No one likes to feel vulnerable, but when you experience life as a person with a spinal cord injury, that’s one of the number one feelings that overwhelms you. Erik Kondo however refused to feel this way. A T4-5 paraplegic from Lexington, Massachusetts, Erik decided to combat this feeling by learning self-defense skills through martial arts, and he is now one of the most talented martial artists with a disability in the world and is now a 3rd degree black belt.

From applying his self-defense knowledge to help to protect women with disabilities online to showing newly injured people how to be independent, read on to learn about the fearless SCI superstar who’s using his talents to help others, Erik Kondo.

Why he’s fearless

Around 27 years ago is when Erik became a member of the disability community.  He was 19 and on his motorcycle when it crashed, and broke his T4-5 vertebrae on impact. Getting injured at this age however is never easy, but Erik, now 48 years old with a wife and three kids, has harnessed his fighter personality like a pro.

When he was 30 years old, after working in real estate for a few years and business and doing a bit of handcycling and skiing, Erik decided to begin practicing martial arts, jujitsu to be specific, in which he now holds a third degree black belt. Erik may have full control of his upper body, but he still has balance problems since he is a T4 paraplegic, so watching him in action is really quite something.

He also has a great video channel on SPINALpedia where you can watch him practice jujitsu and perform a slew of other wheelchair tricks. To date he’s uploaded 40+ videos and they show either a self defense skill, a mobility skill or a workout skill.  Eric is passionate about empowering other people with spinal cord injuries in any way shape or form. Such a great guy! Check out his videos

After he became good at jujitsu, self-defense came naturally. He’s went on to create a site devoted to self-defense called NOT-ME, which shows at-risk individuals what they need to do to really defend themselves if they’re in an altercation, and wheeler-user tips are part of it.  He’s made several videos showing his moves while sitting down, it is really quite something to behold. Erik can totally take an able-bodied guy down to the ground; no questions asked. Watch him here

And his self-defense videos are just a smidge of what he offers via video.  Erik has also made several videos showing his awesome “mobility” skills in an inaccessible world.  From climbing up stairs to going down a hill by doing a wheelie to popping a curb, Erik has no fear and does his tricks seamlessly. Watch him show the best way to climb up stairs in a manual chair

And Erik’s amazing fighter personality has also found a new outlet – helping protect woman with disabilities online. Predators, devotees and lurkers have no chance against Erik, who made it his life’s mission to uncover these people who are known to prey on women with disabilities online. He even created a free online presentation instructing women how to prevent trolls/predators. Watch

What’s next?

Erik’s latest method to spread self-defense knowledge is by teaching self-defense classes whereevrr he can, from camps to seminars . This past spring he taught self-defense classes in Vermont VT. And he’s also a burgeoning writer. As a frequent flier a lot, he has a few travel tips a share and has been writing for wheelchairtraveling.com, penning the occasional wheelchair travel article. Read his article on luggage tips for wheelchair travel

And last but not least, he runs an incredibly cool stair climbing blog, which is as exactly as it sounds – tips galore on climbing stairs if you can’t walk. Check it out

After a spinal cord injury, it can be hard finding you’re niche in the world. What’s great about Erik is that he carved himself out a very specific niche, and has become an expert in his field. People with disabilities need their own personal superman, and Erik Kondo definitely comes close.

Has Erik Kondo helped you learn a life skill?

- Erik’s self-defense site NOT-ME

Watch the videos!

- Erik demonstrates training for basic chokes and holds

- Erik showing a new paraplegic how to get up a stairs in a manual chair

- 7 signs of a wheelchair pretender

- Erik shows the safe way to fall out of a wheelchair

Winner of 15 Paralympic gold medals in wheelchair racing but first, a humanist and one of Canada’s greatest athletes, Chantal Petitclerc (pronounced “petty-claire”) is one of the most talented paralyzed athletes to grace this planet. And Canada is making sure no one forgets.

Growing up in a small town in Quebec, Chantal Petitclerc lived a quiet life on her family farm. And when she was 13, her idyllic life came to a sudden halt when a heavy barn door fell on her, breaking her back. Since that day, Chantal has been living her life as a paraplegic and she’s been unstoppable.

Why she’s fearless

When Chantal was first injured, she was young and not quite sure of anything yet, partly because of her age and also just like all of us are after spinal cord injury. And after she went back to high school, one of her physical education teachers recommended she try wheelchair racing, and she got hooked right away.  Even though she placed dead last in her first race (and experienced the race from a homemade racing chair), in that moment she discovered what she was born for.

And she began to race in competitions in Canada. After several regional and national championships under her belt, her skill was obvious, and she competed in her first Paralympics in 1992 in Barcelona. And it was here where she won her first Paralympic medals, two bronze medals – for the 200 m and the second for the 800 m.

Four years later at the Atlanta games, Chantal returned to Paralympics, this time tasting her first gold. She won three silver medals (the 400 m, the 800 m and the 1500 m) and she won her first two gold medals of her career, winning gold in the 100 m and the 200 m.

You can begin to see a pattern – Chantal is definitely a fierce competitor.  Maybe she wasn’t born athletic, but her injury certainly made her so, which I think is inspiringly ironic.  Chanel went on to compete in the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, winning two silver medals and two gold medals (in the 200 m and the 800 m). And she really catapulted into fame after she competed in the 2004 Athens Paralympics, where she won (count them) five gold medals. Chantal was the best at wheelchair racing for several years.

And the last games she competed in before retiring were the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. She won 5 more gold medals, and was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as the Canadian Athlete of the Year and Canada’s Female Athlete of the Year the same year for her stellar performance in Beijing.

What’s next?

In 2009 after officially retiring, one of the coolest rewards was also bestowed on Chantal – she got a star on Canada’s walk of fame.  Watch her acceptance speech here

Also after retiring, Chantal became a motivational speaker, which is something she does to this day.  She’s also coaching. When her old coach moved onto coaching the British Paralympic racing team after she retired, she was asked to help coach the team in an official capacity as one of their coaches during the London 2012 Paralympics. And she’s currently a personal coach for star British wheelchair racer, Shelly Woods. Here’s a pic of them together last month

But don’t think Chantal isn’t stretching her athletic wings since she’s no longer competing. She keeps pushing herself and is currently learning a new adapted sport – handcycling. You gotta love how Chantal constantly pushes herself.  She’s unstoppable and so positive; a definite superstar in Canada, the spinal cord injury community and beyond.

Have you had the honor of meeting Chantal?

Visit Chantal Petitclerc’s site

Watch the videos!

- In a speaker capacity, Chantal talks about training for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics

- Chantal’s acceptance speech for her award at the 2009 Canada’s Walk of Fame

- Chantal talks about why people with disabilities should get involved in a sport