Martial plan

The two boys, both 9 years old, were diagnosed with cancer at younger ages and are now using martial arts as a way to find physical and mental healing. When Black was 3, doctors discovered he had kidney cancer. The affected kidney was removed and now he is in remission.

Three years ago, Henry was diagnosed with a soft-tissue cancer that resulted in a liver transplant. He weighed 32 pounds two years ago when the transplant took place. In the last six months, he has doubled his weight and grown 6 inches.

Henry’s mother, Christina Henry, attributes his growth in large part, to his participation in taekwondo and Master James Ray of All American Martial Arts.

“(Taekwondo) has made him stronger,” she said. “He had a lot of muscle atrophy and lots of problems with his legs after the surgery. It has really helped with his balance, strength and endurance.”

Black’s mother, Carrie Gilliland-Black, said her son experienced many of the same problems.

“He had a lot of muscle weakness problems and needed something that would strengthen him,” she said. “After doing an evaluation with the physical therapist, we were looking for an activity that would keep him up and moving.”

Unlike many of the other martial arts academies, All American allows students like Black and Henry to advance at their own pace.

“It has to be a team effort between the students, their parents and the instructors,” Ray said. “If Ethan (Henry) and Ian (Black) weren’t of the mindset of wanting to get better, and if the parents weren’t in tune to helping, then it would break down.”

He had lots of problems with his legs after the surgery. It has really helped with his balance, strength and endurance. Christina Henry

Ray said he was initially surprised by the boys’ improvement in martial arts.

“We took it kind of slow in the beginning. As of now, I don’t see any reason they can’t be the same as the rest of the students out here,” he said. “The odds were not in their favor to start off with.”

BELT boasting
Black began taking taekwondo lessons in January 2009 and Henry started in July 2010. In a recent tournament, Henry placed second in sparring in his age division. Black is unable to compete in the sparring competitions because he has only one kidney, but does compete in boards and self-defense. Currently, Black is a blue belt and Henry has advanced to a green belt.

“For Ethan (Henry) and Ian (Black) to go to a tournament is pretty dramatic, considering where they were just a year ago,” Ray said.

But healing through martial arts isn’t just for children.

Del City resident Jack McBrayer, 47, has used aikido, judo and jodo to help him recover from serious injuries suffered in a 1988 automobile accident; McBrayer broke his left thigh bone in two places, severed a tendon in his wrist, dislocated and crushed his left ankle, broke his left knee, and separated his pelvis. The accident kept him in the hospital for three months.

About five years later, McBrayer took up martial arts and today he is a sixthdegree black belt in aikido and a second-degree black belt in judo and jodo.

McBrayer, a Midwest City High School graduate, couldn’t balance on the ball of his left foot after the accident. A year after taking martial arts classes, he was able to achieve that balance after building stabilizer muscles in his leg.

“(Aikido) keeps me limber and I use it as my physical therapy, too,” he said. “I can do falls and rolls, which are things doctors didn’t think I should be able to do. In fact, the doctors told my family I would never walk again. I surprised a lot of people. I surprised myself. Some days I can’t do as much, but I’m still out there.”

McBrayer isn’t just helping himself; he’s helping others, too. He teaches aikido basics to a group of homeschooled students once a week and he teaches martial arts classes at the Foster Recreational Center, 614 N.E. Fourth St. in Oklahoma City.

“I got my black belt and that’s when the learning really began. Teaching kids is a whole new ballgame,” he said. “I’ve always thought martial arts would be a lifelong journey. It’s given me a lot of self-confidence. When I’m older and someone sees an old man shuffling along and I’m the perfect victim, they might find out the hard way that I’m not.”