June 12th, 2007
My little secret
For those who saw my talk at @media will know that I have a dark secret. It’s something I’ve never talked about on this blog and I’m not sure why. It’s a secret that I learnt not to talk much about as it could get you in trouble. So here it is:
I have a twenty year interest in martial arts. I’ve also trained in many, many styles and achieved a black belt in one. I was an instructor, competed at national level and I’ve got a pretty good right hook.
There.
Why am I telling you this? You may well ask.
Out of the closet
When I arrived to the hotel in London on Wednesday evening, Jason and I popped out for a beer (mostly so I could introduce him to the delights of Bitter). Following a swift half, we met up with Jon, Drew and Colly where we were collectively discussed our presentations. It was then I revealed my dirty little secret and I would be talking about it tomorrow in reference to Typography. Of course I was met with quizzical looks. So, here’s the full confession…
Mugging
When I fourteen, I was mugged. I wasn’t beaten up or anything, but my ego was badly bruised. Back then, I was a slight little chap and I’m sure I had the word ‘victim’ plastered across my forehead. Anyway, the next day, I enrolled on a karate course. It was a traditional Shukokai karate class which was fortunate as that particular style of karate focusses on being loose, accurate and above all, fast. Suited a little runt like me. Right from the start, It was something I felt very comfortable with. I attained a purple belt before the teacher moved on and joined the police leaving us all in the lurch. It was another five years before I put on a belt.
Freestyle karate
In 1995, I was nearing the end of my graphic design course in Salford university and a good friend of mine at the time said he planned on going to a local karate school and asked if I fancied it. Too be honest, it was ages since I’d attempted to get my leg up that high and I didn’t know if I had it in me. Throwing caution to the wind however, I signed up. It turned out the instructor was an old student of the class I attended five years previously. I managed to coax my best mate Phil along with me and soon it was pretty much all we did. Work and train.
We progressed very quickly that summer. By the end of it we’d graded up to Blue and Green belt and it was a lot of fun. I then went off to university, leaving my training partner and martial arts behind for a further two years.
The university years
Like most students in Fresher’s week, I enrolled in some sports clubs. Most of them were martial arts. I tried Judo, Ju Jitsu, Shotokan Karate, Kick-boxing, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Shootfighting. They all had interesting aspects but more typical student pursuits took hold (drinking and chasing girls) and martial arts in my life once again hit a dry spell.
Getting serious
On completing university and returning home it was back to the karate club I’d left. The style being taught had changed from a loose traditional Shukokai base to a freestyle mix between Sport Karate and Kickboxing. It was this style I eventually gained my black belt in after ten years of sporadic training. Then things started getting serious.
A black belt is a big aim in training for karate. I had worked damn hard for many years to get mine. Then things start to get a bit more internally focussed. You train for you, not the next belt. After ten years of belt chasing, this was a bit of a change in mind set and, in truth, I never adapted.
I then took the natural step to being an instructor. I’d like to think I was a good one. At its peak I ran a successful night class with over twenty regular students ranging from six years old to fifty six. I had fun but, after a year or so, I started to get bored.
Phil (my training partner and best mate of over seventeen years) and I both started to look to external martial arts sources for our inspiration. Phil looked to MMA (mixed martial arts) and continues to run a successful gym in his spare time. I dabbled in Capoeira for a while before meeting the girl of my dreams (who I’m now married to) and setting off to see a bit of the world with her. It was once again a good few years since I put a belt on.
Beating up your boss
Ever wanted to hit your boss? Well, when I worked in London, I did (all in good sportmanship you understand). During my stint with Agency.com I taught kickboxing to the staff of the London office for two years. I had a ball. That was the last time I wore my belt and the last time I trained. It was over six years ago.
Why stop?
That’s a tricky question. There are a few things though. First of all there are no clubs near where I live which teach what I want to learn (although that could change with a boxing gym due to open just around the corner). Secondly, I want a life.
Training in any martial art takes dedication. To be really good at it takes a little more; it takes obsession. In truth, I would never want to train as much as I once did. It consumed my every thought. Ironic really when you consider most martial arts are about balance and harmony at their core.
I’m still deeply interested in martial arts and I hope I’ll train again one day, but until that day comes I’ll continue to watch the boxing and borrowing UFC dvds from Phil at every opportunity I can.
