 Imagine you're a hospital you've never heard of us and you have some person talking to you about working with kids who'll cancer with karate. They look at you like you are nuts. For anyone who's had cancer or had a family member go through it, you know all too well just how real that fear, stress, and pain really is. If you consider yourself a true martial artist and stick with us for a few minutes on this one because while unconventional, karate can actually be an effective tool for patients. That's why we're very happy to support the Hero Circle Kids Kicking Cancer. They are a nonprofit organization that provides evidence-based martial arts therapy to children with cancer and other life-threatening conditions. It was founded in 1999 by Rabbi Elemelik Goldberg after losing his two-year-old daughter to leukemia. A martial artist and Black Belt himself, Rabbi Goldberg began offering support to other children battling the deadly disease. The training is led by Richard Plowden who has had a substantial career as a top tournament fighter, was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame and named instructor of the year by Black Belt Magazine and he serves as the chief martial arts therapist. Mr. Plowden is with us today to give us a personal inside look at this very special program. What exactly is Hero Circle presented by Kids Kicking Cancer and how did it get started? 22 years ago, a rabbi, we call him Rabbi G, his name is Elemelik Goldberg. He started Kids Kicking Cancer at a children's hospital in Michigan. The first couple of years, it was just oncology patients that the organization worked with, but oncology patients and hematology patients, patients that may have sickle cell or other blood disorders, oftentimes they're treated in the same clinic. So there were kids who were hematology patients and other illnesses who said, well, while the cancer kids can have this program, how come we can? So then we started working with kids with other illnesses. And with that came the organization being named Kids Kicking Cancer, but Kids Without Cancer, where we were servicing. So many of them misunderstood. They thought they had cancer and their parents may not tell them and that type of thing. So Rabbi G came up with the term Hero Circle to include all of the different illnesses and the fact that they inspire each other. So the kids with sickle cell, they inspire our hematology kids who inspire our sickle cell kids who inspire our organ transplant kids. And we work with any kids who are in pain with illness and their siblings all over the world. It's the Kids Kicking Cancer Hero Circle. What is the primary goal of the program and how are the kids expected to use material that they learn? It's an empowerment program using the carrot of martial arts, let's say. We like to say that the martial arts is the metaphor. So there's no sparring that takes place, there's no board breaking, there's no self-defense. We do teach blocks, we teach some kicks, we'll teach some strikes. And there are some kids who even do forms of cotton depending on how long they've been with us. But our goal is to infuse on them that they are powerful martial artists and they can fight whatever comes their way. We like to say that in the movies, the martial artists are the only people who beat up the bad guys. So right away, when we walk into a clinic or a hospital room with our uniform on and we're being positive and really trying to inspire the kids, they latch on to us and they buy in to what it is that we do. So we have kids who use our breathing techniques and meditation, which is really the crux of our program. Happens to be our therapeutic interventions. So we have kids who use that while they're going through a procedure, having the port accessed, might be something as simple as getting a shot, a lot of adults are fearful of shots, let alone a five or six year old kid. So they're getting in the shot and they begin to do what we call their power breathing or go into a meditative state. The doctors are amazed. So it's been very effective for pain management, you would say. Oh, no doubt about it. That's really a huge part of what it is that we do is pain management. There are numerous studies confirming that cancer patients with strong emotional support show higher recovery rates. I've also included a link in the description to the National Library of Medicine that publish a study on the effectiveness of this exact program. And they concluded that children with this therapy experience a significant reduction in pain and emotional distress. Hero Circle is supported by fundraisers and donations and you can give through their website or via the donate button that's next to this video and they will receive 100% of the contributions. If you can't financially commit, then please share this with everyone you can. The therapy is free and by making families aware of it, you now have the power to give their child an extra tool to fight with. Tell us about power, peace, and purpose. Well, power, peace, purpose happens to be one of our mantras. And we say that when we bow. You know, because all martial arts systems will most have some type of bow that they do. Rabbi G. in creating, the kids hitting cancer hero circle came up with a bow where with the right hand we say power, we cover power with peace and then we bow and say purpose. We do that because we tell the kids, boom, you're now a powerful martial artist. You can fight whatever is coming your way. We tell them that we say peace because we also give them the ability to take control and calm themselves down. And then all of our children will tell you when we ask them what's your purpose, they'll say to teach the world because one thing that takes place, Daniel, all of us, we wanna know what is our purpose? So we tell these young warriors who are going through the fights of their lives many times that their purpose is to be a teacher, to be a role model, to have adults who might complain about stubbing their toe. Look at this kid who's going through chemo treatment and go, wow, they can do it. I can do it. So the kids really take ownership of that. We do demonstrations with corporations and other public groups and they help to inspire adults with our