SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Defend Yourself!

One man's self-defense philosophy strives to keep people with disabilities safe and secure.

Erik Kondo's mission in life is to teach people with disabilities how to defend themselves. Keeping that in mind, Kondo, of Lexington, Mass., designed the Not-Me! self-defense system.

Before becoming serious about the martial arts, Kondo competed in soccer and lacrosse in high school and college. After a motorcycle accident left him a T4-5 paraplegic in 1984, Kondo didn't skip a beat and changed his sports activities to swimming and weight training. He made a solo ascent up the Mount Washington (New Hampshire) Auto Road in 1986 and climbed up the stairwell of a 50-story building in his wheelchair as part of a fund-raiser. He graduated from Bates College (Lewiston, Maine) with a double major in math and physics and a minor in computer science and has since founded and operated a number of successful retail and real-estate businesses.

Showing how multi-functional he is, Kondo helped deliver his second child, Helena, in the family car when his wife Katherine went into labor on the way to the hospital. To top if off, Erik and Katherine share the challenge of running their businesses while raising three young children.


Find out more about the Not-Me! program and how the author, a martial artist, personally benefits from the training.

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