Rock Steady Boxing gives those with Parkinson’s a fighting chance

EL PASO, Texas – They don’t have much in common, and most hardly have any boxing experience, but that doesn’t stop them from drifting into Rock Steady boxing classes at MOVE Steady Training Center.

They are local men and women across all ages who, like more than a million Americans, suffer from Parkinson’s Disease.

“The things we take for granted, you think about moving and your body moves. But for [someone with Parkinson’s], sometimes they think about moving and it’s like your foot is stuck in the ground with a cement block,” said physical therapist Katherine Reyes-Brooks, who runs the boxing classes.

Though some research indicates that hits to the head from boxing can lead to Parkinson’s, it’s boxing that is helping these locals fight the disease.

“It’s like when I’m hitting the bag, when I’m training, I don’t have Parkinson’s,” said Robert Garcia, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s five years ago.

Each person is a fighter – figuratively and, in some cases, literally. Garcia was a former boxer himself. Doctors told him his career may have caused him to develop Parkinson’s.

“It got really bad to where I was, at a certain point, in a chair,” said Garcia, who recently attended his second Rock Steady class. “I wasn’t walking, and it was horrible.”

Then there’s Laura Paz, who used to be so ashamed of her Parkinson’s she could barely leave the house.

“There were times when I would go to the grocery store and people would make fun of me. They would laugh,” said Paz, who has lived with Parkinson’s for the last decade of her life. “So I just hated to go outside my house. I was a hermit at home. And now I’m coming to the gym. And I feel great.”

There is currently no cure for Parkinson’s. However, research has shown that high intensity exercise involving the use of force can help alleviate symptoms of the disease.

For Joe Blot, boxing gives him a feeling he can’t find anywhere else.

“It feels like you can do anything anywhere,” said Blot. “And when you have this kind of support, you can’t help but give it all that you have.”

For most, this is the only place in town where they can meet and reclaim a moment or two of independence.

“I was in rehab recently, and I was talking to a group of people who had Parkinson’s. And we don’t know what to do,” said Garcia. “A lot of people with Parkinson’s just stay home and sit there and wither away.”

Now, for once, they have a fighting chance.

“This is a disease that takes away,” said Garcia. “But if you fight back, you can take back – not all of it, but some of it.”

Classes currently take place at MOVE Steady Training Center, 10950 Pellicano, Suite B-2. They begin at 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. The cost is $35 per month.

For more information you can call (915) 307-3283 or visit elpaso.rsbaffiliate.com.