A former professional boxer is using his skills to help those living with Parkinson's Disease in New York.
John Duddy, from Derry, worked as a professional boxer for eight years before retiring from the sport in 2011.
The 43-year-old moved to the Big Apple 20 years ago and fought at Madison Square Garden an impressive nine times before stepping away from the sport.
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Now he is using his love of boxing to help those living with Parkinson's Disease after connecting with old friend neurologist Dr Jose Cabassa, the Irish Star reports.
Dr Cabassa contacted him four years ago with an opportunity to work together to help those with Parkinson's, explaining that the training for boxing, including hand-eye coordination, shadow boxing, and movement, would be beneficial for those living with symptoms of the disease.
For the past year and a half, the pair have been working together on Moving Brains, a specialized class held at Women's World of Boxing gym on the Upper East Side.
Speaking to IrishStar.com, John said he's privileged and proud to have been able to help so many people in managing their symptoms and has been amazed at the results they've had so far.
"The fact they have somewhere they come now once a week and get to socialise and learn, I'm there barking orders and they really take to it and love it. It's fun and we can see the benefits it's giving them," he explained.
"Things I never really knew about, where with people with Parkinson's their core ends up deteriorating which means they hunch over more, so we work with stretching and breath work.
"We're helping them fight to take back their lives, to take back what this horrible disease is trying to take from them. It's very gratifying.
"Being able to challenge people - that's what it is, they tell their body to do something and it takes time, sometimes it doesn't happen. With boxing, whenever I shout the combination, I want that combination, and it gets them to focus.
"It's interesting that once they take their stance the shaking becomes very minimal, sometimes it even stops. It all helps condition the body which helps the mind."
The 43-year-old said they are able to tailor each training session to each individual, as everyone is at different levels of advancement with Parkinson's.
John said: "Everyone is at different levels with the disease, it's very individual. Simple things like being able to bend over and tie your shoe laces, if you fall down being able to stand back up again, holding your balance - we're helping with things like that.
"Whenever we started, there were three or four of our fighters who couldn't walk into the ring so we lifted them in. After three weeks - which is only three sessions - they were able to walk into the ring by themselves.
"Some of them had their relatives with them, and they were shocked to see how well they were getting on. I've found it very gratifying and Dr Jose Cabassa is genuinely a great guy. We're gonna keep pursuing this and seeing where it leads."
John's love of boxing came from challenging himself, and he's now hoping to pass this love on to those he teaches every week.
"I fell in love with boxing because it was about beating myself up, it was about challenging myself to be better, and not sitting around moping, feeling sorry about myself," he added.
"Getting up and going is so good for you physically and mentally, and we've seen that with this. We're going to keep tipping away and see where we can bring it."
Moving Brains run weekly sessions on Wednesdays at Women's World of Boxing in New York, as well as Monday sessions once a month.
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