For 15-year old Jeffrey Wall, karate is his passion, and teaching it to others is what he wants to do in life. More specifically, he wants to get the chance to train as many elderly citizens as possible and it seems that he’s on the right track so far.
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Wall started taking karate classes at the age of 6. Four years later, when he was just ten years old, he was inducted to the USA Martial Arts Hall Of Fame. At the age of 13, he had already gotten his black belt, and after that, it was clear that Wall was made for this.
The teenager has founded Golden Age Karate, a program that aims at teaching senior citizens karate techniques.
In fact, Wall is so dedicated to this mission and he believes so much in his students’ potential that he even planned to have them tested for a yellow belt.
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But then came the virus and Jeffrey’s plans changed, as did everyone’s plans pretty much!
Wall used to teach his students in groups, while he also had a private class with an elderly lady. When, due to the lockdown, he couldn’t offer karate classes anymore, his students were deeply disappointed, so he decided to do something about it.
So, he started a YouTube channel where he regularly uploads karate lessons. Thanks to these online lessons, Wall’s becoming more widely known since now even younger people can watch his videos and attend his online classes.
Some of the people who recently found out about Golden Age Karate were so moved by Wall’s initiative and dedication to his senior students that they even offered to make ornaments to decorate the walls of the nursing home once he can go back to it.
Wall’s classes lasted about an hour when he had the chance to offer them in person, and the groups consisted of 5-10 people. Those seniors though didn’t just go there for fun.
They were serious about learning how to achieve those kicks!
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“My mom and I tried to help them up, but they wanted to keep going,” Wall told Good News Network. “One 95-year-old student did 10 pushups in her nice sweater and pearls and she did great! We laugh about that at every class.”
However, not everyone treats senior karate students the same way Jeffrey does, and this is something that bothers him a lot.
In fact, he recently posted on his Instagram account about how important it is for his students- and any senior student really- to feel encouraged and valued.
“This morning I received an email from a senior that said people don’t treat her so nice when she takes class and she wishes that she could take my class,” he wrote. “Please encourage our seniors. Please help them feel loved.”
People loved this post and commented about how important it is for seniors to be treated nicely and praised Wall for his good work with them over this time.
” I feel sorry for anyone who doesn’t treat these ninjas nice, they better watch themselves!” someone wrote below Wall’s post.
Wall reminds us that it is crucial to respect and support the elderly who need us and he is definitely an example to follow.
You can follow him on YouTube and Instagram to find out more about his classes.
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