Pensioners swap bingo for martial arts
From ancient Korea and now to the east of Melbourne, Australia, the martial art of Soo Bahk Do has an unlikely fan group – older Australian women. Every week on a Monday, a group of Australian ladies in their sixties meet up at a hall in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Rather than meeting up for a game of bingo, or to play a round of bowls, these women have a much more active activity in store for them – they’re students of Soo Bahk Do.
Soo Bahk Do was brought to Australia around forty years ago, and literally translates to ‘the way of the striking hand’. And unlike some of the other martial arts, this discipline requires the pensioners to have full control over their bodies. The aim is to catch opponents off guard using a range of fast and spontaneous, as well as slow and graceful, movements.
Watch Out for Ninja Nanna
Although these Nannas may still enjoy a spot of online bingo from time to time, instructor Leonie Broman says to ‘watch out for ninja nanna’. An older lady herself, Broman is a fifth dan black belt in the ancient martial art, a fact which she enjoys surprising almost everybody that she meets with.
Ms. Broman says that her students have become more independent, healthier, and fitter since they started taking her classes. Many of her students live alone, and the self defence skills they have learned are truly improving their independence and quality of life.
Martial Arts as a Hobby
Many of Broman’s students don’t intend to take their martial arts skills all the way to the top, but instead prefer to practice the art as a hobby. One student in particular, Maggie Romain, began learning Soo Bahk Do earlier last year as a bit of fun. Thanks to the martial art practice, Ms. Romain says that she has been feeling significantly calmer, less worried, and her blood pressure has gone down. Although she may have no intentions to become a professional, the emphasis on the harmony between body, mind and spirit when practicing Soo Bahk Do has resulted in a wide range of benefits for many of the students.
History of Soo Bahk Do
A martial art with roots in ancient Korea, Soo Bahk Do dates back at least two thousand years. Although it has only been popular in Australia for the last few decades, there’s no doubt that this martial art is taking Melbourne’s older generation by storm, and there are many young people interested, too.
Although Soo Bahk Do is meant to be a non-competitive martial art, it certainly teaches its students a good range of self-defence skills, something which has helped these ladies in particular feel more independent and safer when out alone. Tracey Newton, a student with Ms. Broman, says that should a situation arise, her Soo Bahk Do training should hopefully kick in and she will ‘automatically know how to do things’.
Who says that Nannas have to be restricted to baking and knitting anymore? Thanks to Soo Bahk Do, more and more Nannas are becoming fiercely independent.
