I suffer from chronic pain (possibly from a lifetime of martial arts, but we won't dwell on that ). I attribute my pain tolerance to my martial arts practice.
Montefiore class gives cancer kids new weapon
BY KATHLEEN LUCADAMO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, December 11th 2008, 4:00 AM
Mendez for News

Kids Kicking Cancer class with program director Angela Babin. From left: Timothy Gordon, 10; Kevon Edwards, 11; Hahssan Cheaver, 6, Misha McKay, 17, and Michael Santiago, 11.

When Timothy Gordon throws a karate kick, the 10-year-old Bronx boy has a fierce opponent in mind - the sickle cell anemia piercing through his body.

"I think of kicking sickle cell anemia when I fight because I've been admitted to the hospital 11 times for it," said Gordan after completing a few chops and shouting "Hiya!"

Gordon is one of a handful of children participating in a martial arts class at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx aimed at helping youngsters with debilitating diseases cope with pain and anxiety.

The kids, ages 6 to 17, practice breathing techniques, meditation and martial arts moves once a week, tools they regularly use when getting shots, suffering with aches or feeling overwhelmed.

"These children are already on a lot of medication, so it's a nice, nonpharmalogical approach to pain management," said Dr. Karen Moody, co-director of integrative and palliative care at Montefiore Children's Hospital.

There is little scientific proof that popular alternative approaches significantly reduce pain, Moody admits, but the belly laughs in class prove they bring loads of smiles to sick kids.

"It feels like all the pain I have goes away in class, especially during meditation," said Kevon Edwards, an 11-year-old suffering from sickle cell anemia.

The martial arts program, called Kids Kicking Cancer, was started five years ago in Detroit by a rabbi who lost a daughter to leukemia. Since then, it has expanded to six New York hospitals, beginning at Montefiore in 2006.

The class also includes siblings of children with diseases, and bedside sessions are available for hospital-bound children.

"Martial arts is portable. You can do it in your hospital room; you don't need to see a ball. It doesn't matter if a kid has a IV pole or can't walk," said the program's instructor, Angela Babin.

During her intimate class held in a first-floor conference room, Babin holds a punching pad and stacks blocks for children to kick over.

"Whenever Angela comes in with her pads and says, 'You want to punch something?' they always say, 'Yes,'" said Dr. Moody.

But the children said they most benefit from the meditation at the beginning and end of class, techniques they say help them to focus on homework when they go home and distract them from painful shots in the hospital.

During a recent class, Babin asked the kids to describe darkness, causing them to shout out, "Cancer!" "Sickle cell!" and "Stomach pain!" Then she told them to breathe it out and breathe in the light.

Big exhalations could be heard, followed by deep inhalations.

"The breathing gets you to feel light in your body," said 6-year-old Hahssan Cheaver, who has sickle cell.

"It helps you get ready to fight pain."