Blind inspiration

EDMONDS — Robert Ott is a confident man.

He’s the type of guy who stands up straight and gives a firm handshake.

And if you cross him, he won’t hesitate to take you down.

He’s a fifth master black belt in hapkido, a Korean form of martial arts.

But, you see, Ott is blind.

He mentions, almost in passing, about being in the “wrong place at the wrong time” in October 1990, when he and another man got into a brief fight. The man got a gun and shot Ott in the head.

The bullet entered the left temporal lobe in Ott’s brain, damaged nerves in his left eye and exploded in his right eye. That bullet made Ott totally blind.

But Ott’s the type of guy who will say things like, “I’ll keep an eye out for you … but I probably won’t see you.”

Last week, Ott shared his life-altering experience with a group of 30 visually impaired students ages 14 to adult through a motivational course at the Edmonds Recreation Center designed to bolster their confidence and help them set and achieve goals.

But there was something in it for Ott too.

“If anything, it’s very self-fulfilling to teach,” he said before the class. “It’s the medicine that keeps me going.”

If all goes well, Ott, 33, will turn the afternoon course into a three-day camp next year. Representatives from the Washington State School for the Blind in Vancouver were there July 11, as well as the state Department of Services for the Blind and the Lucky 7, a local foundation that sponsors programs for the blind.

And, from the looks of it, things went well.

“Robert’s program benefits these kids in a number of ways,” said Alan Garrels, manager of the child and families branch of the Department of Services for the Blind.

“He just gives them permission to be blind,” Garrels added, noting that blind children are often sent subliminal messages that erode their confidence.

“It’s always couched with something. ‘You can be independent, but …’” Garrels said.

John Backus, president of the Lucky 7, a group of seven siblings, said Ott will have the support he needs for his camp.

“If not through the foundation, somehow,” he said. “We’re supporters and believers in what he’s doing.”

Garrels said roughly 1,500 people 21 and younger are considered legally blind in Washington, according to a recent school district survey. Roughly .01 percent of the population — or one in 10,000 — is legally blind, he added.

Many of the students couldn’t see Ott dropping his demonstration partner to the ground on July 11 and tossing him over his hip. But they heard it, and they heard Ott’s message loud and clear.

Abe Williams, 23, of Edmonds has been losing his sight since birth because of a condition that is eroding his retina. Eventually, he will be totally blind. He called Ott an inspiration.

“I feel a lot of positive stuff coming from him,” Williams said. “It’s just amazing what he’s gone through. To be able to rebuild his life after something like that, and be able to still do things.”

Kathy Drake, 18, of Seattle was born blind. She said Ott’s presentation — a combination of martial arts and goal setting — was inspirational.

“I just don’t hear about too many blind people doing things like that,” Drake said.

Drake, who wants to be a music teacher, said she sometimes allows her blindness to limit her.

“What he said made me think about how I want my future to be,” she said. “It just kept inspiring me — it let me know that I can do things.” Victor Balta writes for The Herald in Everett.