mantra, power, peace, purpose. That is fantastic. And then watching some of the videos you have online, I noticed that a lot of the kids are repeating the phrase that they say, breathe in the light and breathe out the dark or push out the dark. Can you tell us about that? Yeah, for sure. We make an attempt to make things tangible, right? So when we ask them to breathe in the light, of course, initially, some will point to a light bulb or the sun or that's what they initially think we're talking about. But then we let them know, no, night happens to be the good things that take place in your life. Strength, courage, love. And then you want to blow out the pain, the fear, the anger. So we'll go through sessions where we'll have kids who are identified what their light is and what their darkness is. And that's what we want them to focus on. So you're making it relative to their own viewpoints? Oh, no doubt about it. Because each kid's journey is their own. And, you know, I'm someone myself at my advanced age, thank God, I've never had to go through cancer treatment. So I can't talk to them from that standpoint, although one of our lead instructors, Michael Hunt, was part of the very first kids kicking cancer class 22 years ago at Children's Hospital in Michigan. He's now one of our lead instructors and he can speak to the kids and parents from that personal experience, which has really helped enhance our program as well, because a lot of times, you know, people will tell you, you don't know what I'm going through. You know, you don't know, you don't understand. And Michael will smile and then begin to tell his story. What a powerful figurehead just to have in place. So the kids could actually see someone who went through it and used it and actually got through and fought the battle themselves. Yes, sir, especially someone, as he tells his story, long story short, he had some ribs removed as a child. And because of the cancer, they replaced the ribs with a piece of plastic. And his mom said, well, as he gets older and as he grows up, you know, what's gonna happen with that piece of plastic? His body's gonna grow, but the plastic won't grow. And the doctors told her that he's not gonna survive. And here we are, now he's in his 30s and he's thriving. Thank God. Is there an age eligibility, like a cut off restriction for any of the students? Well, initially when it was started, I think Rabbi Gee thought that the program kids would age out about 18 or that type of thing. But what happened is we become a support group. We have individuals who are in their 20s who still interact with us, you know, post-treatment. So it really is a lifelong commitment. Yeah, oh, it is. It is, and you know, life is about relationships anyway. You know, so when you find someplace where you feel comfortable, and that's one thing that, and talking to a number of our young people and parents without organization, there's a sense of normals, right? We don't treat them any different. You know, we have kids, Daniel, that have gone through cancer treatment and been told by parents of kids in school that the cancer is contagious. So you can't hang out with that person because you might catch it. So you know, imagine what that does to a young person in elementary school to hear some nonsense like that. And they know better, but they're being excluded. But that's where that training can get back in. So you're teaching them how to manage and cope with not just the pain, but now when they're dealing with scrutiny or anything else, social-wise they can apply that training through that as well. That is, that's exactly it. You get it. And how are classes held? Well, we have a few different ways that we interact with the individuals and COVID has changed a lot, I must say too. One, we do clinic visits. Any interactions that we have are approved by physician or hospital. So, you know, it's not like we're just willy-nilly going in here and doing things. We have an eight-hour training program that we have individuals go through too as we onboard them with us. And then they have to go through training with the individuals' hospitals that we're involved in. So we're going for clinic visits and then we're also allowed to go bedside, you know, and see patients while they're in their room with the hospitals that have approved us. Another way that we interact is now on Zoom, we do our classes. So Zoom has increased our reach to whereas in the past we had to have instructors with boots on the ground to physically be there for the kids, now we have hospitals where they'll go with an iPad room to room, that's a child life specialist and with a nurse and have a kid on camera while I'm here in Detroit working with them as far as breathing goes, might show them a block, a couple of punches and then get inside their head with inspirational messages. So even the kids who can't physically get up and perform to moves, they're still included because you're talking about doing bedside, so everyone's included. Everyone's included, and I'll tell you, Daniel, I have one class that takes place out of New Jersey, 100% of the kids are in the wheelchair, 100%. We have to be able to make adjustments. So if we have one physical class where a kid is in the wheelchair, one in-person class, kids in the wheelchair, we're not kicking that day. We sit back and we customize the class to the group that we have so that everybody feels included. So is there a cost to the families for this, or how do people actually sign up for this program? They're recommended by their physicians, the child life specialists, the nurses and or online, a number of parents have found us. So the parent then gets the physician to sign off on joining our program and it takes off from there. And there's no cost to the patients to be part of it. