Conquering Through Martial Arts: The Success Story of Sandra LaRosa.
The point of this story is to never give up and keep striving forward.
Cardio Kickboxing is perhaps one sport in the world which consciously attempted to blend in health and martial arts. This art has an ancient Asian heritage, as its precursor was the Tai art called Muay Thai. Frank Thiboutot's intervention however transformed Kickboxing, the modern form of Muay Thai, into a health-oriented art suited for the 21st century lifestyle and thus cardio kickboxing was born.
The Life-Saver Art: Myth or Reality?
Like many martial arts, cardio kickboxing is considered a major solution to the health concerns of our times such as obesity, lifestyle diseases and stress. With the capability to burn around 800 calories in an hour, it's also a fitness choice. But there is something beyond these, which made kickboxing the showstopper among martial arts for health.
As the name itself suggests, Thiboutot intended it to be a booster of cardiac health. The special moves designed for this goal took cardio kickboxing to another level when it comes to martial arts for health and fitness. This intense but not burdensome martial art is proven to improve cardiovascular health, heal muscular health issues, regularize bone density and help with arthritis and rheumatics. This description, scientifically suggested, makes kickboxing sound a wonder art. Is this a myth or reality?
Sandra LaRosa's Answer: Conquering Polymyositis through Martial Arts
The life of Sandra LaRosa, the Kickboxing veteran at Bruce McCorry's Academy is a testimony to the power of cardio kickboxing as a life-saving martial art. A martial art lover since her early 20s and a passionate martial artist since the age of 30, LaRosa's life underwent a huge change in 2008. In her early forties, this young and healthy martial artist started experiencing fatigue and muscle stiffness, which turned out to be a fatal muscular condition, polymyositis.
In LaRosa's words, the next few years come across as a tough journey. Her days fell into a chaos of getting tests, trying out treatment methods, researching the nature of her condition and falling in and out of positive and negative moods. In this difficult journey, she found her companions in her positive-spirited friends and supporters at the Bruce McCorry's Academy. Some miracle drugs, paired with regular workout and proper diet gradually started changing her condition. Today, back in the grip of her life, when she extends thanks to her colleagues, the drugs which saved her, and the doctors who helped her, there is one name she wishes not to leave out and that is cardio kickboxing.
Usually, physiotherapy is a crucial part of the treatment for polymyositis, a disease which ruins immunity by decimating muscular tissues. Under the guidance of the neurologists and rheumatologists from Brigham & Women, (http://www.brighamandwomens.org) LaRosa decided to try out cardio kickboxing, her passion, as an alternative. Under the regular support of the staff at Bruce McCorry's Academy, she found kickboxing her pillar of strength that kept her muscles from further damage and kept her strong in body and mind.
If kickboxing was at the core of her willpower, other martial art sessions at the academy too helped. Taekwondo helped her to improve bodily coordination and regain muscular flexibility. The breathing moves in Tai Chi acted as a good stress-buster. Today, LaRosa leads a happy life, finding her life's joy in the very art which brought her back. When the concern of health looms her mind, she smiles back at life with the determination of a fighter and the spirit of a winner, imparting Kickboxing to hundreds of learners, each on their way to find their own goals and dreams in this miracle art.
For more information about Bruce McCorrys Martial Arts Academy, visit www.brucemccorrys.com
More on Sandra's journey, visit: http://brucemccorrysmartialarts.blogspot.com/2013/09/my-life-with-polymyositis-sandra-larosa.html
Sandra can also be contacted at info@brucemccorrys.com
