martial arts also have a strong emphasis on meditation to clear one’s mind before or even during combat
Photo: Courtesy of Lauren Burns
artial arts in films and comics is far removed from street combat or sparring activities. Though many are ancient practices, the knowledge they yield is still pertinent for the modern age. More importantly, many martial artists attain benefits that reach far beyond the physical as routine training strengthens the mind as much as it does the body. What is often forgotten are the benefits of martial arts in education. The tradition of many martial arts dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Passed down from Grandmaster to student, martial arts instill the virtues of
Lauren Burns is a force to be reckoned with
Lauren Burns meditates upon her next move
training, crucial not only for advancing through the belts and ranks, but for everyday mental wellbeing. Sin Moo Hapkido, a Korean martial art, emphasizes growth in awareness of mind-body connection through its training syllabus. Each training session comprises special Danjun breathing to centre one’s mind that lays the foundation for group and individual meditation. Chief Instructor Ken Mahony of Bayside Hapkido, a third Dan Black Belt, says that meditation “helps concentration, improves awareness of your body and clears the mind. “Meditation inspires calmness, which is good for all kinds of social interactions; students are less likely to worry or feel anxious and overcome phobias that can arise around that. When we can calm the mind, we can handle conflict better and meditation as well as the physical martial arts is a fantastic way of doing that.” Lauren adds that martial arts are a sport for our “rapidly changing times,” as children now grow up in a world filled wall-towall with digital distractions. “I think a sport that brings back that stillness to our lives when there’s so much stimula-
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tion out there – not just for kids but adults – to take a moment to focus and breathe; I think that’s wonderful.”
“I see a lot of kids come in with learning difficulties, difficulties with concentration or other troubles at school and through the elements that they learn through training, it’s made a real impact on their school situation from an educational perspective.” - Lauren Burns Mark Castagnini, former Muay Thai champion and head instructor at Hammers Gym strongly believes that mental fitness is as important as physical prowess. Martial arts of all different types have something to offer the student in the classroom, as he explains. “There’s many types of martial arts: Korean taekwondo, Japanese
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karate, Muay Thai from Thailand; they all have their various styles and attributes…but they all have a big mental aspect to it. All the moves that you make require coordination and develop your mind in a different way than just going to the gym and lifting weights or going for a run. “The tactical moves in martial arts do take time to develop to a high enough skill. When you’re working with a partner on defence drills you have to know which correct techniques to employ to defend yourself so your partner also has the benefit of learning through being able to counter your strikes. You have to use the mental side of martial arts to push yourself through the physical aspect of it.” Mark Castagini emphasizes that the discipline enforced in the various dojo or training gyms is right out of a child’s comfort zone. Through running classes, he finds that almost “all the kids are towing the line; no one’s skylarking or unruly,” which has direct effects on their school lives, contributing to improved focus in the classroom. “The ones acting out are usually barred from the class,” Mark says. “They’re never made into ‘heroes.’”
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