So, there you have it.
No shame it at all. One of my biggest regrets is never having spent time doing actually doing one. I always found them really beginner unfriendly when I tried them as a youngster — it seemed to start you had to be both fit and aware of all the formalities — it always put me off.
I’d still like to learn one myself, but I think I’m too old and too unfit to even attempt it! I might see if there’s one I can take both me and my son to in a year or two. I’ve always fancied Kung Fu personally, but that’s only because I’m a Jackie Chan fan. :)
Oh, I’m not ashamed. Far from it. It’s just something I’ve never really talked about here. Not sure why either.
When, over a pint of warm bitter, you proclaimed that you needed to “come out of the closet” I was getting a bit concerned for your dear wifey. It was with relief for your marital status that your big secret was but a strong passion for the mighty disciplines of martial arts. I am a ruffian who can only fight in the “Sneinton” style, so I’m full of admiration for anyone with actual fighting skill.
Hey Mark, did you spill my pint?
I don’t know why I said shame — you said secret, my mind went to dirty secret. Nowt dirty about it, lol!
Anyway, the niche driven affiliate marketing side of me says — don’t blog about it here. Make a UFC or Karate themed blog and target those markets. I see that in everyone’s interests. I should stop now. :)
To all those ‘too old’ graphic designers out there… I say give it a go! I started Taekwondo this year at the age of 34, and I love it. ‘Tis an excellent way to burn up some of the stress accumulated during the day, and to combat that InDesign inner-tube, or Quark arse!
Like Dio, i also wish i spent my youth involved in martial arts and i advise youngsters to get involved.
I still do wish to get involved. Would you recommend me to get a personal trainer or just join a club and train as part of a group. Obviously, the former would be more expensive, but if it was worth it, then i’d do it.
Having been on the receiving end of Mark’s hooks too many times (especially back in the days when I used to block with my face) I can firmly recommend not picking a fight with him.
On a serious note though, many people see martial arts as being a thing for the young – and in many gyms it is — but there are plenty of opportunities for people who want to use training as a method of challenging themselves and pushing their boundaries, getting in shape, manageing stress or just learning to love something you can take to a zen-like level of perfection.
I have been training in recent years to get away from the testosterone addled nonsense that tends to surround most martial arts and create a training environment based on learning and self-development. This has worked to the point that our sessions have some of the same effects as a yoga session, just using kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to get clients there.
It’s been along journey that I can thank Mark for getting me started on. From trying to figure out what the hell the blocks were all about in karate (having never seen karate kid when I was young) to fighting on one of the first no holds barred shows in the UK to having a gym full of great people with a healthy, cerebral, co-creative approach to training and life – it’s been a ride.
Fahed: It depends what you want to get from classes and if you can find a club with a coach rather than an instructor when deciding whether you want to join classes or train one-on-one. My advice would be classes first, see what the other class members are like — if everyone in the room is cool and the seniors aren’t beating on the beginners then the attitude top to bottom is normally good. These are the most positive and productive kinds of club, martial arts shouldn’t be an excuse to treat people badly (although someone needs to tell most martial arts instructors that)
If anyone is around the South Manchester area and wants to come say hi you’re more than welcome.
Sorry for the long post — I never broke the obsession like Mark did.
Thanks for the advice. At the moment, my company is undergoing some significant expansion which needs my close supervision. I think that, once that’s done, I will start looking for a gym.
Unfortunately, Manchaster’s a bit tooooooo far, but i’m sure (i hope) i’ll be able to find something down here.
Fahed: Where abouts are you based?
London… bouncing between Kensington W14 and Hendon NW6. If you know of a gym down here, please do let me know.
As owner of a half yellow belt in tae kwon do that took me a good few weeks to get, I fully understand where you’re coming from. Now where’s my nunchucks.
That’s a great skill — I wish I had time to learn something like that… it might stop me ending up a lard-arse into the bargain!
@Colly — Sneinton-style, eh? Surely that’s just bare-knuckle boxing in under the guise of Bendigo?
Colly: Sneinton style does indeed make you a formidable opponent young grasshopper. Although, like Simon, I prefer the term Bendingo.
Actually, if anyone is seriously considering dabbling in martial arts listen to Phil. He knows his stuff.
