Page 37 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 110
P. 37
www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #110 March 2022 37
Continued from page 31 to get better and take the steps to KARATE KOMMENTS
prepare yourself for the next level.
Craig family (Kim, Campbell, Grant, The game is so fast and skilled.
and Ross). So many good memories Working out, power skating, and
and they made me feel like I was part skill work is something that we By Jim Riddell,
of the family.” control how hard we work at it.”
Seaway Karate Club
The Craig boys all spent some Hofford went on to play four
time with the Colts as well. seasons at Salem State College in
Massachusetts, where he met his
“Another favourite memory was Improving Your Health
scoring the overtime winner in now-fiancé, Julia. They reside in
Toronto with their French Bulldog,
my first home game,” reminisces and Fitness with Karate
Lucie.
Hofford. “Of course, I can’t forget
ere we are, back at karate class after what is hopefully our last
those pre-game Tim Horton’s drinks Hofford was a two-time All-
with trainer Stan Pyke.” Conference at Salem State. He HCOVID lockdown. The past few weeks have brought several
spent some time as a scout with the new students, most looking for a new activity after enduring almost
Hofford still keeps in touch with two years of restrictions. Karate is an excellent sport to begin as an
Arizona Coyotes before settling in
several of his teammates from the
as a full-time skills coach for kids adult, even without any previous experience in the martial arts. The
Colts, including Sean King, Denny
and professional players. He is also benefits go well beyond learning some self-defence skills as it can
Dubblestien, Billy Ulrich, Dean
a GTHL coach for the ’09 Toronto help to improve your overall health and wellbeing.
Deroshce, Matt Cruickshank, and
Titans.
Zac Tierney. The British Journal of Sports Medicine reported on a study
Cal Hofford is proof that hard work comparing two groups of middle- aged adults (both men and
Hofford offers some sound advice
pays off and good things happen to women), one comprised of martial artists, the other a sedentary
for soon-to-be or new Jr. A hockey
players: “Take every day as a chance good people. group. The test results clearly revealed that the martial artists had
better aerobic capacity, balance, flexibility, and strength. The VO2
Max test results measuring cardio-vascular fitness showed that the
martial artists enjoyed a significant advantage over their sedentary
peers.
A one-hour karate class, twice per week can help lower the risk
of developing one or more of the couch-potato diseases, such as
high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
As for weight management, it is estimated that an average karate
class will burn approximately 600 calories per hour, which puts it
at the top of the activity list for calorie consumption. The training
provides an aerobic workout that uses every muscle group in the
body.
The benefits of karate go beyond the physical, keeping practioners
focused, taking them away from the stressors of their daily lives.
Very few people are genuinely fit – if fitness was a criterion for
beginners, not many people would ever start karate classes. Adult
karate classes are a mix of younger adults, some approaching
middle age, and some who have already entered into those years.
It is a sport that has a social aspect, can be started at any time and
continued for a lifetime. You may think that you lack the speed,
balance, strength, and co-ordination for the martial arts, but with a
few short months of training the self-confidence will begin to build.
Photo by Robert Lefebvre, icelevel photography
You will begin your karate training as a white belt, but that is still a
higher rank than you had sitting at home on the couch.
Karate Quote: “Courage is the power to step out of the familiar.”
