Fighting For Autism is on a global search to bring inspiring stories from the autistic spectrum and world of additional needs in our bid to make planet earth a more aware, acceptive and inclusive place to be.
We have enlisted the help from ambassadors around the world that includes elite athletes along with clubs, coach's and the future generation of champions in their own right to help us achieve the aim of encouraging, inspiring and including people and celebrating our differences, through various activities, sports and martial arts.
If you would like to get involved or would like to know more about us and what we do please get in touch.
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www.fightingforautismeurope.org
Today's blog features Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner Richie Jewell from the USA, Richie kindly took time out of his schedule to talk about his experiences with Autism and his passion for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Richie Newell is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Practitioner who trains out of Evolution Grappling Academy.
1. Describe your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu journey so far, and have you trained in any other art or sport.
I'm Richie Jewell. I'm 29 years old and I have high functional autism. Just like everyone else in the world. I went through some stuff that has been very difficult, challenging and emotional for me to endure life difficulties while living with autism. I have endured teasing, depression, complications from the disability such as lack of social skills, bad speech and improper eye contact. It's very difficult to live through these quirks. I have been through a lot in my life time. I have struggled with depression, anxiety, getting bullied, witnessed a brutal divorce from my parents. Growing up, As a kid wanted to be a professional wrestler but that was a kid being a dreamer and I never played sports. Before jujitsu, I did Muay Thai kickboxing/striking, it was great a foreshadowing for what it was to come. My jiujitsu journey has been a crazy one: I started training in August 2019. I'm trying my best to learn the moves to make progress, make new friends along the way, use it as a mental discipline for mental health and hopefully to compete in tournaments some day. However, a few months into training, I suffered a series of seizures that kept me out of action for a while. It depressed me that I couldn't train on the mat for a while. I went to doctors and they diagnosed my seizures as autism related. I was told I wouldn't be able to compete in tournaments for BJJ. Despite that, i was put on medication and was able to come back to training while dealing with health issues. As time went on, I started to go to tournaments to watch my teammates compete. I started to think about competing. So for many months, i was able to be seizure free and I decided to get cleared by medical experts for competition. However they wouldn't let me".
2.What prompted you to explore martial arts.
" I was a huge pro wrestling fan. One of my best friends was a black belt of the gym and his name is Mike Palladino. He’s an amazing mentor to me. He saw that I was a pro wrestling fanatic and an autism awareness advocate. He noticed me and we hung out one day, the rest was history. I was very nervous to take jujitsu at first because of the unknown and anxious about injuries but it turned out to be the best thing for me".
3. What Autism myths would you like to dispel?
"Autism myths I would to debunk, not every autistic thinks like a calculator or remembers baseball cards like in Rain Man. We’re not dangerous. We’re not mutes, being deaf or a sign of mental retardation. Its a huge misunderstanding. That's why I'd like to be a Autism Awareness ambassador or advocate, its to educate people on what autism is and what is fact or fiction about this disability people have been researching for years".
4.How often do you train, and what would a typical days training schedule consist of ?
" I train 4-5 times a week for Brazilian jiu jitsu. My rituals for the classes. I do warm ups, drilling moves to get it memorized and use it for future rolls, and rolls/spare with other people to see how much you progress along the journey on BJJ".
5.What accomplishment to date are you proudest of ?
"My biggest accomplishment to date was getting my blue belt with autism awareness stripes logo on it while competing my first jujitsu after being told I would never do competition with being diagnosed with autism related seizures. Since then, I have been 28 months seizure free, still training and making the best out of my jujitsu journey".
6.What does Autism mean to you?
"Autism means being unique, different but not less than others. Believing in you with being confident in your abilities, loving your hobbies and surround yourself with the people you love and supporters".
7.What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of taking up a martial art, boxing or joining a gym?
"My advice to those who are trying out a martial art or anything for that matter. Its okay to be scared or nervous because of the unknown. Trust your journey because its gonna be filled with ups and down, you’re gonna face some obstacles but always be yourself, be consistent on your training, always don’t be afraid to seek advice, if you are struggle or feel frustrated, think how far you have come since the first day. After all the hard work you perform, people will notice and you will get rewarded, just keep on fighting.. that's the advice for everyone. Especially with me"
We would like to say a huge Thank You to Richie Newell for sharing details of his inspiring journey in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu , if you have a story that you would like to share, you never know it could be the spark that starts a flame to get someone to be inspired to try something new, build confidence, maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Please get in touch with Paul at p.greany@fightingforautismeurope.org
#DareToBeDifferent #ShiningThroughTheSpectrum #AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance #Inclusion.
#FightingForAutism #FitnessForAutism
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