Boxing Academy Looks To Help Knock Out Effects Of Parkinson's Disease
By Nha Nguyen
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – Ken Larsen was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years ago.
"Nights were awful. I'd go to sleep, wake back up. It was awful," Larsen said.
But ever since he started with the coaches at the Roseville Boxing Academy, he's seen a change.
"Since I've been doing this, I've been able to sleep through the night, most times," Larsen said.
Larsen trainer and gym owner, Abram Espinosa, says the whole thing kind of just fell together for them.
"I had [seen] something on the news of world champion Paul Ayala training people with Parkinson's," Espinosa said. "I had recently met Freddie Roach in Southern California."
Shortly after was when Larsen's sister contacted Espinosa and connected them. And while neither is exactly clear on how it manages to keep Parkinson's up against the ropes.
"I think it's just the different bags, as you can see there's a lot of hand eye coordination," Espinosa said. "It keeps guys sharp, mobile, you know what I mean."
Espinosa says they find that boxing also helps with many other issues, saying they have clients who also suffer from attention deficit disorder and multiple sclerosis.
"Whatever your passion is, do it," Larsen said. "This seems to be working for me."