I had a similar path as Mark — bouncing through different martial arts over the years — until I found Karate and Jun Fan Gung Fu. They take commitment, but the confidence, fitness and sense of well being I get from them are well worth it. They definitely leave me relaxed after a heavy day of CSSing.
I took my oldest son along to Karate classes when we was 8, but looking back I think he was too young.
I enjoyed the classes but felt that the ‘beltchasing’ that you describe was a bit relentless. The instructor had been doing it for years and it was his life. It was expected that you’d turn up as much as was humanly possible for every grading or visit by other instructor.
I’d like to go again, but on my terms, to learn at a pace that fits in with where I and my kids are at.
Maybe I’ve learnt more from it than I realised.
I still know that running away is the best art there is!
We are told that by our Sensei, funnily enough. He says you only fight if you have no other means of escape.
And here lies the biggest quandry in martial arts… with many instructors who have never been in a fight (and I’ve seen many whose ‘fighting skills’ fail under the chaotic pressure of a fight with someone outside their style) espousing their expert opinion.
Martial arts, for the most part, has very little to do with self defence — which is why I tend to place a much greater emphasis on the self-development aspects of a long-term training commitment.
I encourage people to treat self defence situations as if you had no training whatsoever. I have no interest in violence and abhor confrontation. My response now, after many years of training, has reverted to what it was when I had no training — to defuse and de-escalate any situation I may be in.
So how has martial arts helped me? It has allowed me to get to the point where I understand my own behaviour under extreme stress, so I have a certain level of ‘stress innoculation’. This allows me to keep calm and, more importantly, to realise I have nothing to prove.
By not rising to things, putting myself in dangerous situations or causing a confrontation to escalate by letting my ego get in the way I pretty much avoid trouble, period.
There is plenty enough violence in the world without me teaching people to fight — instead I use MA to develop people to the point where they know they don’t have to.
This knowledge is hard-earned, many martial artists and non-martial artists believe they don’t have to fight — but they still compete, whether at work, with friends and family, in formal events or in their own training sessions. This is the desire to prove something kicking in again, trying to find themselves by beating someone else… that just sounds negative to me.
That is the difference between belief and knowledge. When you know you have nothing to prove you don’t even have to run away from things, you can walk away long before they become a problem because you haven’t engaged and developed the problem.
I see martial arts training as equipping you to be a warrior for life not just for when you are in the queue of the kebab shop at 2am on a Saturday morning.
You just need to find the right group of people, with the right frame of mind and it can be the most rewarding and healthy pass-time in the world. I love training. I just make sure I keep it in perspective — and I have some world-class coaches who can kick my ass to keep my ego in line. :)
Where abouts in South Manchester Phil? I live the opposite end of the country now but I was born and bred in Manchester but kept up there now and again?
Lee
We’re slap bang in the middle of Stockport, right next to the M60.
Hang on, we’ve talked about this before but I still didn’t know _how_ into it you were! I did all sorts for about 8 years before a near miss with a training knife prompted me to re-evaluate… I realised that I was never going to be as into it as I used to be and as a result I was likely to remain _average_. That was a bit too depressing!
Phil’s ‘testosterone addled nonsense’ rings very true. Too many people take it too seriously. My little brother’s been complaining about the elitism he’s finding in capoeira, which seems like such a shame for an art where you “play” not “fight” in “games” not “matches”. Ah well. The best instructor I’ve ever had, a chap called Vince Lewis from Black Dragon in Birmingham, had a great attitude. He refused to take money from us if we slogged it all the way over to the Aston gym (over an hour) saying “it’s only Kung Fu”.
I’m considering doing a bit of boxing though. I like the sheer physicality, even if my beak is clearly not suited to being bashed. We’ll see.
Hey Mike, check out http://www.mymalife.com/ for a refreshing take on boxing (the Crazy Monkey Defence Programme) without the head trauma.
anywhere near grand central?
We’re across the other side of town, next to the big Tesco.
Arrrghh, I know where you mean. I’ll have to pop in when I’m in that neck of the woods next.
Always welcome, my site has class times on it, or you can drop me a mail and we’ll sort something out. :)
Cheers buddy, will keep that in mind.
Lee
I love how this post struck up an active conversation =)
I’ve always admired martial artists, and I think it is a very keen way of finding inspiration.
Maybe the balance and rhythm in your blog design owe something to your martial arts background?
It’s weird… but I can relate where you are coming from. I am 34 now, I have been boxing fairly regularly since I was 19. Sometimes a bruise or scratch might raise some questions.
It’s not something I come out and say right away. 99% of the time a friend will “out” me. I guess I don’t want to give people the impression that I think myself a tough guy. I don’t… I’ve had my ass beaten plenty.
Or maybe it has something to do with being sized up and challenged… that’s happened as well. I don’t know. I love it though, it may lack the philosophy of eastern martial arts, but It’s very rewarding, physically & mentally.
Wow… a design / martial arts cross-over discussion! What are the chances of that?!
I practice aikido here in Cambridge. Whilst it isn’t directly comparable to, say, karate or capoeira in terms style, I would fully support Phil’s comments (June 13, 4:05pm).
Learn to get around problems and confrontation… there are plenty of martial arts and fighting disciplines which will teach you to meet direct force with direct force, but if use your head and keep your cool, you can find a different approach.
It works with difficult clients as well as difficult training partners!
@Lee Wilson — I reckon you’ll have a good class, if you go along
Karate I get, but I never thought of you as a shoot fighter. Brutal.
I gave Shoot Fighting a go for a couple of weeks in uni. It was ok, but at the time it was really new to the UK scene, so the people who trained were also very green. It wasn’t a great experience really.
Hmm, and I thought down here in Australia the martial arts scene was too sparse. It sounds like you lads are having a hard time finding a place you like ;)
I’ve also trained in martial arts: around seven years in ITF and WTF Taekwondo to become an instructor, before leaving and dabbling in Iaido (Japanese swordplay) and Tai Chi (as well as just slacking off,) before settling on Shaolin Chowka Kung Fu. Been there a few months now, and it feels good to get back into martial arts :)
About your wanting a life, it’s all about moderation :) I keep it to a couple of weeknights these days: I didn’t spend enough time with the other half back when I was an instructor.
Hej Mark! That presentation on @media was realy cool! I was one of five people in the audience with black belt:)
I’ve engaged in Karate (Goju Ryu) training for quite a few years, as well as a bit of dabbling in Bo-jitsu and a tiny bit of Tai Chi.
What I’ve found from my experiences is that it’s certainly do-able at any age, and it’s really beneficial beyond mere exercising. I also agree with Mark that in order to be really really good, you have to make it your life (I think my Sensei is probably the best example of this—I’ve never met anyone who both inspires, amazes and scares me so much!), and also with Phil about the self-development aspects (I know I have much to go in this department… Part of me still gets scared or hesitant when doing sparring).
To avoid a “me too” comment, I’ll just add my two cents: What irritates me is the presentation of Martial Arts without the martial component (ie: “just for exercise”). I realise this does make it more attractive to youngsters and people who aren’t willing to make it a high priority, but I started when I was quite young, and I honestly believe this was beneficial to my childhood development and outlook on the world. :-)
Well, Like most folks, I found your blog through google. Not only have I learned a great deal but I’m also in the martial arts and have been for around 30 years..
I thank you for making your knowledge available to us all..
Fernando Bernall
Saint Augustine, FL
Thanks for posting the talk with comments. I read the entire thing and found it enlightening.
Hi from an Italian capoerista!
Good to know other web developers are into it, too bad I missed your @media presentation! ..on that same night I run away from the conference venue to attend a capoeira class in Finsbury Park(Mestre Marcos, London School of Capoeira — Senzala Group)
And that was your the darkest secret?! That’s amaizing! I’d like to have such DARK side by my own ;)
Hey Mark, your story reminds me of a karate inspired animation some friends of mine did a few years ago — http://www.bookerdesign.net/reel/lessonone.html
I did Karate and Judo as a youngster and the teaching weighed far too hevaily on the discipline side when what you needed was to get excited about the possibilities before you would understand why the discipline was nessecary.
I’d love to get back into something like kick boxing but unfortunately my local group is full of meatheads. (including an Olympic contender geezer who seems to want to fight anyone who visits our pub)
It’s a shame as it’d be a fun way to get fit.