Blind Turk learns Aikido

[Thai-Samurai]

http://www.chinastrategies.com/blindnews.htm

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=8802

Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Visually impaired man learns aikido

ANKARA - Serkan Samancılar, 23, is visually impaired and works at the
İzmir Public Library. Four years ago, after thieves stole his mobile
phone, he started to learn aikido so he could protect himself.

Aikido trainer Ömer Bükülmez said Samancılar has managed to learn all
the techniques despite his visual impairment and was shocked by his
talent.

Samancılar said, "Thieves can hurt even defenseless people nowadays,
so I'm learning this sport to defend myself," adding that being
visually impaired did not have a negative effect on his training. "The basis
of this sport is emotion, love and feeling. Disabled people have all
three. People who thought I couldn't learn aikido now say 'Wow!' when they
watch me training."

Samancılar said aikido played a very important role in his life and
not only made him strong but also enriched his soul and a gave him a new
energy for life.

Successful:

Bükülmez said Samancılar was his first visually impaired student and
was no different from any other. He said Samancılar was even more
successful than some other trainees. "Although he can't see, he learned the
aikido moves with his strong sense of hearing. He can immobilize any
attacker merely by hearing the voices. But more important is that aikido
improved his way of thinking because it's not only a sport but also a
philosophy and a lifestyle," he said.

Bükülmez also said he was thinking of giving aikido lessons to the
visually impaired at his other training centers and added, "I learned
many things from Serkan, and I want to say that if somebody covered my
eyes I wouldn't be able to fight as well as he does."

Samancılar has been working at the library for five years and is
rewriting books in Braille for the blind. Samancılar is also a student at
Anadolu University's social sciences department open education faculty.

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Is it just me or is it supercool that a blind person can achieve so much. I want to learn Aikido now.

[nakharar]

Wow, I'm impressed.

[anoush719]

Wow, I'm impressed.

Impresssed? I'm not. It says visually impaired, not blind. Which means he sees forms and shadows at the very least. No matter how they try to portray it otherwise.

Whyever would we want some turk able to defend himself?

[Thai-Samurai]

I find it inspiring, I've recently been interested in Aikido myself; and I can't help admire such perseverence and dedication.

[anoush719]

I find it inspiring, I've recently been interested in Aikido myself; and I can't help admire such perseverence and dedication.

It should be fairly easy to find somebody else instead of a turk to be inspired by.

[Thai-Samurai]

I've never come across an article that mentions a good thing Turkish people have done. When I saw this article I realized I had to post it. Aikido is a fabulous sport.

[karoaper]

I've never come across an article that mentions a good thing Turkish people have done. When I saw this article I realized I had to post it. Aikido is a fabulous sport.

it is, but not as fabulous as ultimate frisbee. and turks suck at it