An Inspiration for the Evolve Family!
Rufus Gandhi is one of our many treasured members at Evolve MMA. Though his unassuming mannerisms may blend him into the crowd, his calm and relaxed demeanour hides a truly inspirational story that will leave many in awe.
At the youthful age of 17, he literally woke up one morning and was paralyzed. With lifeless legs, he stumbled out of bed and onto the floor. He was eventually diagnosed with cancer in his lower back. While his peers were worrying about the GCE ‘A’ Level examinations, Rufus had other things in mind: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to be exact.
Life as he knew it was never going to be the same again.
After a risky surgery to remove his cancer and the 5 lower vertebrae in his spine, the recovery process was long and arduous. Rufus learned to adapt to the changes in his body. Five years passed and everything looked to be on the up. However, just as he thought the worst was behind him, a series of illnesses revisited Rufus. After multiple tests, the final verdict was leukemia.
Luckily for Rufus, he had a successful match with his sister's bone marrow. He was on the road to recovery again after a painful bone marrow transplant. The two battles (involving treatments like chemotherapy and steroids) had left Rufus with no hair, a lowered hemoglobin level, and a decreased oxygen supply in his blood. Doctors believed that Rufus would never again live an active lifestyle. As fate would have it though, Rufus would step into a little place called Evolve MMA that would change his life forever. Funnily enough, his adventure into martial arts all started with his daughter, Cerys.
After his battles with cancer, Rufus had gone on to finish his delayed university studies, to start working, and to get married. In the process, his life took several stopovers to cities like London, Los Angeles and finally Singapore in 2008. Through this period, he had seen his daughter, Cerys, getting bullied in each school she attended. Deciding it was time to do something about the situation, Rufus made the decision for her to learn martial arts. In November 2009, he and his daughter joined Evolve MMA.
The initial training was tough, and Rufus struggled getting through the warm up sessions. It was an enormous leap for him, as he had no prior martial arts training whatsoever. His greatly lowered fitness level, compounded by the excess weight he had gained while on steroids, stacked all the odds against him. Skipping and running caused a great deal of pain to his fragile back, and his chest would literally hurt from the warm up sessions during class.
However, having fought tougher battles through out his life at a much younger age, Rufus was used to persevering and working past his physical limitations. Additionally, the Evolve Instructor Team inspired him and unleashed his warrior spirit to even higher levels. His mental strength, confidence, and discipline grew with each class at Evolve MMA. With the bountiful experience, guidance and care of his instructors at Evolve, he now proudly stands as a Level 2 certified trainee in both Muay Thai and Boxing. Not too shabby for a guy with literally no lower back!
At the same time, his daughter, Cerys, has also been enjoying every minute at Evolve. It has now become a “family affair” in more ways than one. The staff and instructors have taken her under their wings and she has quickly become one of the “babies” of the Evolve Family. Her tremendous improvement has carried over into her daily life; her confidence has skyrocketed, her discipline has increased, and her mental strength has grown. Above all, she is no longer a victim of bullying.
Close friends and family say that Evolve MMA is all that Rufus and Cerys ever seem to talk about. Their shared experience at Evolve MMA has brought them closer together and has added yet another dimension to the father-daughter bond they share. They truly feel a part of the special Evolve Family and share in its mission to change the world for the better.
Here is to Achieving Greatness Within!
Evolve Mixed Martial Arts® is Asia's premier brand of MMA academies. Evolve MMA ranks among the best academies in the world for Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Mixed Martial Arts.
