Biggest test: Ms Rdziewicz will test for a black belt next month, having tailored her training to allow for her disabilities
Taekwondo force: Ms Radziewicz shows her skills with nunchucks
A U.S. woman who was born without arms or kneecaps has her sights set on a black belt in tae kwon do.
Sheila Radziewicz is scheduled to take her test next month.
The 32-year-old brown belt, who was born with thrombocytopenia-absent radius, or Tar syndrome, told The Salem News she had been training in martial arts for three years.
'I grew up with the phrase, "The impossible only takes a little longer",' she said. 'I was not supposed to live. Then I wasn't ever supposed to walk.'
Instead, she thrived, undergoing a series of surgeries that allowed her to walk, then at 19 she started living alone and, after earning her driver's licence at 23, had a car built that allows he to drive with her feet.
She also started working as an advocate for victims of domestic violence.
It was to clear her mind after long, busy days at work that Ms Radziewicz began practising martial arts at Bruce McCorry's Martial Arts in Peabody, Massachusetts.
'It's nice to have an outlet where you can just kind of empty your mind,' she said.
Her training is adapted to accommodate her limitations.
'They show me the regular form, and when we get to a point where I can't do it, we find a way to change it,' she said, adding that her focus on the mats was derived from her ability to always 'stay in the present'.
Mr McCorry, her teacher, said he has never seen a student like Ms Radziewicz.
'She is a very motivating person for myself,' he said. 'There are no excuses, in other words. She can teach us all a lesson.'
Instructor Sandra LaRosa said: 'She never feels sorry for herself.'
Ms Radziewicz has become so talented and confident at tae kwon do that she recently began to share her expertise with children in the studio's beginner classes.
She said her family deserved the credit for her determination and self-sufficiency.
'They never let me say I couldn't,' she said. 'They told me that I could.'
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