'Not going to let this define me': Montreal martial artist with Parkinson's rakes in medals
Walking down the hallway to the West End Cavendish gym in Cote St. Luc, you may hear some heavy thuds.
They're not caused by construction. Through the door, there's a man body-slamming other men who outweigh him by 40 pounds, in some cases.
The body-slammer is 54-year-old Haskel Garmaise, who's been practising martial arts for nearly his entire life. He's also a teacher and fitness trainer.
CTV News visited him at the gym earlier this month.
"We train in a Japanese mentality," Garmaise said. "[It's] disciplined and strict, and rigid, and I like that."
Words like that only begin to explain how tough this man is.
Three years ago, Garmaise wasn't feeling well.
"I got up from my kitchen table, and I fell down," he recalled. "And I got up a second time and I said to my wife something's wrong, something's not right."
Doctors would later confirm he had Parkinson's disease.
It was a harder blow than anything he'd ever felt in combat.
"Everything I do is physical, from martial arts to weightlifting to training people. That's how I define my entire life. It was a killer," Garmaise said. "The first five days were disastrous, and I get emotional even thinking about it."
But from a very dark place, Garmaise found an inner strength that defined so much of his life.
"I said, 'No, I'm not going to let this define me; I'm not going to let this be who I am. I live with Parkinson's, but I'm not going to be a victim of Parkinson's.'"
It hasn't been an easy road. Garmaise's muscles became stiff, and his fine motor skills were diminished.
Things like clearing dishes from the table are a challenge.
But, strangely, when he practices martial arts, the symptoms seem to vanish.
"Because I built these neurological pathways at a young age, I'm able to do these gross motor skills, like jumping kicks, throwing guys around," he explained.
But even that wasn't enough for Garmaise.
A man who thrives on challenges, he decided to compete in traditional forms at martial arts tournaments.
Last February, he won two gold medals at a provincial tournament in Ste-Therese, and he followed that up by winning four medals at nationals in Ottawa last May.
Then, in October, at the world championships in Orlando, Florida, Garmaise competed against competitors from 16 countries.
He came away with two bronze medals.
"Nobody at the tournament knew I had Parkinson's. I didn't tell anybody so the judging was not a sympathetic judging. It was impartial," he explained.
He said he did it to prove to himself, his students and his daughter that no matter what life throws at you, you can win by not giving up.
"The biggest fight you're ever going to have — it doesn't matter if it's on the street with an opponent, or multiple opponents — is always going to be yourself," he said.
"It's always going to be how you face the situation."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
BREAKING Suspect sought after man found injured in downtown Toronto dies in hospital
Police are searching for a suspect in a homicide investigation after a man who was found with life-threatening injuries in downtown Toronto on Sunday morning succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Cyclist issued fine for striking four-year-old girl crossing the street
A cyclist turned herself in and received a fine after striking a four-year-old girl who was crossing the street to catch a school bus.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Potentially toxic chemicals hide in our drinking water and countless household objects, and they're not going anywhere
For decades, North Bay, Ontario's water supply has harboured chemicals associated with liver and developmental issues, cancer and complications with pregnancy. It's far from the only city with that problem.
Police investigating after tow trucks shot at in Scarborough two hours apart
Toronto police are investigating after tow trucks were shot at in Scarborough about two hours apart Saturday night.
BREAKING 37-year-old dies following Sault police shooting
Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a Sault Ste. Marie Police Service officer shot a 37-year-old in the city’s west end on Saturday night.
U.K. foreign secretary says halting arms sales to Israel would only strengthen Hamas
Asked whether the U.K. would follow the U.S. in threatening to cut the supply of offensive weapons to Israel if it carried out an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the two countries cannot be compared because unlike the U.S., Britain supplies a very small amount of Israel's weapons.