Written by: Eric Huang, FCSN Voices Youth Reporter
Graphics by: Angie Che, FCSN Voices Graphic Artist

A parent to two special needs children, Mr. Kanit Therdsteerasukdi has been volunteering at FCSN through his Muay Thai Kickboxing classes. He was inspired to start his Muay Thai Kickboxing class after he had his second child and he and his wife were too busy taking care of their children to attend regular volunteering events. Fortunately for him, FCSN Co-President CK Lee approached him with an idea to solve his dilemma: start a class at FCSN so he can simultaneously volunteer and watch over his son. Kanit came up with the idea of starting a Muay Thai Kickboxing class to give children a chance to do something they probably never would have tried without his help.

Despite a few challenges such as volunteers’ inexperience in the art of Muay Thai Kickboxing, Kanit’s class has been running quite smoothly. By taking the advice of volunteers from his first round of classes, he was able to adapt the format of his class better for the second round.  He also shared some of his favorite memories from the class, and gave one reason why he finds his classes so enjoyable: “I think there’s little unexpected surprises that mightot  nnot occur outside the special needs community.” For instance, he relayed one time the students hid inside of the equipment bin. Instead of getting the martial arts equipment he was expecting, he was instead surprised with one of his students! 

Kanit’s past experiences with marital arts and taking care of his special needs children have helped him with his Muay Thai Kickboxing classes. From his time taking care of his own children, he learned the importance of being able to adapt his teaching and modify tasks for students with special needs. He has applied this to his Muay Thai Kickboxing class, looking out for students who might need more help physically or break things down in different ways to help different students understand.

Kanit also shared his experience with FCSN as a parent of special needs children. He expressed how accessing the resources FCSN provided helped him out and that he had learned and felt so much since first stepping into the FCSN community. He mentioned how reassuring it was learning about all the different plans and programs for his children to help them as they grow up, and that there were other families out there similar to his family. “Being part of a community gives you strength. It gives you hope. I mean, it’s like we’re living in a different, better world.”

Kanit shared some advice for anyone looking to volunteer: “Volunteering in the special needs community is not just for the benefit of those with disabilities, but it’s a benefit for us volunteers as well. It really does force us to be more compassionate and more patient. It changes our behavior in that way to show the best parts of humanity, it brings out the best in us volunteers. It gives us the opportunity to express our most caring parts of ourselves to individuals with special needs. It really brings out the best in us.”

In the future, Kanit hopes to see more returning students come visit his class. He also hopes other students can use his class as a stepping stone to other martial arts classes, as they learn the basic skills of self defense to prepare themselves for more advanced lessons.