Ben Kunzle‘s life took a dramatic turn during what was meant to be his final hard training session before the IBJJF World Championships. The rising star in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was executing what seemed like a routine takedown when disaster struck. He recently guested on a podcast and explained what happened.
“I had a single leg on me and I stiff armed him, kicked my leg out…I shot the fireman carry and picked him up, I’m on my feet, I have him over my shoulder and I slip on a puddle of sweat,” Kunzle recounts.
The fall resulted in his training partner landing on his neck, causing a C5-C6 spinal injury that would leave him quadriplegic.
“I heard a crack and I screamed because I was scared,” Kunzle recalled of the moment of injury. “It wasn’t even necessarily painful at the moment, it was more of just fear.”
Initial Response and Denial
When he first woke up after surgery, Kunzle struggled to grasp the severity of his condition.
“As a fighter you’re always injured…I was in the mindset that dude I’ll be fine in 3 weeks,” he shares.
The doctors delivered sobering news – telling him he had a 50% chance of not getting any better.
His initial reaction was one of defiance.
“I yelled at my doctor and I yelled at all the nurses and I was like you guys know nothing, you don’t know who I am,” Kunzle said, describing his initial denial.
The gravity of his new reality hit him about three weeks into his injury.
“I went outside with my mom and I watched my first sunset after the injury and I broke down,” Kunzle recalls. “I was like man, 23 years old, this is the best I ever did, this is like as far as I come and my life is over.”
It was his former Jiu-Jitsu professor Cyborg who helped shift his mindset early on. Rather than allowing self-pity, Cyborg immediately challenged Kunzle to view this as an opportunity to show his strength. This martial arts mindset would prove crucial in his approach to recovery.
“What is jiu-jitsu? Jiu-jitsu is like a series of problems and you’re just always problem solving,” Kunzle explained. “And so what is this? It’s a problem – it’s just got to problem solve.”
He approached his recovery like a training camp for a tournament, applying the same dedication and systematic approach to relearning basic functions.
Transforming Adversity into Purpose
Today, Kunzle has transformed his devastating injury into a platform for helping others through his Push On Foundation, dedicated to getting people with spinal cord injuries back into sports. He remains active in adaptive sports, particularly wheelchair rugby, where he recently nearly made the US national team.
His approach to overcoming challenges emphasizes action over anxiety, focusing on what can be controlled rather than dwelling on circumstances. Kunzle credits his success to a strong support system, including family, friends, and the martial arts community. Through self-love, maintaining perspective, and viewing challenges as opportunities for growth, he continues to demonstrate that while life may take unexpected turns, it’s our response to adversity that defines us.
His message to others facing adversity remains powerful in its simplicity:
“You’re stronger than you think.”
