Cheryl Shaw, TSMMA Ramsey

If you’ve ever checked out TSMMA’s Facebook page, you probably are already familiar with Cheryl Shaw.  Cheryl is one of the most prolific posters on the site, and her posts are extraordinarily encouraging.  Her journey itself is quite inspiring, and her ability to speak candidly about her experience makes her the “go to” girl if you have a question about Tiger Schulmann’s.  Her instructor, Sensei Shawn Rapoport of the Ramsey, New Jersey TSMMA says, “Watching Cheryl go through the ranks, I am amazed by her drive and willpower to achieve and exceed all her goals. Whether it is her enthusiasm toward her training, her determination to lose weight or her willingness to encourage other students to achieve their best, she is constantly putting 100% of herself into it.  Cheryl’s positive attitude and non-quitting spirit are what exemplify a Tiger Schulmann’s student and what we, as instructors; aspire to have all our students to be. “This month’s Student of the Month is in a bit of a different format, because Cheryl’s story is told best by no one other than Cheryl herself.

Describe your health before you started training.  What was your life like?
My life, if you want to call it that, was getting up in the morning grudgingly because I always felt tired before my day even started.  I would then get my kids ready for school, go to work and come home.  Then I would cook dinner and proceed to eat myself into a coma until I would fall asleep watching sitcoms. I was depressed and was just wishing my life away.

I was unhealthy nearly my entire life, always at various stages of obesity.  I started training in my early 40's. I think at 40 most people start to evaluate their life and their health. You start hearing about people having heart attacks, getting cancer and dying much too young.  I started to realize that, for the most part, I had been lucky with my health.  But I knew at some point, my luck was going to run out.  At 260 pounds, I was at my highest weight ever, and I was a 1-1/2 pack a day smoker. I was having heart palpitations in bed at night, which was pretty scary.  I also experienced the occasional chest pain that sent me to the doctor a few times. I won’t even go into how it felt like having my doctor tell me I was going to get emphysema due to my yearly bouts of bronchial asthma from smoking for 27 years.  YIKES! 

What prompted you to start training?
I actually enrolled my son in the school because he was being bullied. I believe that this was indeed divine intervention. I absolutely needed this, and the classes looked fun! 

Why did you pick Tiger Schulmann's?
I picked Tiger Schulmann’s because I passed the school all the time, and saw the trial month advertised in the window.

How did you feel after your first class?
Let’s just put it this way - I did not need any more convincing that I was EXTREMELY out of shape! I was encouraged to do my best... and that’s what I did. I went at my pace.

How much weight have you lost? How has your life improved?
I have lost a total of 120 pounds and I quit smoking after 3 months of training.

What has training at TSMMA done for you physically, mentally and emotionally?
I can’t tell you how fantastic I feel. I don’t think I have felt this good since I was a teenager. I HAVE SOOOO MUCH ENERGY! I have self confidence. And I can finally say I love myself.

What keeps you motivated?
I am very competitive. I love that Tiger Schulmann’s has various competitions spaced through out the year. I was encouraged by my Sensei to compete at Challenge of Champions because he told me he thought I would do well, and I took it very seriously.  I started training more and worked on my endurance by jogging.  I also started hitting the bag before class. I love that I am in a safe environment that allows me to compete against someone in my age group, weight class and belt rank. I also love the 90 Day Challenges. I really dedicate myself to the nutritional program on the challenge and last year I was even acknowledged as a runner up.  All these events are spaced perfectly so you are always working for or towards something.  Then of course there are the belts. I had to work my butt of for them, literally.  My Sensei would hold my belts for ransom until I hit a certain weight loss and met specific training goals. Thank you Sensei!

What are your goals?
Current goal is getting my black belt in October.

What role did your instructors play in your journey? 
Sensei Shawn Rapoport knew how to motivate me in order to keep me going. He is an extremely disciplined person and teaches us to be that way. His talks in class helped a lot, and he often spoke about a non-quitting spirit. I had no idea at the time that those words would carry me through my weight loss journey. 120 pounds... it’s been a long haul. He was genuinely proud of my accomplishments. He also notices when I am slacking, or putting on weight again. You don’t get that anywhere else, not at any gym. Another thing you won’t get in a gym is the compassion or the family atmosphere. Every instructor and every member of the school really care about each other and about their school.  It’s truly a family.

Why is it so important for you personally to spend so much time encouraging others?
Honestly I do it because it is my way of giving back. I know for me, I will listen to someone who has walked in my shoes. When a new person comes to our school and they are obese or morbidly obese, I let them know that they’re not alone, and I have been where they are.  I have pictures to prove it! I don’t do this for a big head. I do this because, there but for the grace of God there go I.  There is no stronger testimony than one that is personal.

There is nothing more debilitating then carrying all that weight around. It’s a slow death - physically, spiritually, and emotionally.  At 260 pounds I was not living a life, I barely existed. I felt that I was hopeless, ugly, worthless, and a failure. When you pass the point of no return in that vicious cycle, you can’t muster the will power to go on yet another day knowing you will fail.  I understand that, which is why it’s so important to me to help someone else avoid that pitfall.
I have a both a MySpace and Facebook page. My whole profile is all about Tiger Schulmann’s, complete with my before and after pictures, and my little video. I can not tell you how many people I have gotten to know from all over the country by posting my story in the internet! The best feeling is that of knowing I’ve become part of their journey, and I feel blessed to be part of something that crucial.  Support is so important.  I had a gentleman in Pennsylvania contact me via email to tell me that he joined TSMMA in Allentown, Pennsylvania because he stumbled across my profile and was motivated to make a change in his own life.  He joined this past September and is down 80 pounds. That gives me PURE joy!  That is so awesome!

What would you say to others traveling the same road?
I am here to tell them they can do this! This is a FUN activity, no matter how unhealthy they are, they can do this!  What would be my best words of wisdom?  This must be a lifestyle change. You don’t need pills or dangerous surgery, the good old fashion way works. If you want to lose weight it’s all about eating right and exercising.  The nutritional program, I tweaked as I went along. I made subtle changes such as giving up soda for water, and gave up all white stuff (white bread, potatoes, etc.)  Under Sensei’s supervision, modifying the food plan to something I could live with gave me energy.  The food plan they have is great, and the exercise itself is amazing.  You are not going to stick with any exercise program unless you like it, well .. I’m lucky because I love it!!!! For me, that is the magic bullet right there - I love the exercise, love the people, and love the discipline.  Love yourself and do this for yourself. Make a commitment to take care of the one and only body you have and come join me on the mat! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! OSU!!!

Give me a quote...either yours or one that has meaning to you.
My Sensei says we only have one body and we can keep it fit, keep it healthy, or we can destroy it.   Fail to plan, plan to fail!

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