{"id":943629,"date":"2026-10-23T19:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943629\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T19:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:56:14","slug":"punching-through-parkinsons-disease-fighters-find-a-home-base-in-lake-forest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943629\/","title":{"rendered":"Punching through Parkinson’s disease: Fighters find a home base in Lake Forest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIf you get in the ring, you\u2019re a fighter. They couldn\u2019t build steps up to the ring strong enough to hold a coward.\u201d \u2014 late boxing champion Willie Pep.<\/p>\n

Boxing workouts for those who come to The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s Center in Lake Forest don\u2019t involve sparring. Punches are thrown to hit boxing mitts, not craniums.<\/p>\n

Yet, each of the boxers who venture to the gym from around south Orange County are fighters in every sense of the word. Every day, they battle with Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Getting into the ring, located in the back of the gym, is just a bonus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey look at [the ring], and they\u2019re frightened,\u201d said Donna Clervi, founder of The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s<\/a>, formerly known as the Donna Clervi Foundation. \u201cThey say, how do I get in there? We show them how to get in, and it\u2019s the thrill of their life. It really is so much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s client and boxer Judy Fisher stands in the Rock Haus Fitness location in Lake Forest on Oct. 16.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

The nonprofit organization held a grand opening ceremony for its new space at Rockhaus Fitness on Oct. 16. The event also served as an annual fundraiser and a thank you to longtime supporters, eight of whom received a personalized boxing championship belt.<\/p>\n

Clervi dealt with complications of the event, which was held as the Norte fire ravaged through San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, like a professional boxer dodging a combination of punches. Her auctioneer got stuck in traffic, but she was able to smile and look at the bigger picture \u2014 a message she delivers to her Parkinson\u2019s fighters all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s therapy, but I don\u2019t want to call it therapy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just do all sorts of different things to help them strengthen their bodies and their minds \u2026 Instead of people sitting and worrying about their disease and what\u2019s going to take place, they\u2019re thinking about right now and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s executive Chip Wiseman and founder Donna Clervi, from left, recognizes special supporter Dave Stauffer with a personalized boxing championship belt during a grand opening celebration on Oct. 16.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

She formed the Donna Clervi Foundation in 2021, with the goal of bringing a holistic Parkinson\u2019s Development Center in Orange County. It was a long road<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Her group of Parkinson\u2019s fighters initially met at a park near her Dove Canyon home, then another park, then a gym in Rancho Santa Margarita, then a large room at the Coto Valley Country Club.<\/p>\n

Five years later, the fighters have a space they can call home. Clervi offers group classes as well as one-on-one instruction in continued partnership with retired amateur boxer Marlon Ealy and Rock Steady Boxing.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cCombination training helps them work their minds,\u201d said Chip Wiseman, Clervi\u2019s husband, who is the executive director of The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s. \u201cThey have to remember it. Their mind is focused, and they\u2019re exercising at the same time. That\u2019s what they need more than anything, to keep in the present.\u201d<\/p>\n

That strategy has helped Judy Fisher. The 64-year-old Coto de Caza resident, a retired healthcare executive, found out about The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s soon after she was diagnosed with the disease in 2025.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s founder Donna Clervi stands at the front desk of new Rock Haus Fitness location in Lake Forest on Oct. 16.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

Married with two adult children, she says she\u2019s now in the best shape of her life as she continues to deal with leg tremors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis group has just, you know, been saving my life,\u201d Parker said. \u201cThey give me a sense of purpose. Everyone\u2019s so compassionate and caring. And Donna and Chip are wonderful. We had dinner with them a couple of weeks ago, so you know you can tell when people do this out of the kindness of their heart, you know, versus some kind of financial motive or whatever the case may be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jay Rosen, 61, has a wife and two college-age twin daughters. The Mission Viejo resident was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease in December 2024, and started boxing just two months later through a recommendation of a physical therapist at Kaiser Permanente.<\/p>\n

He maintains a positive outlook on life, and boxing definitely plays a role in that.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s executive Chip Wiseman and founder Donna Clervi, from left, recognize supporter Jerry Denham with a personalized boxing championship belt on Oct. 16.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think what\u2019s really interesting about the group is that it\u2019s a community,\u201d Rosen said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like buying your Lululemons and going to work out and seeing what your costume looks like. There are guys here who are in their 60s, like myself, 70s, 80s. One of our boxers recently turned 90, and he works out with us four days a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosen said for his treatment, sweat is one of the best medicines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love getting up there and working my body and doing stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ve got a whole room of other people who are in the same boat with you. So we all kind of get each other as a starting point, and I think that\u2019s Donna\u2019s vision, to kind of pull these two things together: both community and athletics. Really, everyone\u2019s going to age, so we need to know how to have our core body and how to make sure we don\u2019t fall. We even learn how to fall here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clervi said having a dedicated gym to use seems surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, we need to get out in the community,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople need to know that we\u2019re here, and that we can help them. Outreach is really important right now. The other thing we need to do is expand our services. I want to provide workshops on a monthly basis that are all Parkinson\u2019s related.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she also wants additional specialized services to the gym, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech pathology.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Good Fight Parkinson\u2019s client and boxer Judy Fisher stands in the Rock Haus Fitness location in Lake Forest on Oct. 16.<\/p>\n

(Don Leach \/ Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIf you get in the ring, you\u2019re a fighter. They couldn\u2019t build steps up to the ring strong…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[13849,703,49,48,322967,8745,1136,322968,13157,13105,322969,322971,322970,10400,13470,83413,171,1135,82],"class_list":["post-943629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxer","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-clervi","tag-disease","tag-fighter","tag-good-fight-parkinson","tag-group","tag-gym","tag-home-base","tag-jay-rosen","tag-lake-forest","tag-life","tag-mind","tag-parkinson","tag-people","tag-ring","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}