Our Nintai Kitsune are thriving! So much progress in such a short time, and so many smiles 
. Our students are proud of themselves, and justifiably so 
The Kitsune class is designed for individuals with additional/complex needs, and runs every Sunday from 10.30-11.15 at 16C W End Front St, Bedlington NE22 5UB. Our current class is currently fully booked, but if you are interested, you can be added to our waiting list by contacting us at: info@nintai.org.uk.
Our Kitsune class was created for those with complex additional needs, and is the heart of Nintai Martial Arts.
Research shows that traditional martial arts are beneficial for everyone. Physically, students develop their core strength and muscle control, improving balance and coordination, and martial arts can also help to develop self-esteem, ability to focus, self-control, and self-discipline.
The calm and consistency of our training environment create a comfortable space for individuals to learn and progress at their own pace. Our lead instructor has designed an adaptable syllabus, so that each student can achieve based on their own individual strengths. He is a governor at a local specialist school, and has provided music sessions in two specialist schools as a volunteer, providing him with experience in educational settings in addition to his personal experience.
Mike Sensei’s eldest daughter, Keira, has Kleefstra Syndrome. This syndrome varies from one individual to another, but in Keira’s case she has severe learning difficulties, hypermobility, hypotonia, autism, and global developmental delay.
Physiotherapy is an important part of Keira’s therapy plan, but she dislikes her formal sessions and refuses to participate. So karate is her physiotherapy, and she loves it!
Keira’s karate is fully adapted to her strengths and limitations, but the expectations are not lowered. Keira can count to 20 in English, but she can also count to 10 in Japanese; her balance has improved so much that she is now capable of running; she memorises everything she is shown and uses those moves with increasing accuracy; she can now focus for the entire 45 minute session; but most importantly, she has fun.
We have a variety of clothing adaptations in place for our Kitsune students, but we also always open to more ideas, so please suggest anything that you feel is needed. The traditional outfit is a white gi (karate suit), with a coloured obi (belt), and bare feet. For safety reasons, no jewellery can be worn, and if your hair is long enough to fall onto your face, it should be tied back.
*More research is available upon request
In Nintai Martial Arts, we associate our Kitsune class with the zenko (although our foxes can also be mischief makers 
)
In Japanese folklore, kitsune (狐) are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to folklore, the kitsune-foxes (or perhaps the “fox spirits”) can bewitch people, just like the tanuki, they have the ability to shapeshift into human or other forms, and to trick or fool human beings. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, and lovers.
Foxes and humans lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as its messengers. This role has reinforced the fox’s supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is.
Kitsune are believed to possess superior intelligence, long life, and magical powers. They are a type of yōkai. The word kitsune is sometimes translated as ‘fox spirit’, which is actually a broader folkloric category. This does not mean that kitsune are ghosts, nor that they are fundamentally different from regular foxes. Because the word spirit is used to reflect a state of knowledge or enlightenment, all long-lived foxes were believed to gain supernatural abilities.
There are two common classifications of kitsune:
Local traditions add further types. For example, a ninko is an invisible fox spirit that human beings can only perceive when it possesses them.
Kitsune have as many as nine tails. Generally, a greater number of tails indicates an older and more powerful Kitsune; in fact, some folktales say that a fox will only grow additional tails after it has lived 100 years. (In the wild, the typical lifespan of a real fox is one to three years, although individuals may live up to ten years in captivity.) One, five, seven, and nine tails are the most common numbers in folktales. These kyūbi no kitsune (九尾の狐, ‘nine-tailed foxes’) gain the abilities to see and hear anything happening anywhere in the world. Other tales credit them with infinite wisdom (omniscience). After reaching 1,000 years of age and gaining its ninth tail, a kitsune turns a white or golden color, becoming a tenko (天狐, ‘heavenly/celestial fox’), the most powerful form of the kitsune, and then ascends to the heavens.
