Some Visible Progress

In the late Summer of 2013, I began having night coughs that kept me awake. By December, those coughs had turned into a real struggle to even breath. I was two-hundred and five pounds, way heavier than I'd ever been in my life. I tried to exercise every day, but I couldn't really work my muscles before my breath let out, and I'd find myself coughing and throwing up just to walk a few simple blocks. All of this is documented on video on the FMK channel.

Seeking medical assistance, I was diagnosed with asthma, and through a series of blood tests I learned that I'm allergic to several common food ingredients, including wheat, egg whites, and peanuts. With the help of a dietary change, some control medication, and just sticking with as much training as I could handle, my health has rapidly rebounded. Now, six months later, I'm losing the fat, I'm able to run for an hour at a time to exhaust my muscles without ever losing breath, and I've started to gather a crew together for regular martial arts and fitness sessions in my basement kwoon.

I don't know why I got sick. It seems so strange, after forty, to suddenly develop allergies and such a serious asthmatic condition. Sometimes there are no easy explanations, and bad things can just happen out of the blue. I think there are a lot of people who would have probably given up training when they found themselves puking every day, and just focused on the medication alone. But I really doubt my health would have rebounded the way it did without daily training. To me, this is part of what the martial arts is about. It is a weapon to wield against disease and deteriorating health. I'm sure this won't be my last such battle. This is only the first time I have had to put my art to use.