From Sensei to Student: A Blind Athlete Blogs from Japan
When we last talked to Nicholas Hoekstra, he had just returned from Japan, where he taught English through the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. During his time in Japan, the avid athlete began to cultivate an interest in the marital art of Judo, and was soon applying to the International Budo University to study both the Japanese language and Judo. Nicholas was accepted and started a blog devoted to his rigorous training in the martial arts, including how his training is influenced by his blindness and how it entwined him in a wider global community.
"The most amazing thing about training in Japan is the extensive international community that exists here...Besides training with German, Russian, French and Egyptian national champions, I had wonderful opportunities to spar with sensei from Israel and Barbados. Every day brought new players from new places. One Italian Pilot chose to work flights to Narita so he could train at the Kodokan in his rest period."
Although Judo is where Nicholas' passion currently lies, he encourages other people with visual impairments to become active in athletics, whatever they may be.
"Over the years, I have been approached by the parents of several blind children who have asked me my advice on raising a child with a visual impairment. I have always stressed one theme above all others: Get your blind child involved in sports! I stress again and again the need for blind children to interact with their sighted peers...Yes, a blind player will have a slight disadvantage. Like it or not, a visual impairment is somewhat of a setback. The sooner a child is introduced into such situations, though, the sooner they will learn to adapt and find their own solutions to problems of inequality."
