Ian Matuszak, 20, suffers from cerebral palsy, and if that wasn’t enough, he was recently diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer. Despite the hurdles life has thrown his way, Matuszak continues to hold his head high and lives life on life’s terms. Earlier this month, the Westbury, N.Y., native received quite the surprise from his instructors, Pete Sell and Dave Patton, when he was awarded his blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

 

A photo posted by Ian Matuszak (@ianmatuszak) on

"He trained before the cancer diagnosis at least twice weekly," Patton told Fox5NY. "He's done two tournaments. One was for people with disabilities and the other was a regular tournament. We had people come from as far as North Carolina to the fundraiser. He's one of the hardest working and driven people I've ever trained with."

 

A photo posted by Ian Matuszak (@ianmatuszak) on

More than 200 members of the jiu-jitsu community, including MMA legend Renzo Gracie, UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman, and former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra, showed up to Matuszak’s blue belt ceremony on Oct. 3, which doubled as a fundraiser to support his medical bills. His family has also set up a GoFundMe page as Matuszak’s medical costs from his cancer diagnosis begin to roll in.