Its all about Dave!

Dave Lee was once a keen martial artist before being seriously injured in a car accident at the age of 35. Dave's nightmare began when he and his young family were making their way home after a shopping trip. A speeding motorist ploughed into their car as he turned at a junction. His wife and four year old son escaped with minor injuries but Dave took the full impact
	He suffered muscle damage to his shoulder and his L1 to L5 lumbar were shattered on impact. He was rushed to hospital where doctors gave him the devastating news he would never walk again. Dave Lee, tragically, was paralysed from the waist down. Life changed not just for Dave but for his whole family. Cutting the grass would be mission impossible for Dave; going to the local shop for a paper would be a task in itself. Unable to dress himself properly, his wife Lynn has to get up extra early in the morning to help him before she goes off to work.
His eldest son Stephen, now 19, had to adapt to seeing his dad confined to his wheelchair. His youngest son, Matthew, has never seen his father walk or throw a combination of his martial art kicks high up in the air. For many years Dave battled with deteriorating health, mentally, physically and spiritually. Sinking into a state of depression he even contemplated suicide many times. Despite his injuries and dyslexia Dave decided to further his education.
	With a renewed sense of purpose Dave wanted to get back on the road to health. Each week Dave would take his boys to Taekwon-do classes. Watching his boys in class he copied the moves. For months this went on and for months Dave would sit at the back of the room watching. He asked the instructor if he could be taught but he was fobbed off with an excuse about insurance as he repeatedly has been when approaching other martial art schools and instructors. Undeterred, Dave remained determined! Focused on breaking down the barrier of discrimination for himself and other disabled people he continued to seek an instructor that would agree to teach him.
After more than six years of searching, Dave met Mary Sellen a 5 th Dan Master in Taekwon-do. Mary had never taught anyone with any form of disability, let alone someone in a wheelchair. When asked why she agreed to teach Dave she simply replied, “I want to teach the man, not the wheel chair.” Dave is no pushover! After training with Mary for 5 months, he has achieved his blue belt in Taekwon-do. That would normally take an able-bodied person two years of hard training. Using creative and technical thinking Mary has developed a Kata syllabus where hand movements can represent kicks. Dave and others like him can benefit for years to come.
	Dave found new strength by returning to his interest in martial arts and his rehabilitation continues to benefit from it. Dave has dreams not just to achieve his Black Belt, although that would be enough for most people. He wants to encourage people with disabilities to take control of their life through martial arts and has setup a Disabled Martial Arts Association. Kate Fletcher of Irwin Mitchell Solicitor's says some martial arts have a good record on making adjustments for disabilities. Sadly, discrimination of the type Dave has suffered is all too common.
It is unlikely that the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) can be used to force martial arts providers to modify their teaching. This is because the legislation specifically states that a provider of services will not be required to take any steps which will fundamentally alter the nature of the service in question or the nature of the trade. Dave Oliver 7th Dan, Chairman of the TaeKwon-Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB) and President of the TaeKwon-Do International (TKDI) says,
	‘I personally do not see any problem with adapting a TaeKwon-Do syllabus for a disabled student in a wheel chair. We have already in the TAGB taught many people with different disabilities i.e. blindness, deafness, downs syndrome and many others. We have one very successful instructor who has an arm and leg missing and he has been an inspiration to able bodied students with his performances at Black Belt gradings. I feel that it is all down to the student's mental attitude and the instructor's ability and open mindedness. These two things put together will make the student successful in their goals whether disabled or not'.
The Dave Lee Fund has been set up, by David and Jeffet Jenkins, to help raise money to buy Dave Lee a stand up wheelchair and possibly a sports wheel chair too! Dave needs a stand-up wheel chair for his general health. His organs need his body to stand up otherwise he will develop a stoma or other complications and need an operation. He needs a sports wheelchair so it can take the strain of martial arts. The two wheelchairs together will cost in the region of £5,000. Anyone wishing to Donate money to the Fund should send it to: Dave Lee Fund, PO Box 7215 , Netherseal, Swadlincote , DE11 1BA

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