Nick and Janet Jones, 4th sections, Tampa FL, hold Pal Gye position together.

“Nick Jones, you look terrible. I’ve never seen you move so slowly!” It was April 1996, and these were the words of a dear friend that I hadn’t seen in some time. The words hurt, but I knew that they were true. After all, at the age of 60, I’d had two heart attacks, three stents implanted in my right coronary artery, survived four minor strokes, and had lost over fifty percent of my lungs to emphysema. I had to stop working and contemplated selling my home, because the stairs were more than I could handle. Life didn’t seem to have much to offer.

I couldn’t help but compare myself to my lifelong friend, and I said to her, “You look great! You’re moving with the agility that we had in our 20’s. How are you doing it?” She replied, “Martial arts, and you two had best get involved!” She was referring to my wife, Janet. I’ll let her tell you her side of the story before I continue.

"I’m not exactly a spring chicken, and you’d have to look far and wide to find someone less athletic than me."

Hi, I’m Janet. I’m not exactly a spring chicken, and you’d have to look far and wide to find someone less athletic than me. If you’ve heard the expression can’t chew gum and walk at the same time they were probably referring to me. In addition to having no coordination and timing, I have a herniated cervical disk. At the time we visited our friend, I had severe pain in my neck and shoulders and left arm weakness. Doctors had told me that an operation was necessary to solve the problem, but it carried high risk.

Traveling together

The day after we visited our friend I started calling various martial arts schools. I was most impressed with what I heard from the School of Chung Moo Doe: “Age is not a concern, however, you should check with your doctors.” “The program emphasizes good physical and mental health.” “You definitely can improve your physical condition and quality of life by practicing this discipline.”

At our introductory meeting in the Tampa FL, school the next day, the instructor showed a sincere interest in us as individuals. He talked with us for over an hour before taking us into the practice room to evaluate our physical abilities. After a few moves, Nick was gasping for air and I had to get his inhaler. Our instructor took it all in stride and calmly advised him to relax and breathe deeply. I fully expected him to reject us, but instead, he assured us that we could improve ourselves if we had the desire. We began to practice on the following Monday. Now I’ll let Nick finish our story.

As we write this it is one year later. Janet and I have passed our fourth section test. She had a serious auto accident several months ago and credits her martial arts training with preventing more serious injury to her neck. She enjoys the constant challenge to overcome her lack of coordination and timing and doesn’t even mind sweating! I am more efficiently utilizing my oxygen intake and am able to do volunteer work. We are both getting stronger as each week goes by and have each lost about 30 lbs. We never talk about selling our home anymore because we climb the stairs with ease. We no longer sit in front of the TV evenings because we’re not home - you can find us at school working hard to improve our minds and health. Chung Moo Doe is doing everything our instructor predicted and has already changed our lives for the better. Some of the younger students in our class look upon us as role models. Imagine that!

You know, life is good.

School of CHUNG MOO DOE® The CHONG SU NIM "IRON" KIM Style 8 MARTIAL ARTS TAUGHT AS ONETM

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