NEWLAND — Jaren Gragg has been defying odds for his entire life. Born with cerebral palsy that hinders movement over much of the left side of his body and doesn’t allow for the use of one hand, Gragg has always battled and had to adapt in order to not only achieve expectations, but exceed them.
The case was no more evident than when Gragg realized a decade-long dream by passing a grueling promotion program on Saturday, June 29, to earn his black belt through Caliber Martial Arts School. Gragg, a son of Mike and Lisa Gragg, advanced through the program which teaches the arts of Shito-Ryu Karate and Hapkido with a focus on self defense. During his promotion test, Gragg had to demonstrate proper technique of kata, a choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. Additionally as part of the promotion, Gragg had to demonstrate proper defensive technique surrounded by multiple black belt practitioners, with an added requirement of breaking a concrete block via offensive strike. Additionally, he has provided teaching to students who are learning in the school to demonstrate a spirit of selflessness and demonstrate his own knowledge of the martial art.
Gragg has managed to adapt to multiple tasks and challenges, including playing in the marching band and wrestling in high school, and a decade ago was drawn to martial arts to provide a strong physical foundation and another personal challenge while filling a need for competition and activity.
“I wasn’t actually looking to get into martial arts. I was actually looking to find a wrestling club, or just something along those lines, because I was wanting to get in shape,” Jaren explained. “I was out of college and I was just trying to find something to be healthy and to just to be a better version of myself, but there was nothing along those lines around here.”
At that point in 2014, Gragg encountered longtime San Dees Cafe former owner Rick Blackburn who operates a martial arts school above the restaurant, and the two spoke of Gragg’s attending the school.
“At the time, I asked Rick if I could come up and take a look at the class to see how it was going and maybe participate a little bit, and he said ‘Sure,” so I did. The first class that I got to watch was a belt promotion. They were breaking and sparring, and I thought ‘This is kind of cool and looks fun,’” Gragg said. “After that, I went to a couple classes and tested it out, and I was bitten by the bug and just fell in love with it. It was hard at first. It was a lot to have to take in, especially with my condition with CP. I was having to adapt a number of things and adjust, which is one of the things I wanted to do. I wanted to get into martial arts to push myself to be better and see what I could do.”
Gragg’s instructor Blackburn treated Gragg with the same teaching as his other students as Gragg worked toward his goal. Blackburn admits that he was skeptical of whether Gragg would have the longevity to complete the training to earn a black belt, as only a handful of students had earned the honor in his more than three decades of teaching, with none of them facing the challenges that Gragg overcame.
“His disabilities did not really play a role, but we would change things to adapt to that, and it worked out really well. I was surprised at how well the adaptations worked, that he could do all the stuff that he needed to do to get his black belt,” Blackburn said. “I teach Hapkido, which is a regular self-defense using hands and hand grabbing, so we would have to adapt to one hand because most of the techniques were hand-to-hand. So we worked to teach him how to accommodate all the moves one-handed, which worked out.”
Blackburn recalled lessons taught early in training that helped Gragg in his advancement from learning basic fundamentals to mastering techniques, beginning with a proper mental frame of mind.
“When he started and was asked about trying something he would tell me he didn’t know whether he could do that, and I stopped him with a correction, telling him that his first mistake is to never say ‘I don’t know whether I can,’” Blackburn said. “When he earned his black belt, I said to him that I didn’t think he was going to last because I was going to put him through everything that everybody else does and not show him any special considerations, no matter what. And he proved me wrong. Every challenge placed before him, he adapted and improved and proved me wrong every time. I’m so amazed at what he can do and what he did do. I’ve probably had seven, eight or nine black belts in the 35 years I’ve been teaching, and the class is very demanding, and he’s up there doing something that not a whole lot of people have done or could do.”
“Martial arts has always kept Jaren focused and given him something to do and strive to achieve. It keeps his mind focused down to where he can just process those concentration points. He felt like the black belt was something that he needed to accomplish, and that’s what makes us as parents feel so good about it,” Jaren’s father Mike explained. “When he came to us, we knew he was going to complete it. It was just the point of what was it going to physically do to him, because any head trauma to him could be very detrimental. Physically, there was a lot of times it really did affect him, and he was hurting in spots that he didn’t and probably shouldn’t have. As parents we encouraged him to make smart decisions, and if it’s hurting, too painful physically, then don’t do it. In those 10 years, there has been a lot of minutes and a lot hours involved.”
In addition to achieving his black belt, Jaren also holds an associates degree from Mayland Community College, as well as a degree in public relations from Gardner Webb University. Many know Jaren’s voice from his time as a radio deejay on Saturdays and other times with WECR-AM radio over a 15-year period, and he also enjoys sharing stories of Avery County and its people, voluntarily sharing time and story contributions with The Avery Journal-Times.
As a person of faith, Jaren has committed to living his life with purpose, noting that despite his disabilities, he knows his life can serve as a testimony of perseverance and persistence.
“I try to keep my faith in God that He’s got a plan and trust in that. Sometimes that plan not might not be the way that you think it should turn out, but God has got something so much bigger than we can even originally think of. I always go back to one of my favorite Bible verses is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 that reads, ‘He said to me, My grace is sufficient enough for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, and in persecutions, and difficulties for when I am weak, then I am strong.’ That’s essentially a life verse to me because it goes back to facing difficulties and hardships and insults and weaknesses, and my own testimony. A lot of times people only see that, but ultimately it’s God showing Himself through me.
I’m not perfect by any right, but I hope my example is showing God through my life,” Jaren continued. “When I was born, doctors looked at my brain scans and said that I wouldn’t be able to do a lot, believing I would not be able to really walk or talk, and I’ve been blessed to overcome that. I was told I shouldn’t be playing sports, and I wrestled and was a team captain for some matches, which had to be earned. It was said I couldn’t drive or graduate high school, and I just don’t take no for an answer.”
Gragg’s tenacity is a trait that Blackburn felt is an important lesson that many people could benefit from when it comes to everyday life.
“I think the big lesson from Jaren is to never give up. You see him and we challenged him mentally in many of the things that he’s had to do. He has always been determined, though,” Blackburn said. “He told me, ‘I’m gonna get my black belt,’ and I’m thinking, ‘Maybe. We’ll see.’ When he got to where he was a blue belt, around five years into his training, I began thinking ‘He’s going to do this,’ because he was determined. I believed him because I’d challenged him through the whole thing, and he would do it.”
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