Nikolas, 8, has autism but loves karate
LACEY TOWNSHIP, New Jersey, USA: When Jennifer Zeller saw her eight-year-old autistic son receive three first-place trophies at a karate tournament, she knew she had done the right thing.
"I was so tearful with joy and don't think I have ever been more touched and proud at the same time," Zeller wrote in a letter to the editor of a local newspaper in the hope that it would encourage parents in similar situations to let their children try new activities.
"The Grandmaster called over a team of judges from another ring to come over and 'judge,' while he himself took my son, Nikolas, to the ring and personally administered his three events privately before the other children arrived at the ring. Nikolas was beside himself with glee when the judges all gave him '8.0s'," Zeller wrote.
Zeller, who lives in Lacey Township's Forked River section, enrolled Nikolas in the Kum Sung karate school on Hooper Avenue in the Toms River section of Dover Township.
"Martial arts are good for special-needs kids. I felt it would be good for him," Zeller said in an interview May 20.
She and her son were turned down at another school. According to Zeller, the instructors there said Nikolas monopolised their time and they didn't feel they could meet his needs.
At Kum Sung, it was a different story. "The owner, she was so open. She never even gave it a second thought," Zeller said.
Youn Kum Sung runs Kum Sung Martial Arts, which has several locations, with her husband, who goes by Master Kum Sung because he said his first name can be a bit confusing.
Master Kum Sung said his teaching philosophy focused on the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of martial arts, and respect for others was the first thing taught.
"We stress equality. If you don't respect other people, then you don't respect yourself," Master Kum Sung said.
Lack of respect leads to anger and violence, which is especially dangerous when combined with martial arts techniques, he said.
Nikolas was treated no differently from any other child of his age, Kum Sung said. He said about 80 per cent of his students, and even some instructors, were classified as having special needs in some way, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and Down's syndrome.
Kum Sung said that learning a martial art was good for people with special needs because "it helps them to feel confident. They know they don't fit in or are a little slow. When they learn a martial art, it makes them feel proud. They fit in."
And Nikolas appears to have found his niche.
"He feels just like the other kids," Zeller said.
Some of the other students in the class are taking a liking to him, such as one girl whose brother has autism.
"She's taken it upon herself to mentor him," Zeller said.
According to Kum Sung, Nikolas also might feel just like everyone else because of how his parents treat him.
"Sometimes, it's the parents who are being handicapped by babying their children. Nikolas's parents do a wonderful job," he said. "They ask for no special favours."
He also said that Nikolas had earned those trophies himself.
"He is very excited to learn. He is eager to learn. He is just like any other kid," Master Kum Sung said.
Still, Zeller is touched by what Master Kum Sung did at the tournament.
"I think everyone who saw it was proud, even if they didn't know Nikolas. It was so surprising to me that someone with hundreds of students there took the time to personally give my son his own mini tournament before the other kids arrived so he could get 'first place!'" Zeller wrote in her letter.
"I think the Kum Sungs deserve to be recognised for their human compassion ... I would love them to get a newspaper write-up with how they gave my son, Nikolas, a better gift than anything you can wrap in a box with a bow — acceptance and self-esteem!"
(Source: Asbury Park Press, June 3, 2006)For more information on classes and resources go to
http://www.thepeacefulwarriors.org/adhd.html
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