This young fighter hails from Brazil, and I know the journalist who interviewed him and his mom—Diego San (Diego Moraes), who’s also a karateka. The boy lives with a rare lung condition that requires him to breathe through a cylinder and plastic tubing.
Until he turned four, doctors couldn’t pinpoint his illness, so he wore an oxygen mask constantly; once they identified the problem, he switched to the cylinder setup. He’s allowed to go mask-free for half an hour each day, yet he still enjoys a completely normal childhood—helping his mother around the house and training in karate.
He holds a yellow belt in Shotokan and, in this photo, is competing in a kata (simulated combat) event. Competitors wear red or blue belts in these tournaments to help referees assign points, and here he’s proudly sporting his red belt.
