Erling was the karate kid: Now he’s the master, fighting cystic fibrosis with a vengeance  By Daniel Huss
Wednesday, July 05, 2006

He sits on a bench just inside the door, greeting his charges as they walk in with their parents.

"Hey bud," he shouts, "do you need me to tie your belt?"

The 5 and 6-year-olds give Jake Erling a high five, he ties their belts and they're ready to go; the whole lot of them.

The above scene plays out every day Erling teaches karate at My Gym Children's Fitness Center in Eden Prairie. If Norman Rockwell were still painting, he'd do it justice, freckle faces and all.

Funny thing is; this isn't supposed to be happening.

Erling shouldn't be here.
"They told me I wouldn't

make it to age 7," he said, as he talked about living with a disease called cystic fibrosis. "They said 16 was out of the question and 18 would be impossible."

That was 20-some years ago.
"My mom wouldn't hear it," he said. "She said if you treat someone like they're sick, they will be."

And so Erling entered the world of martial arts.

"My CF doctor told my mom I'd benefit from doing something physical," he said. "She picked karate.

"I started when I was five," he remembers, "There was so much yelling, kicking and hitting that I cried at every lesson. I did that my whole first year."

It wouldn't last though, as Erling grew to love the sport. At age 15, he earned a black belt and made one of his dreams come true. "One of the best parts of the day of the test," he said, "was seeing my CF doctor, Dr. Kurachek, in the audience cheering me on."

Like it or not, doctors and doctor visits are still a big part of Erling's life. You look at him and he looks as healthy as anyone you'd ever meet. He'd say so himself. At the same time, he won't deny that he's living with a disease(s).

"That's' life," he says.
At age 5, Erling was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a congenital disease of mucous glands, usually developing during childhood and causing pancreatic insufficiency and pulmonary disorder. At 14, he was diagnosed with diabetes. At 16, doctors told him he had chronic pancreatitis. All the while, they told him he was dying.

It would've have been easy for Erling to feel sorry for himself, but that's not how he operates.

"Sometimes in life, bad things happen," he said. "I accept that."

Erling's response is to play the hand you're dealt and make the best of it.

"No matter the physical obstacle, you've got to believe you can get over it," he said.

Life's work
Erling knew at a young age (sometime after earning his black belt) that martial arts would be his life.

Today, he teaches at two different studios, teaching kids at one and adults at another.

Those are his part time jobs; as a full time job, he works as a floor manager at Kaplan Brothers.

Someday, he'd like to open his own martial arts studio

"I'd go old school," he said, "and pay more attention to discipline. What I see today is so much commercialization."

As a karate kid, Erling looked up to Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Today, he's the poster boy.

"That's fine by me," he says with a smile.

When asked if knowing his history makes what he does all the more impressive; Erling shakes his head.

"My story is right over there on the wall," he said. "Most of my kids know it, but it doesn't matter if they know or not.

"My goal as a teacher," he adds, "is to try and make everyone I teach better than me. That way, they can carry on the tradition."

His goal in life is to make every day better than the last.

"Treat it as a blessing," he said.

As he says this, another student runs through the door, bows in respect, and then flashes a sheepish smile.

"Getting better," said Erling, returning the smile. "Hey, you need me to tie your belt?"