Fearless Hong Kong martial artist shows heart of champion in bid for black belt despite disabilities
Wheelchair user Chan Ka-man, 26, is determined to reach heights of Korean martial art taekwondo amid failing vision and inability to walk
In a Hong Kong community hall where dozens of taekwondo athletes are doing their weekly training, a 26-year-old woman, who uses a wheelchair due to a mystery disease, breaks a small wooden board in half with just one forceful punch.
Chan Ka-man is fearless in many ways. Not only has she been fighting a life-changing medical condition over the past few years – one that doctors are unable to diagnose – she is also battling for the highest rank in taekwondo, a black belt. This is despite her walking difficulties and recently blurry vision.
A former teacher’s assistant at a local school for children with special needs, Chan realised she had a problem a few years ago when she tried to climb stairs at work. At that time, she was also trying to study for a bachelor’s degree to become a qualified teacher.
“It felt like I had fallen from the peak and hit rock bottom,” Chan says of how she felt when she first used a wheelchair two years ago.
“I was young and my career was developing, and all of a sudden, I had nothing.”
