Doing Martial Arts When Handicapped

A Young, 22 Year Old Woman With Cerebral Palsy Strikes A Blow To Terrorism Through Martial Arts!

Boca Raton, FL (PRWEB) March 27, 2007

”No one expects someone with cerebral palsy to be good at martial arts, which requires focus and motor control,” says Dr. Janice E. Brunstrom, founder of the renowned center for children with cerebral palsy at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. ”Yet some of these children learn to take down a 6-foot-2 black belt. It really opens people’s eyes to what someone with cerebral palsy can do, and it gives the kids a real sense of accomplishment.” – N.Y. Times, March 11, 2003

Gabriela Nalven had cerebral palsy at birth, born to a woman abusing drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. “The day that I was born the doctors told my mother that her child would never walk and talk, and would be confined to a wheel chair all her life,” Gabriela was later told.

School administrators said she couldn’t handle high school or college.

Or have a successful career.

But Gabriela proved them all wrong.
Her Godmother Kathy, stepped up to protect her and brought Gabriela to live with her as often as she could. Gabriela made the move permanent at 14, and was eventually adopted by her Godmother.

“It was hard to make friends and to communicate due to my speech. I thought that no one would want to be my friend,” recalls Gabriela. She had always wanted to play on a sports team as a kid, but the coaches would not let her anywhere near the gym. ”

Enter Martial Arts.

“I didn’t have my hopes up too high when I came into Barry Stephens’s karate studio on November 15, 2003 – I will never forget that day!” says Nalven. Stephens, a karate pro with a signature line of martial arts gear called Thunder Fight Gear, took Gabriela under his wing and nurtured his determined protégé’s desire to learn karate, despite her cerebral palsy.

“I started out punching and kicking – I couldn’t even balance on my left leg. But now three years later, I can balance for about a minute,” she beams. “In the gym I felt that I can be who I am without hiding my problems.”

Gabriela has some tough challenges with karate, as well as every day experiences, but sticks with it. “I work so hard to do my best and make Barry proud, because he opened up the doors for me,” she declares with disarming candor.

Gabriela Takes Her Passion To The Web

Fast-forward two years.

A blue belt in karate (blue is the fifth level up from white to black -halfway there!), Gabriela is inspired to sell Barry’s Thunder Fight Gear on the Internet and hires a web master to design an e-commerce store for her. The web site MixedMartialArtsGear.net is a select distributor for the Thunder martial arts gear, which is considered one of the best in the industry.

Gabriela’s site recently caught the eye of Homeland Security, which resulted in a large sale of martial arts gear, for use in the U.S. government’s war on terrorism. For now, Gabriela Nalven has made her contribution to the fight against terrorists.

With Barry’s encouragement and her own passion and determination, Gabriela is shattering misconceptions about cerebral palsy, and is an inspiration to those who know her. She looks forward to achieving her black belt in karate, but takes it one day at a time. “it’s about the journey, not the destination,” she proclaims with a knowing smile.

Malcolm
Peterborough Martial Arts

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