Taekwondo helps 13-year-old with cerebral palsy

Tae Kwon Do Kid

Video

Cody Piver, 13, does quite well in Tae Kwon do, he also has cerebral palsy but doesn't let that slow him down.

BOARDMAN — Cody Piver just started tae kwon do lessons in the fall, but he’s already breaking ground.

A viral video of Cody breaking boards has garnered 2.1 million views, and he brought two gold medals home from the Ohio State Taekwondo Association’s 2017 state championship in March.

These are achievements most parents would be proud of, but Cody’s mother, Michelle Carroll-Piver, has a special appreciation for her son’s success.

“It’s been inspirational,” she said. “Everything we get out of him is something great.”

That’s because Cody was born three months premature and suffered a Grade IV hemorrhage in his brain. This left him with epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

“When I was born, they told my mom I would never be able to walk [or] talk. I would have a very short life,” Cody said. “Look at me. 13 years old.”

He attends seventh-grade at Canfield Village Middle School, which is where he first encountered martial arts.

Master Justin Taylor, of Junior Tae Kwon Do School in Boardman, taught an after-school class on bully prevention. Cody attended the class, but he didn’t go to the graduation ceremony to break a board and receive his yellow belt. Taylor reached out to the family and had Cody come in to break a board.

“Really, the rest is history,” Taylor said.

For the complete story, read Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com