Maltese Heavyweight ‘Hitman’ Uses Boxing Therapy To Help Persons With Parkinson’s Disease
When life gives you a problem, you can either submit to it, or you can punch it in the face. Maltese heavyweight boxer Billy ‘the Hitman’ Corito has taken to the latter, literally, by teaching his craft to persons suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
What started out as a casual day of training in the gym turned into an opportunity to help, when Corito received an unexpected call from a 58-year-old Parkinson’s sufferer, who he now trains on a free.
She contacted him after having learned of the therapeutic effect boxing may have on her condition by way of her own research.
Corito, who trains athletes at The Gym, in Zurrieq, has witnessed firsthand the fruit of his labour and is now urging persons who suffer from Parkinson’s and similar conditions to try their hand at boxing.
Together with gym owners Charles Formosa, Anthony Micallef, and friend John Cutajar, the power group has conjured a system where newcomers are supplied with boxing gloves, straps, and skipping ropes – everything one needs to begin the journey into warriorhood.
A journey made to kill disease.
Lovin Malta reached out to Corito’s newfound boxer, and despite choosing to remain anonymous, she wished to share her thoughts.
“I thought it was just fighting, but it’s so much more,” she said. “Aside from the cardio work you get from training, I’ve noticed some improvements in my body, and from the first session too!”
“It’s done me a world of good.”
Boxing training does not entail fighting in the traditional sense. Rather, Corito and his charge engage in a few short, intensive exercises specific to boxing. This way, she gets all the benefit (and the fun) tied to intensive punching and quick movements, without any risk of getting hit back.
The two would engage in training that balances short-duration intensity with longer periods of relaxation. In doing so, all the benefits of hitting stuff are kept high on the agenda.
“I had never even been to a gym before, so it was difficult for me to get going. But after all the research I’d done on boxing as therapy for Parkinson’s, I couldn’t help but try it.”
“Since my first session (which was only one week ago), I already became more mobile and flexible.”
“It could very well be the best thing I could have done to slow the progression of the disease.”
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive degenerative disease with no cure. But a recent study has explored the power of boxing, as a means to alleviate symptoms associated with the disease.
The results were quite promising. Scientists were able to see changes in the physical, as well as the mental aspects of persons undergoing their punchy treatment. Changes validated by their caregivers, if not only by themselves.
Today, there are over 800 gyms in the United Kingdom alone that offer boxing classes for people with Parkinson’s disease.
It’s always best to run one’s own healthcare provider first. But one can’t really argue that it could be fun, just as much as it is effective, could we?
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