Sports

I have been doing Tai Chi for about three and half years now and it is one of the best thigs I ever started. I love everything about it from the silk reeling excersises, push hands and the form which is also like Big Jane I have Aspergers so the repetitive movements of the form are comforting and just what I need. I also study the martial side of it which brings a whole new dimension to what you have learned and soon find out that the form is in the martial side and vice versa and one helps with the other. It has helped a lot with a back injury I got at work as well as helping with how I'm feeling mentally at the time.

I'm also a pro wrestling nut and have often fancied trying some lessons but I think after a few body slams or suplex's my back would let me down so I will have to stay a lifelong fan!!

My other sports passion would be basketball which I played at school and would have 24/7 if humanly possible growing up! I was also lucky enough to play for some of the RAF bases where I was posted once I had left school. I'm still a huge fan of the game allthough do miss the Bird and Magic era.

Why on earth would anybody not call martial arts a sport?  I've never heard of that before!  I love it.  I do freestyle so it's a bit of everything mixed together... all different styles and also different focuses (e.g. self defense, sporting competitions, demonstration / movie performance, etc).  Sure, some martial arts mayn't be focused on sporting competition at all, but most at least have an alternate form that is, if not just simply being suited to it in the first place.  I would also say that you don't have to master it to learn great values.  I love the fitness, the tradition, the etiquette and respect, and the beauty of the movements, and those come pretty early on in my estimation.

You can absolutely get good and bad clubs, and this should be researched beforehand so you don't end up with a 'bully' type club like was said above (or a 'clueless' type either).  Key things to spot that tell you a club isn't legit include the sensei stroking his/her ego by throwing a new student with no warning, just to show off (which is completely pointless for learning and breaks down trust), the belt gradings being done entirely in-house rather than in front of judges from multiple clubs (this might not apply in areas without many other clubs in, I suppose), and an extreme leaning toward either intolerant harshness on the one end, or lackadasical carelessness on the other (you want a mix, not an extreme... it should be serious AND fun).

The club I attend is not focused on competition fighting at all, nevertheless there should be eventual opportunity for such activity, should a student desire it (like me!).  Likewise in reverse, even a club that is very focused on competition fighting should not lead a student into fights they don't want to do, and should explain that focus before signing people up.  This is just my reckoning, from listening to conversations, doing classes and things like that.  Also, beware clubs that think their style is "the best" and everything else is "worse".  There is no ultimate fighting style and never will be.  They are each better and worse in different ways, for different intentions, with different rules and in different situations.  A good sensei will know this, I think.

I also attend pro wrestling lessons.  A very different sport indeed (and indeed, very different to most sports).  But extremely rewarding, I find!  Although I am a bit of a pro wrestling nut!  :)  It has a few similarities with combat sports, but many opposites (e.g. you're trying to keep your opponent safe, rather than put them in peril).  It probably shares a lot of qualities with dance (which I've never personally done, so I don't know for sure).  There is also a huge comeraderie involved.  It's like a big family of proud misfits.  :)  Although it is amongst the more dangerous sports, particularly if you get a bad tutor (which certainly exist!) and there isn't a lot of money in it as a career (a pro wrestling can usually expect to have another job to make ends meet... I think the same goes for most martial artists, too).  Although unlike with most sports, pro wrestling is a career that if you're good enough at it, you can keep doing into later years... and also unlike most other sports, you don't have to be a specific body shape to stand a chance to compete.

Those are my personal sports.  :)  Btw I am an adult with aspergers syndrome.

My son (8) and I both have ASD and we enjoy running and cycling. They are both things we can choose to do together or alone and go at our own pace.

Running with T is also a good chance for us to talk to each other without it being a "big deal"

We do have to avoid some of the big event races though as noise levels can be a problem.

Hi,

my 11 year old son likes going out on his bike and swimming too. He also enjoys football in theory, but whenever he tries to join in at school he gets a bit frustrated if people 'cheat', so that doesn't last long....! he's not the most co-ordinated boy in the world, but i'm proud to say he was riding his bike without stabilizers when he was 3 and a half. purely because my friends daughter did (she was 5), so if he wanted to play on her bike when we were there he had to learn! He swims like a fish, and i think he enjoys it because he's confident in the water, and he can feel involved with others without looking out of place. he tends to snorkle most of the time. :)

i must say it's lovely to be able to do something as a family that we all enjoy - we all love swimming and bike riding is great in the nearby forest. it's two of the very few things my 2 sons agree on doing! (because my other son isn't interested in his brothers other 'things'!)

he also did tennis lessons and karate, but lost interest when he found it too difficult. i think the best idea is to show your son lots of different things and see if any take his interest, then give it a go and see what happens.

Hi

My son is 9 has a diagnosis of HFA and loves golf.  He became quite able at it (and the rules of course) very quickly.  He started getting interested via a Tiger Woods Wii game when he was about 7.  No team to have to cope with and he has good co-ordination in that situation.  He likes tennis and badminton but he can become fixated with the rules and forget the fun element, focussing on the aim of winning.  This has lessened as he has got older and we coach him on not worrying about the rules so much etc.

He is not big on swimming on a regular basis or the lessons, too many echoey noises, fuss getting changed, nothing solid to stand on etc.  but does love the speed of the flumes.  He does however love cycling and was good at Lacrosse (as long as he had a nice team).  Unfortunately we moved and they do not do Lacrosse here.  He is pretty good at ski-ing too as and when we get the chance, but we have to go when it is not too busy and he does need an adult close by incase something crops up that might unsettle him and he may behave more erratically then.  A great skill to have though and he is proud of it.

Golf, Cycling and Ski-ing are our focus.  Although he is ok at football he won't play due to the nature of the contact, shouting and so on  as he just ends up upset.

Food for thought?

some call it a sport - martial art - it's rubbish when it's just the local club that teaches aggressive moves & attitudes, but when you master it (for example by doing wing chun and tai chi with the country's leading teachers) there is a whole new level of spirituality & sensitivity that helps an autistic person to overcome the self-centred side of being autistic, and it's good exercise, and not mad with competition if practiced with a great coach, and good for self-confidence & anxiety-reduction around other people too