My journey to fitness through Taekwon-Do

Life-changing moments rarely come when you expect them; I was struck by one on a Friday in November 2014. At the time, I was communications manager for a nationwide South African emergency response coordinator.

That morning, I had a meeting with a colleague, so after my cousin/driver had put me in the car (back then, my cerebral palsy left me unable to get in or out myself) he opened the gate and when he came back, we were ambushed by a thief who forced him inside and proceeded to ransack our home.

Violent crime is a reality in South Africa, so as I sat trapped in the car for 45 minutes (the thief had taken my phone so I couldn't call for help), I fully expected that both of us would soon be dead. Fortunately, when I didn't show up for our meeting, my colleague - who is always armed - came to find me. The thief fled and was arrested shortly thereafter.

I came out of the experience deeply shaken, but determined never to feel that helpless again. I reached out to Sabum Sean Cremer, head instructor of the Pinetown Stingers Taekwon-Do Academy to ask if he could teach me to defend myself. When I did so, I expected him to say, "Uh, you're a quadriplegic, there's not much I can do with you."

However, to my immense surprise and gratitude, he accepted me without hesitation and after assessing my physical limitations, he (along with other members of the academy) began pushing me to move beyond them. I currently hold the rank of yellowbelt, but to tell you the truth, I'm not motivated by rank. what keeps me going is a desire to constantly improve and achieve things I once thought impossible. I train an average of 5 days per week for 1 to 2 hours per session.

My strength and mobility have improved by leaps and bounds (for instance, I can get in and out of cars with very little difficulty). My entire body, including my legs, has become functionally strong and although my disability will always make life challenging, I aim to make it as small a factor as I possibly can.

Below is a collection of various training videos: