Smashing ice, bricks and bats for a kid with cancer

A Carson-area exhibition martial artist will be breaking hundreds of pounds of ice with his fists, cracking baseball bats with his shins, and crunching coconuts with his hands Tuesday to benefit 4 1/2-year-old brain cancer patient Daniel Barnes.

"We're trying to get the community behind the family," said martial artist Dan Horrigan's girlfriend, Nora Christensen.

Daniel has an inoperable tumor in his brain that affects his right side. Kelly Barnes, Daniel's mother, is unable to work because she spends so much time caring for him.

"He's stable right now, but we have an MRI on Oct. 16," she said. "That'll tell us if the tumor is stable, or if it's growing or shrinking."

During a warmup event on Sept. 6, Daniel looked for Horrigan before his performance.

"He said, 'Where's the crusher guy?'" Christensen said. "He's the cutest little boy."

Harrigan served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a Golden Gloves boxer, a Thai-style boxer and a champion weightlifter and has studied martial arts since he was a child.

He also spent time in Folsom Penitentiary for dealing drugs.

His speaking and "creative break" demonstrations are designed to keep young people away from drugs and crime.

"He's really a great guy," said Barnes. She said he fell out of a tree recently while working as a landscaper.

"So he's been training (to do this ice break) for our baby while in pain," she said. "He didn't give up."

The free "creative break" exhibition is 4-9 p.m. Tuesday at Nevada Fitness on Fairview Drive. There will be food, raffles and two types of T-shirts for sale. All money raised by the T-shirt sales and raffle will go to the Reno Cancer Foundation to benefit Daniel.

Sponsors include Nevada Fitness, Eagle Fitness, Wilderness Studios, the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada, Albertsons, Les Schwab, Red's Old 395, Friends of Daniel and the Sierra Glen Creamery. One of the raffle prizes is a $400 snowboard donated by the Out of Bounds Board Shop.

The Gardnerville band Riffraff will play.

"It'll be a really big event," said Christensen. "Hopefully, we'll get a lot of people."

If You Go

What: Martial arts exhibition and ice break to support Daniel Barnes' fight against cancer

When: 4-9 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Nevada Fitness on Fairview Drive

Cost: Free

Call: 29-1970

To help Daniel: Tax-deductible donations can be sent to Angel Kiss Foundation in the name of Daniel Morrison, 150 Ridge St., Suite 3 , Reno NV 89501.