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Everything is free. Here in Detroit, which is our hub, which is where we started. So here we have three vans that we run for classes where we go and pick up kids from home and bring them physically to classes. So, but everything, everything is free. We operate on grants, donations, that type of thing. Fundraisers, we've had a number of martial arts schools do kick-a-pounds for us and that type of thing. So donations would go to the transportation cost, the equipment, the gear, the uniforms. The uniform, that is correct. We order through Century. We have a partnership with Century and they give us a pretty good deal on that. You know, imagine the type of insurance we have to carry too. You know, and every eye is dotted, every tear is crossed with us. What is the most impactful way any viewers can actually contact you guys and contribute to the cause? For sure contributing, and we are 501c3, we are a non-profit organization. So it's always a struggle, so to speak. So if the martial arts community, and that's what we've been working with Century on, can embrace us with fundraising and also potential instructors. The challenge with the instructors become is so many of us are in a box and we teach the way that we were taught. So getting away from that hardcore, sparring, super rough impact type thing and understanding that these are young people who have challenges and we have to soften things. We have to come down to their level so that they can embrace the beauty of martial arts which is really a holistic activity. That brings up the question is, can any martial artists from different styles of arts contribute or what's the actual material that you guys teach? Daniel, you are so sharp. Well, because everything that we do revolves around basics, we're very adaptable. One of my best instructors out of the Chicago area happens to be a judo practitioner. Now stop and think about that. But we've been able to work with him as far as blots, punches, just the basics so that he can teach it to the kids and then still get inside of it. And that's the key. We're not trying to make somebody kick like Bill Superfoot Wallace. We're not trying to make them as tough as Benny or Kitties. You know, we're setting back and trying to make them be the best human being that they can be while they're fighting such a rough day. So there is a basic set curriculum that's basically universal if you wanna call it that. Yes, sir, that's correct. I'm heavily involved in tournament competitions. I was part of the very first sponsored karate team in the United States, the Budweiser team, and Grandmaster Parker was our advisor. So I was blessed enough to interact with him. Now, I don't compete myself anymore, but over the years I had a very, very, very, very, very good tournament career. To the point now where my son and daughter, Morgan Plowden and Richard Avery Plowden, are two of the top competitors in the world right now from a tournament standpoint. So I tell people, if I can make that kind of switch and turn it off, you know, I had my spiron class in a couple of hours here, but if I can make that kind of switch, anybody can. Because, you know, I come from a very, very structured tournament background, but kids can get cancer, change my life. What kind of feedback have you received from families and patients that are in the program? Oh my gosh, well, understand, Dan, this will be 18 years, I think, of me doing this. So, you know, the feedback has been one, quite emotional, to be honest with you, and also quite uplifting, because you know you made a difference. In 18 years, I have to say, we've lost some kids, you know, and I tell the story as one of them, a young man named Tony, who relapsed brain cancer. And I walked, he wasn't doing well, but I walked him to his hospital room one day and he perped up and just started smiling. I say, Tony, well, why are you smiling? He said, because I knew you'd be here, you know, and just having a young, a teenager and he eventually passed, unfortunately, but hearing that from him just gives you such a rush, you know, because you know that you're looking out for. Kids can sense your sincerity. And what are the goals for the future of the program? Well, we're working right now on seeing how we expand. You know, as I said, we started here in Detroit, and when I was hired 18 years ago, we also had New York, it was Detroit, New York. And now over the years, you know, I was blessed enough a couple of years ago to go to South Africa to help set up our program there. You know, so wherever there are ill kids, we want to be able to service them as long as of course we can stay ahead of the game financially. But again, what Zoom has done is cut down on a lot of those costs because to do a class in Dallas, Texas, I don't have to have the instructor there. So, you know, it's, man, again, for me, it's been life altering. I thought that I was gonna own a few schools that franchise it out. I had my tournament organization and all of that got put second. You found the real martial arts. Oh, I did. I definitely called them. So viewers, for the walk away, which is one idea about your program, what would you like that idea to be? That the martial arts is a wonderful activity that can literally change lives without breaking bones. Sorry, well, thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. No, no, no, thank you. Thank you for reaching out to share with the world what we do for our kids because we, it's needed. Thank you. So most of us will spend the majority of our lives training to protect ourselves just in case we have to. For these kids that struggle exists every single day, and if you really wanna make a difference to the martial arts, then here is an opportunity to do so. Every single one of us watching this has a way to help, even if it's simply to spread the awareness. You can make a donation to their website or via the donate button next to this video. If you have a school and would like to organize a fundraiser, you can reach out to them at the link in the description below. But if you know of anyone who is struggling with cancer or another disease, please reach out to them and tell them about this program. You never know what could push the odds in their favor. And that's the real power of the martial arts, making us as strong as we possibly can be. And if you believe that, you'll wanna meet Ian McLeod, who was our guest on the show and he showed us how he used karate to recover from a series of traumatic brain injuries and how that training has given him a functional life. The mental fortitude and power that can be attained through the martial arts is real if we can learn to embrace it.