Enoch's Cancer Survival Camp

The Story of Enoch Paul, Jr., Owner and Operator of Enoch’s Karate, Located in Anderson, SC
(Excerpt from Anderson Independent Mail)
By Mandy Moore
Standing outside of the weight room, you would never know that Enoch Paul was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and in 2009, given only one year to live. A personal trainer, martial arts instructor, and role model to thousands of kids, being diagnosed with cancer was the one and only thing that ever brought Sensei to his knees. Weighing in at 315 lbs., a week before his diagnosis, Enoch took home the state title in Alabama for raw bench pressing nearly 500lbs. A few days later, he began to feel a pain in his side and finally decided to go to the doctor to have it checked out. After multiple tests and doctor visits, he described his MRI results as “lighting up like a Christmas tree from head to toe. They had a hard time fitting me into the MRI machine because I was so big. They had an even harder time getting me out of that thing.” With a tear in his eye he said “I will never forget that day. At that point I realized what really mattered. I didn’t care about anything anymore except wanting to live. I want to live. I want to spend time with my family, my grandkids, and my students. I just wanted to live.”
Looking through the glass windows of his 3,200 square foot karate school, the chairs lining the walls are filled with parents and children awaiting their time with Enoch. As they tighten their belts and don their pads, some of them may not even realize the impact he will have on their lives. From tiny tots to teenagers, they each have a unique story to tell. Some of their stories are inspiring, and some entertaining, about the positive effect he has had on their lives. At any time during the day and throughout the evening, you will see a revolving door of children and parents. Commanding attention as he walks into any room, excitedly you will see these children jump to attention and shout “Yes, Sir” at any question he asks them. “They learn real quick to have respect for adults at my school. I want them to learn what they need to know for the real world,” Enoch boldly says. Watching her son do push-ups from a distance, one of the mothers laughs and says, “He must have forgotten to say “Yes, Sir.”
In very small community located near the Abbeville/Anderson County line, known as Antreville, SC, Enoch Paul was born and raised. “My mother thought I was hard core. I didn’t have any patience. I wanted everything to be perfect, “ he said. “But she knew I loved people. I was raised to love people and treat everybody well.” Enoch attended Dixie High School; however, never did he know how his high school experience would shape him into the person he is today. “I was always put in the special classes. I hated that. I felt like I was segregated from all of the normal kids and put with the bad kids. I just hated it. I didn’t like to go to school because I knew I would be by myself.” Enoch described his days in school and how he felt being away from his friends. “It was embarrassing. My friends were going off to English and Algebra and I was taken away to go to special classes with the bad kids. I wasn’t a bad kid, I was just slow. I never bothered anybody, I just talked a lot. I needed extra help.” Accrediting his success to his teachers, Sensei speaks from the heart when he says, “They made me feel like a million dollars. Like I was somebody. They had patience and really set the foundation for me.“
An 8x10 framed photo of Enoch sits on the shelf behind the counter of his school. Printed on a faded piece of copy paper, it reads “Sensei at age 21.” When asked what he thinks about the picture, he looks down and humbly laughs and says, “I mean it’s just me, years ago. I wish I looked like that now.” Because of the deep love and respect they have for him, many of his students have taken pictures of this very photo with their phones and posted it on their own Facebook page. His desk is littered with cards and pictures from his students, many of which have encountered similar battles throughout their lives.
When Enoch was eleven years old, he recalls watching his cousin Floyd lifting weights in the garage. “I was looking for a way to feel better about myself. I asked my Daddy if I could have a weight bench for Christmas and he bought me one.” In an attempt to mentally remove himself from the outside world, Enoch started lifting weights when he was 14. It didn’t take long for it to become his passion. “I was really good at that. I was always hard on myself. It made me feel good about myself to get big. So that is what I kept doing (getting bigger and bigger).” (Who inspired you to pick up your first weights – I was looking for something I was struggling in school – it made me feel good about myself to get big I needed something to make me feel good about myself. At that point in time, lifting weights became Enoch’s passion. He quickly realized that the more he lifted the bigger he became, and the bigger he became, the bigger he wanted to be. “Lifting weights gave me a whole new perspective on life. I was good at it. I felt in charge. I had never really been good at anything before and I felt good about myself.”
