At SEN Master Academy, martial arts make room for everyone

It’s a cloudy Friday afternoon in Bandar Sri Damansara, and 18-year-old Mohammad Danial Amsyar is hard at work perfecting his taekwondo kicks.

Colourful hoops laid out on the floor show him where to move, while two assistants stay close, guiding him from one position to the next.

This is how Danial, who has autism, learns martial arts: with visual cues, patient guidance and plenty of practice. Nearby, his mother Norasrifah Abdul Fuad watches happily as he trains.

“When Danial first started these classes, he just kept crying. But soon we showed him that they were fun, he could choose what he wants to do. Now he enjoys them,” Norasrifah told FMT Lifestyle.

Such individual attention is part of the approach at SEN Master Academy, which offers adaptive martial arts and taekwondo classes for students with special needs alongside mainstream classes.

Established in 2016, it also delivers specialised programmes at schools, rehabilitation centres and community organisations throughout the Klang Valley.

The academy was founded by Seremban-born Khaldun Redza, an eighth-degree black belt and former national patterns and sparring champion with more than 50 years of experience in taekwondo.

“It’s all about connection. Once you know how to connect with your students, you can get them to understand anything. Sometimes, some of them turn out to be even better than mainstream students,” Khaldun, 64, told FMT Lifestyle.

His own introduction to the martial art was somewhat unexpected. As a youth, he preferred disciplines such as kung fu, but his school did not offer clubs for them.

A friend signed him up for taekwondo classes without his knowledge. Despite his initial reluctance, Khaldun developed a passion for it and earned his black belt at 17.

He opened a martial arts academy in 2008. That same year, a young boy with special needs turned up for a class, but Khaldun, unsure how to teach him, initially turned him away.

The boy kept returning to watch, prompting Khaldun to give him a chance. He took remarkably well to taekwondo and later became, according to Khaldun, Malaysia’s first autistic taekwondo black belt.

Not long after, Khaldun began teaching a girl with autism and cerebral palsy. Seeing how well she responded strengthened his resolve to make martial arts accessible to more students.

There was also a deeply personal reason to continue: Khaldun’s own son has autism, and he realised that martial arts offered them another way to connect and spend time together.

Already in his 50s, Khaldun returned to university to study special education. It was a demanding undertaking, but he persevered for the sake of his son and students.

He said his studies helped him understand how the repetition and regular drills of martial arts could have a calming effect on some children with special needs and help them regulate their emotions.

Not everyone, however, was receptive to his approach. “They told me, ‘You can’t teach martial arts to special-needs students. You will make them aggressive and confrontational!’” Khaldun recalled.

“But I told them, no, it’s not about that. I’m not here to turn them into Bruce Lee or Donnie Yen. It instils discipline and coordination, and helps them understand their bodies better.”

As his commitment grew, Khaldun left a comfortable corporate job to establish SEN Master Academy. It was a leap of faith: he had only a handful of students, including his son.

Word spread, and enrolment steadily grew. Today, the academy has about 30 mainstream students and 120 students with special needs, including those with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, microcephaly, dwarfism, and visual and hearing impairments.

Teaching students with such varied needs and abilities takes patience and flexibility. Khaldun and his small team of assistants adapt lessons to each student, offering the guidance and attention they need.

He tries not to turn anyone away unless they have a medical condition the team is not equipped to accommodate. For parents, that willingness to understand and include their children can make all the difference.

Sharon Wu said her son Marcus Yau, 24, who is on the autism spectrum, is highly sensitive to noise and often finds it difficult to go out, particularly during bad weather. Yet he never wants to miss his martial-arts classes.

“I like the inclusivity here. All the students here have their own special needs, so my son can make friends here, and can also truly be himself without judgment. I’m glad he has them,” Wu said.

Learn more about SEN Master Academy on Facebook.

SEN Master Academy
B-5-15, Ativo Plaza @ Damansara Avenue,
1, Jalan PJU 9/1,
Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur

Contact: 017-272 6988

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