Martial arts can be a challenging and fun way to stay fit all your life, and a local martial arts instructor is promoting the benefits of this diverse and beautiful art form.
Shawn Phillips, who heads the Sunshine Coast Hapkido Club in Gibsons, holds the only certification for Gracie Jui Jitsu Combatives training in B.C. and has attracted a diverse group of students into the program.
Last week Helio Grace died, at 95. He was the founder of the world renowned Gracie Jui Jitsu. He practiced and taught his form of martial art well into his 90s. Helio's son, Rorion, is in his 60s, and is still practicing regularly and teaching at his academy in California.
It is because of these men that Phillips is so passionate about the discipline and wants to instill that passion in his students both young and old."Despite what may be thought, it is common for martial artists to train all their lives," Phillips said. "In part they continue because they love their art, and the years they have devoted to it have served to take them deeper into an understanding of why martial arts have remained on scene as a popular discipline for so many centuries."
Phillips said despite common concepts, martial arts are not just for the young or for competition.
"Although it is evident that the benefits help students stay fit, have fun, and become more confident, martial arts have another side, a deeper and perhaps more profitable side," he said. "When practised with commitment, it can take the practitioner to deeper levels of personal growth, understanding and inner strength. The combination of body, mind and spirit health is what has made martial arts timeless and what contributes so profoundly to the practitioners' vitality and longevity."
Phillips contends that as we age we need to become more aware of our unique, individual physical needs. "Those of us who have followed the Gracie Jui Jitsu evolution over the years carry within us a deep respect for its founder, Helio," said Phillips. "We mourn alongside his family over his sudden passing. He leaves us, however, with an effective, holistic martial art that is respected world-wide."
To learn more about Gracie Jui Jitsu Combatives training at the local Hapkido club, contact Phillips at 604-989-2020.
