Back when I was coaching in the mornings, I had a few deafHoH (hard of hearing) athletes come to my class. At the time I only knew the American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet so every time I tried to communicate with these athletes I had to fingerspell (aka spell every word out versus using a sign…i.e. instead of using 2 signs to ask “how are you”…it was H-O-W-A-R-E-Y-O-U) or I would write on a mini whiteboard and to be honest, my handwriting and spelling are not the greatest. Therefore I decided to take up sign language. I asked around and found a class at Texas School For The Deaf (TSD) where my athletes worked (many of them are teachers there). I signed up for ASL 101 and fell in love immediately. I quickly learned that I needed more practice, so after two weeks of ASL class I decided to start a crossfit class (an environment I’m uber comfortable in) for deaf and hard of hearing athletes that was all in sign. This was the closest I could get to submerging myself in the culture.
As people/athletes showed up to class I made sure they knew I was a new signer and no one has batted an eye or judged me. This class isn’t any different that a “normal” crossfit class. We warm up together, I explain the workout/WOD, we execute, cool down/stretch and take a picture. The ONLY difference is, everything is done in sign and its awesome. In this process I have learned that there are not a TON of signs for movements so when I get stuck on signing a movement I ask my athletes, “whats the sign for ____ ” and they either give me one (or more options), we make up one, or decide if it should be fingerspelled.
One of my favorite parts about this is we have new athletes come almost every week…its amazing! When I say new I’m talking new to the class and/or new to crossfit. These new athletes step outside of their comfort zone and attend a workout class mainly because a coach “speaks” their language. They know nothing about my history in the sport of crossfit, but because I’m trying to learn their language they come and continue to come AND bring friends.
Over the past 28 weeks we have created a strong community that I’m blessed to be a part of. THANK YOU to these athletes who continue to help me on this journey of learning sign language and trusting me with your fitness!
Resources For Learning ASL:
- ASL School at TSD in Austin, TX (I have currently taken ASL 101 and 201 there, and just registered for 301)
- Lifeprint online
How to follow the Deaf & HoH Karhuligan:
- We have a facebook page that anyone is welcome to join, you can go HERE to find it.
- We have an Instagram Handle @Deaf.HoH.Karhuligans
- Check out THIS article that a close friend wrote about the class.
This photo hits all the feelers. With Chief between my legs I’m counting reps for Gergely as him and Jackie compete in their first competition hosted by Trinity Competitions. Months prior to this, Jackie asked me if I would help out with their competition. I said yes without even blinking an eye. As the competition got closer I started to get nervous…what if I couldn’t sign fast enough? What if I didn’t know all the signs needed to communicate rules and movement standards? What if…what if…what if…and the list goes on and on. But I had committed and what a great thing it was. THANK YOU Gergely and Jackie for giving me this opportunity!
Photo Credit: Trinity Competitions
If you know of anyone that could benefit from this class please have them reach out to me or just come try a class (athletes must be deaf or hard of hearing to join) or if you know of a person/coach who is looking to start something similar I’m more than happy to chat with them. Contact me personally using the form below!
