Here’s a little story from my childhood. Maybe it will inspire someone. 😉
On August 31, 1981, when I was 10 years old, I fell into a construction shaft 44 feet deep and only about 28–31 inches wide.
Back then, shafts like these were drilled for foundation piles. Steel rebar was lowered into them and then filled with concrete to create the foundation of a building.
At the very bottom, I landed on exposed steel rebar.
One steel rod went through my left leg and came out through my lower abdomen. Another penetrated my right thigh about 10–12 inches deep.
But I never lost consciousness.
Bracing myself against the dirt walls of that narrow shaft and trying to climb upward, I somehow managed to pull myself off the steel rods.
Then I slid back down to the bottom because I could no longer stand.
I used my hands to cover the open wounds, trying somehow to slow the bleeding.
I was incredibly lucky — I wasn’t alone!
My friend Yasha ran to my house for help, and before long, it seemed like the whole neighborhood had gathered around that hole.))
My neighbor, Uncle Alex, lowered a rope with an old military belt attached to it. I fastened the belt around myself, and they began pulling their “cargo” — me — back up to the surface.
When I finally reached the top and took that first breath of fresh air, I immediately fell asleep like a child…
To this day, I still don’t fully understand how I survived.
At any moment, I could have lost consciousness down there — and the story could have ended very differently.
Sometimes I joke that I know the smell of a grave very well…
because I’ve already been in one. 🙂
Then came three months in the hospital.
Crutches. Falls. Recovery. Visits from my classmates and friends… and a very long road back.
There were serious doubts about whether my legs would ever be as strong as they had been before.
As a kid, I was always moving — soccer, hockey, racing around the neighborhood, riding my bike, going to the beach. That incredibly active childhood had made my legs strong.
But now there was a much bigger question:
Would I ever be able to move normally again?
Then one day, I overheard a doctor telling my mother that there was a real possibility I might spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.
I heard those words.
And right then, I made a decision:
I WOULD WALK AGAIN — NO MATTER WHAT IT TOOK!
Six months later, during PE class at school, I finished third in the 100-meter sprint!
At the age of 12, I started Judo.
From that moment on, sports — and eventually martial arts — became a permanent part of my life.
Thanks to martial arts movie heroes like Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Cynthia Rothrock, and others, martial arts became much more than a hobby for me. They became part of who I am.
Many years later, I had the great privilege of bringing these incredible people to Ukraine and Poland, where, under their guidance, we organized major martial arts seminars.
After serving in the military, I even did the famous full split between two chairs — simply because someone challenged me to do it.))
Thank you, Jean-Claude Van Damme!
His movies inspired millions of people around the world to get off the couch, walk into a gym, and start working on themselves.
So why did all of this happen?
Why was I able to come back?
For me, the answer is simple.
I WANTED TO LIVE!
I WANTED TO MOVE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE — AND EVEN BETTER!!!
The strong foundation of health I had built from an active childhood, together with the love and care of my mother — may Heaven watch over her — helped keep my heart beating when it could have stopped.
That’s my story…
And there is one more reason I’m sharing it.
Moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers — get up!
Put down the phones and tablets.
Take your children to the beach. Take them to the park. Take them to the gym. Let them play sports!
Let them run.
Let them jump.
Let them swim.
Let them fall — and learn how to get back up.
Let them grow STRONG!
Because there is nothing more important than
THE HEALTH OF YOUR CHILD!!!
Always yours,
Andrew Reynoff
