Santa Rosa boxing class helps Parkinson's patients cope with symptoms

As Elvis Presley’s lively “Jailhouse Rock” plays in the background, Pat Copass doggedly swings her boxing gloves left, then right, again and again, each jab seemingly timed to the rock ’n’ roll music.

The 72-year-old Oakmont resident never imagined herself as a boxer, but there she is, a petite warrior striking punches in her personal battle with Parkinson’s disease.

She is one of a dozen people who attend Rock Steady Boxing classes at CKS Martial Arts in Santa Rosa, where participants rally to fight against the progressive neurological disorder that afflicts more than 1 million Americans, most famously actor Michael J. Fox and the late heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad Ali.

“We’re fighting the battle of our lives with boxing gloves,” said Howard Simpson, 81, also of Oakmont. A retired airline pilot, Simpson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 10 years ago. He’s been with Rock Steady Boxing since its start in Santa Rosa last fall.

Developed in Indianapolis in 2006 by a former county prosecutor with early-onset Parkinson’s and a boxer friend, the nonprofit program is designed to empower people who have the disease. Rock Steady Boxing provides both a supportive, fun environment and noncontact boxing moves to lessen symptoms, which often include tremors, stiffness and slowed movement.

Simpson noticed improvement from the start.

“Just walking around, I’m not as dizzy as I used to be. I haven’t fallen and I consider that an achievement,” he said.

A semiretired elder-care adviser who runs a business called Aging Communications, Copass says she sheds her diagnosis when she steps into the downtown martial arts studio. There, rock ’n’ roll oldies set an energetic mood as coaches shout encouragement and direction over the music.

“I don’t feel like a Parkinson’s person,” she said after a recent workout. “My symptoms are gone (at the gym).”

She usually attends three 45-minute sessions per week, gaining and sharing enthusiasm with classmates from their late 40s to their 80s.

“When I miss it, I notice it,” said Copass, who was diagnosed more than two years ago.

Various drills - some done with boxing gloves, others without - are designed to combat specific symptoms. Punching helps steady tremors, while sparring benefits coordination. Teams of two and three toss and catch tennis balls for hand-eye coordination.

During exercises involving raising one knee and then the other, the group alternately counts repetitions of 10 in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese, varying languages for fun.

Quick footwork also helps with balance and coordination, each participant moving at his or her pace and ability throughout the sessions.

The modified boxing techniques condition bodies for agility, muscular endurance and overall strength, while improving outlook and optimism.

“It’s a great morale boost,” said Greg Hessig, 42, an occupational therapist at Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa who brought the program to the local martial arts studio where he works out.

“They’re not going to sit down and succumb to this. They’re going to fight back,” he said.

Copass and Simpson say there’s power in numbers; just knowing they are not alone battling Parkinson’s is beneficial. Working out as a group unites them in their cause.

“We genuinely, genuinely care about one another,” Copass said.

Hessig approached CKS owner Hector Solis, 43, after recognizing the hospital wasn’t a suitable setting for Rock Steady Boxing. The studio’s boxing ring, speed bags, punching bags and encouraging signage (“No Guts, No Glory”) help set a mood a hospital cannot duplicate.

Hessig is familiar with Parkinson’s both personally and professionally. He works with clients with Parkinson’s, and his grandfather had the disorder, as does Hessig’s father.

Hessig was certified as a Rock Steady Boxing coach in Indiana and is a strong proponent of the program’s physical and psychological benefits.

Research, Hessig said, indicates the high-intensity exercise program shows promising results. While there is no cure for the condition, the workouts enhance the uptake of dopamine by the brain and reportedly slow its progression.

The rigorous sessions push participants to challenge their abilities, with Hessig and Solis serving as demanding (yet kindly) drill sergeants.

“Go with the rhythm, go with the rhythm, come on, come on,” Solis encourages participants as they swing boxing gloves at standing fitness bags.

“Really good, really good, really good,” he praises the group.

Copass says the program motivates her to try her best. “I’ve had excuses all my life not to go to the gym, but this is different. It’s the only exercise I’ve ever done I love,” she said. “I feel so empowered. I put that glove on and I feel I can take care of the world.”

Solis said participants support one another and are particularly encouraged by the progress of those with more advanced stages of Parkinson’s.

“The camaraderie is definitely one of the big points,” he said. “They’re getting energy from one another. They kind of push each other in a very positive way.”

That sense of shared experience is evident even from the sidelines, where several spouses watch the workouts.

Diana Santi travels from San Rafael three times a week with her husband, retired electrical technician Ivano Santi. She’s noticed a positive change in her husband since he started the program last fall.

It was a blow to the couple when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s two years ago. Now, at 74, Ivano Santi is benefiting from the hope he finds every time he attends Rock Steady Boxing.

“I think he’s more sure of himself,” his wife said. “Before he wasn’t and now he is. The camaraderie with everyone is something else.”

The couple is on the road a minimum of 45 minutes just to reach the martial arts studio, but insist it is time well spent. Returning home after the first session, Ivano Santi told his wife, “When I was there, nothing hurt, nothing bothered me.”

From that point forward, the distance from Marin wasn’t an issue.

For more information about Rock Steady Boxing, call 540-0185 or visit cksmartialarts.com or rocksteadyboxing.org. Local classes are $80 per month.

Contact Towns Correspondent Dianne Reber Hart at sonomatowns@gmail.com.