43
Breaking ground while breaking boards
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.
By Justin Wier
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.
Taylor has worked with kids with cerebral palsy in the past. Years ago, he said a kid came in unable to walk in a straight line and went on to earn a black belt. The World Taekwondo Federation recently developed para tae kwon do – tae kwon do for athletes with disabilites – which will be part of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Taylor decided to prepare Cody for the state competition, where he won gold medals in breaking boards and forms.
“It made me feel like I achieved something that was really special,” Cody said. “I’ve never won any gold medals before in anything.”
He’s qualified for the USA Taekwondo national championships in Detroit during the week of the Fourth of July. His mom started a Gofundme page to help raise money to fund Cody’s trip, and they’re looking for sponsors. She said it won’t be easy for her family to afford seven nights in a hotel room, but they don’t want to hold Cody back.
“He can be the pioneer here; he can set the bar,” she said.
Carroll-Piver said the family’s mission has been to make others see that just because someone has a disability, that doesn’t mean they’re disabled.
“Everyone has an ability,” she said. “[Cody] can be very successful in life if society gives him a chance instead of making the determination first that because he looks a little bit different, he can’t accomplish anything.”
Taylor said they don’t make special accommodations for Cody; he’s part of the school.
“We don’t separate Cody out,” Taylor said. “He practices with everyone else. There’s nothing different about it.”
Taylor said there was a time when people told him he wouldn’t be athletic, so when he sees kids in similar situations, he doesn’t let that stand in their way.
“We’re going to continue to press through it and make achievements in our own lives – personally, mentally, physically and spiritually,” he said. “We’re going to make ourselves better, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Cody has seen improvements in his posture and balance since starting tae kwon do. He’s also made friends. Perhaps more importantly, it’s changed his perspective.
“It makes me feel like any other kid, really,” Cody said.
Cody’s mother said his ability to do something other kids can do is great for his self-esteem. His younger sister started tae kwon do, and his two other siblings want to participate as well when their schedules allow it.
“My oldest son has done baseball since he was 5, and Cody’s had to sit and watch him – usually from a wheelchair,” she said. “[Tae kwon do] is something we can do together.”
Cody said the experience has inspired him. He has dreams of opening a para tae kwon do school to train other kids with disabilities. He encouraged others in situations like his not to let their disability limit their ambitions.
“If I can do it, all of us can do it,” Cody said.