Marg Jarvis, Australia
Marg Jarvis started with GKR at 64 years of age, 17 years and countless accomplishments later, Marg shares her story in this week’s GKR Stories here.
I started karate with GKR in 2008 without any prior martial arts experience. I had been living on 10 acres of bush with my husband doing a lot of manual labour, and when we moved into town all of the exercise stopped.
I’m not one for going to the gym, and one day there was a knock on the door. It was Sensei Naomi asking if anybody would be interested in learning karate. I thought learning self defence might be a good idea and it might give me some exercise at the same time. So that’s how I joined GKR Karate at the age of 64.
I have gained so many benefits from doing karate, physical strength being one. Although I have lost quite a bit of my strength in the last couple of years due to health problems, my strength gained through karate has allowed me to do many tasks I would not have previously been able to do.
I had a doctor say to me once, “Oh my goodness, they’re not the arms of a 70 year-old woman” – well, that’s karate for you.
Aside from the physical side of things, the mental stimulation and friendships have also been beneficial for me.
My first instructor Cindy introduced me to the State Team. A couple of us started going on a Sunday afternoon and kept it up for many years, and I always worked hard doing all of the activities. These days, I do push ups against the wall because I have so much trouble with my neck and legs. Cindy and I still catch up as she lives close by.
When I moved to Geelong two years ago, one of the things that made it easier was the fact that I was moving close to friends from my days of training in the State Team. I have stayed in touch with instructors from Ballarat too and still count them as very close friends.
There are many highlights from my journey. I won gold at a World Cup as an orange belt, participated in the Guiness Book or Records board breaking, and getting my black belt at age 74 and Shodan at 78 were all exciting. Another highlight was a young lad at class who struggled with joining in. I worked with him a lot, and when I left Ballarat to come to Geelong he gave me a lovely card and a keyring that he chose and bought himself. It just said ‘grateful’ – that makes me cry even now just thinking about it.
I am not sure how much longer I will be able to keep up with classes as I have arthritis in my back that is pressing on nerves. I want to continue, not just for the exercise or the challenge but for the friendships, and to continue helping in the kids’ classes.
I’m nearly 82, so physically I can’t do what everyone else is doing all the time, yet they are all so understanding and accommodating. There’s been occasions over the years where I’ve attended class sitting on a chair doing punches.
My advice for others is to give it a go. Success doesn’t necessarily mean winning medals, I’m very proud of my medals, but that’s not what it’s about, and it’s not all about getting the next belt. Karate is about your personal development and your own sense of achievement.
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