Good Sports: Rock Steady Boxing

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Physical activity is a key component in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

"Some people say the minute you put those gloves on, you feel that strength just coming into your body," Rock Steady Boxing coach John Bowers said.

What's the motivation? Knocking out Parkinson's disease.

"In a basic and easy way of explanation, it gets them moving and one thing we do when we move," Bowers explained. "The brain has to tell our body to move, we're basically strengthening up the communication process between our body and brain."

The Rock Steady Boxing program at the UFC gym in northeast Fresno is the only certified program of its kind in the Central Valley tailored to fight the effects of Parkinson's disease.

"when I first started in the program, I walked in with a walker, throughout the training sessions, I felt my body was feeling exercised," Ian Rodriguez, who was diagnosed in 2002, said. "I didn't use my walker I was feeling good."

"You have to have somebody who is eager to workout and not give up and persevere through anything," training coach Eddie Gallegos said.

And it's the exact mindset of every member who walks through the doors fighting this battle together.

"My Parkinson's warrior family," Rodriguez exclaimed. "We just motivate each other and we come in, gather meet and let's get it done."

"Exactly what my shirt says, 'Knockout Parkinson's,' never give up in the back. That's the kind of attitude. You have a choice, you can either stand up and fight it or not."

It's clear to see what choice all these fighters made.