Orillia resident Bert Freeman has overcome a physical disability, bullying, and a lack of confidence in order to have a successful life, and he says he owes a great deal of his success to karate.
“I was living in Richmond Hill when I was 31 and I got a flyer in the mail to join the YMCA for Saturday morning classes, so I signed up and loved it right away,” he explained.
In 1976 Freeman trained for his black belt, which he earned in 1982. He’s been deeply involved in karate ever since. In 2011, Freeman took over the Toronto Academy of Karate Fitness and Health as sensei and president; he still manages the busy dojo.
“Our school focuses more on the arts of karate as opposed to the fighting aspect that most people think of. Self-defence is obviously the primary goal of karate,” he explained.
“The mixed martial arts stuff on television really bothers me because it just encourages violence as far as I’m concerned. So, we are a non-contact school where if contact is made, they are immediately disqualified," Freeman explained.
"Our students have to be much better to be close to the technique without hitting which is a lot harder, and it takes years and years of training."
Since moving to Orillia 20 years ago, Freeman has been helping with programs in Orillia at the YMCA and the Orillia Recreation Centre. The 76-year-old participates typically at the Monday and Wednesday classes.
“Moving here was a great thing because I’ve been able to help the Orillia program, and we have a good school going here now. I still go to classes as much as I can,” he said.
Success has not come easy. Freeman has a deformed left hand, explaining his fingers didn’t finish growing when he was a child.
“When I was a child, they were kind of half-grown, like incomplete, sort of like stuck together. I spent most of my young life in SickKids Hospital having operations to try and give me more use of my hand to help me grasp things,” he explained.
For most of his childhood, Freeman wore a cast on his arm from the many procedures. He was bullied as a child, and he felt like a coward because he would just run away.
“I guess that’s the reason I was attracted to karate even though it was 30 years later. I always felt bad about not being able to stand up for myself,” he said.
“It was hard, my parents never expected anything of me because they thought I was crippled, and I remember one time the doctor in the hospital asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I said an artist. He said, 'OK what if that doesn’t work out?' I thought he doesn’t have hope in me to do anything because of my hand," Freeman recalled.
Freeman went on to become an artist and played hockey, baseball and football; he did everything other kids were doing. However, he never truly felt confident, and his parents never put any confidence in him, he lamented. Karate changed that.
The graphic designer had his own company for 40 years; Freeman Communications is a successful business that is still running today and is operated by Freeman’s daughter.
“I was able to accomplish what I wanted in life because karate gave me the confidence to take on anything including a lot of business challenges. Good karate will give you the confidence to do anything in life you chose to do because you gain inner power that helps you feel invincible,” he said.
Freeman says these days he teaches kids with challenges such as autism, legal blindness, and physical disabilities. Because of his love for karate, Freeman says he has no plans to retire.
“I have no physical injuries, I’m totally flexible, I have no sore joints, and I’ve taken good care of myself. I’ve been very disciplined by taking different vitamins and minerals to keep my health up. I’ve realized that if I want to do this all my life I need to push and put gas in the tank so to speak,” he said.
In addition to vitamins and minerals, Freeman does daily 90-minute runs, regular weight training and continues to teach classes.
“I plan to be the oldest sensei ever, and that’s saying a lot because there is a lot of Chinese and Japanese senseis who are into their ‘80s, but my plan is to live to a hundred and beyond and keep training," said Freeman.
Freeman says karate is a rewarding sport to participate in and it gives him joy to be able to pass along his knowledge to youth.
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