Clay Johnson

Hey guys. You may not know him very well so I will give you what I know. Clay is in his early 40s, and is a martial artist with Cerebral palsy who trains and teaches from a wheel chair. Recently he had to get major surgery in his right leg, and his mom died. His Father has also passed away several years ago. Clay is an extremely good friend of mine, and since he doesn't come on here very much, I thought I might be able to kind of help him by getting messages from you guys to help him feel better, since he is depressed at the moment. Any messages that you give me I will forward to him. Thanks.

P.S. Meant to put this in the disabled martial artist forum. If the moderator of the chats could put this in there that would be great. Thank you.

 

My sympathies on his loss, and best wishes for a quick recovery from surgery.

 

Clay, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you!

I haven't been here at MAP long so haven't had the privilege of getting to know you but from what Josh has shared, you are an inspiration to me!

My heart goes out to you... :Angel: .

Love and Prayers, Kelly

 

Hey Clay - well done on the American Lifetime Achievement Award. really pleaased for u. sorry to hear also about oyour other problems at present but hope it all clears up asap. Good luck

 

Hi to all, I would like to thank you for your well wishes and prayes they mean a lot.
Thanks, Clay

 

Clay, it's good to see you here! I'm glad you posted...I hope you're recovering well from your surgery. I would imagine it's going to take some time (?)

My cousin has CP and has won several gold medals in the Special Olympics. He does not need a wheel chair but has been through many many surgeries to stretch the ligaments in his legs so that he can remain mobile. We're not sure how long he'll be able continue walking but he's doing well at this point.

LOL, when he was little he said that he wanted to become a professional basketball player . I've always admired his courage, confidence and determination. He's 20 now and is attending college and working. I'm so proud of him :love: !

You both are such an encouragement to me. The way you press on and don't quit...Today I've been feeling quite sorry for myself and aggravated because of my physical issues. Then I come here to find that you've posted about your gratitude to us for praying for you. I want to thank YOU for not giving up because something was hard or difficult. I meant what I said in my other post...you are an inspiration.

I'm so sorry things have been trying lately and I'll keep praying. Please know you made my day just by showing up here and taking the time to post .

I really hope things start to look up for you soon. How long do they expect it to take for your leg to recover? Will you be able to get back to training soon?

Thinking of you....

Kelly

 

Hi All ,
Again I wanted to thank you all for your postings. Oh Kelly I went back to teaching the day after I got home from the hospital. I also wanted to clear up a few things from Josh's first post on this thread. My Father passed away in Januray of 05, and I had surgery to repair a broken left leg. I want to thank Josh for starting this thread. Oh if you guys would like to see a video story on me about me by the roanoke times. Here's the site www.roanoke.com then click on multimedia and you should see it.

Thanks Again
Clay

 

Oh my word...how awesome! I'm glad to hear it didn't take a great deal out of you . It must have been a rough break though to need surgery (not that any broken legs are "easy" I guess ).

My heart goes out to you about your dad. We've experienced a lot of loss in our family the last couple of years and it's never easy.

Well, I'm going to check out that video!! Thanks for posting it!

Kelly

 

Excellent video ....your spirit is strong stay with it ..

humbly yours Alan

 

I also wanted to clear up a few things from Josh's first post on this thread. My Father passed away in Januray of 05, and I had surgery to repair a broken left leg. I want to thank Josh for starting this thread.

Your welcome bro. Didn't mean to not put in all the information in there. Sorry about that. Talk to you later

 

Hey Clay!

I watched the video, it's excellent! It looks like you're doing a fantastic job!!

I can't believe you're in your early 40's...I would have guessed early 30's !

Congratulations on your achievements; I have no doubt you more than deserve them :Angel: .

Love and Prayers to You!!

Kelly

 

Mr. Clay! "Those who can, TEACH". You are an absolute inspiration. Congratulations and continued success! :Angel:

 

Hi all,
Glad everyone liked the video. Hey Kelly that makes me feel good that you thought I was in my 30's. I'll be 45 in August I'm a old man!! Just Kidding! Thanks again for all your prayers and well wishes.

 

Now I am really impressed. I will be 45 in December and I have been back in MA for 2 months. After some 20 years of not practicing you truly inspire! :Angel:

 

You'r awesom bro. Couldn't think of anything else to say. I think one of the advantages that I have that some of the people here don't have is that I can talk to you on the phone...which I enjoy as much as I get the chance to call you. I hope that when I'm your age that I can continue on as you do.

 

I forgot to mention...my kids (I have 5; ages 10, 8, 7, 5, 3) watched the video and they were so impressed.

Especially my son (he's the 8 year old), he's a red tag in tae kwon do. He said it was so cool that you can teach your students Karate from a wheel chair.
Personally, I believe your students are learning more than just Karate from you... :Angel: Keep up the good work!

Kelly

 

"Never let someone tell you can't do something until you try it for yourself "

Clay Johnson

 

That's something everybody with disabilities have to keep in mind...I also think that our disability is not our weekness, but our strength. We know that we can't do something as easy as everybody else, so we must try harder. I don't think anybody should give up on anything!

 

Don't cry because it's over;
Smile because it happened.