7/28/2019 1 Tough Talk1 J_eng.pdf
1/1
From my own experience I have certainly
had plenty to be afraid of. This has
ranged from my school-days when I was
bullied, threatened with knives, spat at and
beaten up, to later on in life when fear was
brought on by the thought of - and taking
part in - tough martial art gradings, full-
contact sparring with professional boxers,
hard training courses and grappling with
European champions.
Fear!
For me, the kind of fear I had as an adolescent,
manifested itself in later life as an anxiety
disorder known as agoraphobia; resulting in
me staying in-doors for much of my early lifeand shrinking my
comfort zone to the four
_ITT[IVLOIZLMVWNUaPW][M0W_M^MZIN\MZ
some years, and plenty of research and help,
I was eventually able to conquer the fear I
had of the outside world and embark upon
my martial arts journey! And in time I then
went on to teach at seminars and opened
my own gym, and applied for membership
as an instructor with possibly one of the
most prestigious self-defence associations
in the world, with some of the worlds top
QV[\Z]K\WZ[#\PQVO[\PI\_W]TLUW[\LMVQ\MTa
not have happened to me had I not overcome
my initial fear of being out there in the open
NWZM^MZaWVM\W[MM*]\ \PMV\PMNMIZWN
being out there changed other fears; fear
that the association wouldnt accept me as
an instructor, and then feeling of fear that
if they did I would have then to prove that I
could instruct, travel and train with some of
the best instructors in the world.
There is always fear!
Throughout life, fear manifests itself in
many ways and in many situations and
circumstances, but in order to survive and
move on, fear must be conquered.
I remember the fear I once had when dealing
with and defeating a drug dealer and his
company of friends, after a dispute lasting
over two years. The drug dealings were
his - not mine - and my dispute against this
man was unconnected to his drug activities;
threats were made to me and my family by
him, and yet his threats were overcome by
me. Face-offs were instigated by him and his
gang, yet by controlling my fear, not showing
fear, and by instilling fear in him and his
gang, those same face-offs were won by me.
I do not wish to sound clever about this, as it
was certainly a very scary time for me but,
_Q\POZMI\LQNK]T\aI\Z[\1_I[[TW_TaIJTM
to disguise my own weaknesses and fears
- of which there were many - until things
eventually came to a head and a full-scale
[PW_LW_V JMKIUM QVM^Q\IJTM7VM M^MVQVO
they came mob-handed to my house; to the
tune of seven to my two - my two being me
IVLUa_QNM5aNMIZ_I[I\IVITT\QUMPQOP
and all my training in controlling it was
ZMILa\WTMI^MUM*]\1 KW]TLV\INNWZL\W
TM\\PQ[PIXXMV#\PQ[_I[5APW][M_Q\P\_W
young children inside! So I stood my ground
and in return was much more aggressive
and much more threatening to them and it
was quickly apparent that not one of them
PIL_PI\Q\\WWS\WJMZ[\
