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I was a serious athlete for most of my life - I always learned new sports easily and reached competitive levels very quickly. I thrived on tough workouts and brutal races. In high school and college, I earned varsity letters in seven different sports. After college, I remained active with several competitive club teams.

In the summer of 1991 my active life came to an abrupt end. I spent a day painting a room at my parents house - a seemingly innocuous task - and the next morning, I woke up numb and paralyzed. I could not feel anything, from head to toe. I had so little control I couldn't walk, hold a pen, or tie my shoes.

For a year, I was passed around, from one doctor to another. They studied me extensively, but offered little help. The diagnosis was "multiple chemical sensitivity," a mysterious and incurable ailment. There was no way to predict whether I would recover, what the long term effects might be, or when it might hit again.

Slowly and sporadically, I did recover enough to make it through a normal day - but I was far from healthy and I certainly was not active. I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without gasping for breath, I couldn't function without at least ten hours of sleep a night, and I couldn't find the energy to really care about anything.

The second year was better. I was well enough to start walking regularly. Three years after my initial paint exposure, I was able to slowly jog a mile. I tried to make the best of it, since there was no sign that I would get any better. I tried to just accept my new physical limitations. I reminded myself that just being able to walk was a great gift; to jog a major victory. I failed. I felt tired, wick, and unhappy. I was not grateful; I did not feel like I had achieved a major victory. I was miserable.

Fortunately I had a professor who know how much I missed my active life and how much I worried that my next encounter with some normally safe chemical would leave me numb and paralyzed. He suggested that I investigate Chung Moo Doe because of its focus on both external fitness and internal health. His son, a student of Chung Moo Doe, encouraged me to visit the school, talk with the instructors, and watch a class. I was intrigued, but I resisted. I had my excuses. Too much time, too inconvenient , too demanding, etc. I figured I knew how to do it on my own.

I was wrong. For the next 6 months, I tried to increase my activity - with depressing results. Running hurt my knees and my hips. Light weight lifting pulled muscles or pinched nerves. By November of 1994, I was in physical therapy for three different injuries. I was not healthy; I still needed huge amounts of sleep; I still got sick at the drop of a hat. Finally, I decided to follow my friend's advice. I went down to the Chung Moo Doe school and explained my situation to the Head Instructor. After just one lesson, I was hooked.

Immediately, I was drawn into Chung Moo Doe mentally. In every class, there is something new to learn - and it will be years before I feel like I have mastered even the simplest of movements.

Physically, my body has responded incredibly quickly to Chung Moo Doe. I expected the three injuries I had to get in the way, since they affected my shoulder, knees, and back. All three problems have disappeared. I am strengthening my body instead of injuring it. I am doing all the things the physical therapist said I could never do again - twisting, turning, stretching, - and I feel great.

But most importantly, I feel a kind of energy and health that I have not felt in years. My parents noticed the difference in me right away and asked what I had been doing. After five weeks of Chung Moo Doe training, I went to visit some friends who had seen me just two months before. They kept asking "what have you done? have you lost weight? got a new job? you look so healthy."

I can't believe my good fortune at finding Chung Moo Doe. Not only is it helping me regain the health and fitness that I used to have - and more - but I am confident that it will help protect against future bouts of chemical sensitivity. Modern medicine and the latest "proven" athletic training techniques had nothing to offer me as I tried to regain my health and fitness. I can't yet explain why Chung Moo Doe does help, but I really don't have to understand it. After 1500 years of development - and two months of personal experience - I am happy just to trust it.

Gretchen Anderson