“I weighed 178lbs when I graduated high school in 1984,” he laughingly says. Less than a year later, he was a whole different man, ripped from head to toe and ready to compete. Weighing in at 230lbs, he entered his first weight lifting competition when he was 19. “I was so nervous,” he said. “I was standing in Greenville Memorial Auditorium with hardly any clothes on. I had never been on stage, let alone, on stage with hardly any clothes on and with people judging me. At that time I was bench pressing about 400 lbs. I got 3rd place and all that did was make me want to get bigger and bigger.”
Around age 23, Enoch was simultaneously training as a body builder and taking karate classes. He continued to train during the day while he was working at Jackson Mill on second shift. “I hated that job. I absolutely hated it. I was so relieved when I was able to open my own karate school and get out of that place,” Enoch said. It wasn’t until that turning point in his life that Enoch realized that his true passion was helping children overcome the adversity he had faced. “I never like to see a kid get picked on. I had a hard life because I wasn’t as smart in school as all the other kids. I knew I would never have a degree. I hated to go to school. I never could focus. My brain always felt like it was spinning out of control. I was always thinking about fifty things at once. It was hard. It was very hard for me as a child.” Enoch’s family talks about how he was always the one defending people from bullies. Enoch claims that he doesn’t remember any of that but his personality is so concrete, it probably just came natural. He opened his first karate school in 1992 in Antreville, SC and later moved to Anderson Mall in 2000. Enoch’s Karate School is now located behind Brewster’s Ice Cream on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Anderson, SC.
Thousands of students have walked thru the doors of Enoch’s Karate school for over 20 years. When asked what he thinks his students would say about him, he looks directly ahead and laughs and says, “He’s a jerk, probably.” His thoughts are far from the truth. Sitting in the waiting room of his school is a former student, 33 year old Dwane Balchin. He is not here for any other reason but to socialize with the Sensei that helped him thru his teenage years. “I was a real troublemaker when I was 13. I was getting picked on in school and people were picking fights with me often. We didn’t have a lot of money and they would pick on my shoes. I was angry all the time. I would talk back to my Mom and didn’t have much respect. It wasn’t long until that changed. My mom brought me to Enoch.” Dwane recalls the first day he walked into Enoch’s Karate School, “He scared the daylights out of me. I learned quickly – you either do right or pay for it. It only took me one class to find out how he was. I will never forget the impact he had on my life. He gave me confidence. I was 100lbs soaking wet. He had a way of getting respect out of kids that no one else could get. He is a very big Christian and everybody knows that. “As he came to the karate school today to see Enoch, he was excited to reminisce on the impact of Enoch, one that changed his life forever.
These stories are not all-to-few. On any given day the stories from the waiting room could write their own book.
Everywhere he goes, someone stops to thank him for transforming them or their child. But what many people don’t know, is the size of Enoch’s heart. Many people would be surprised to know that nearly half of his students attend his school tuition-free. “It is so hard for me to turn them away, especially if there is a single mother that is struggling for help. I do what I can. It has been difficult for me at times. There have been months when I wondered how I was going to pay the bills, but somehow, someway, God came thru for me. I cannot stand to see a child in need, especially when I have some way to change their life. God let me live for a reason and that reason is to help troubled children. Enoch's success as a karate instructor, personal trainer and fitness coach, and lifestyle wellness mentor has lead him to use his personal experience and struggles as a cancer survivor, to give back to the community. Enoch's goal is to find those cancer patients, that are experiencing day-to-day struggles, and transform their lives into healthy, productive, Christ-centered machines! Enoch's desire to give back to the community that has given so much to him provoked him to open this non-profit organization, serving the community that has supported his business for so many years.