MORE LIFE..STILL ON THE EDGE...

Just a quick update to let you know the longer cut of my earlier documentary, "Life on the Edge" (funded by NFM and the UKFC) is now on youtube with a couple of extra scenes.



Meet Lynn C Thompson, the man who challenged me to do this. An inspiring and incredibly focused and driven martial artist. A truly self made man.
I owe him a lot.
Spot sneaky cameos by my documentary photographer Sheriff Mitchell, eccentric camera man and king of polaroid photography Herod McHugh and even your truly (very briefly on the shooting range)...

Enjoy

Andy

LAME-ASS ROCKY MONTAGE

I was made redundant a few weeks ago.

I have to admit I've been strugling to balance this film, my training and my work life all at the same time (I think I might have even written a blog post about it)..but for me this was all part of my challenge. I wasn't anyone special in any way and in order to take on this challenge I knew that I had to juggle real life along the way.
To be honest I was beginning to enjoy it.
Then the rug was pulled out from under me with a random and pretty much unexpected meeting...ending in me being jobless.

Redundancy is weird. I know I was good at my job. I'd go so far as to say I was pretty damn amazing at it... I'd done nothing bad, I wasn't fired, my work was still top-notch...but there just wasn't a job there any more.
Those of you who know me out and about in the real world know that I threw my heart and soul into my work. I never worked less than an 11 hour day (often 6 days a week) all for the sheer love of it.
Without it I was kind of lost.

My first instinct was to throw myself headlong into training, to crank up the pace and use my new "free time" to completely bury myself in this challenge.
It was starting to dawn on me that the clock was ticking and I only had 11-12 weeks left to prepare for the Cold Steel Challenge..I went training crazy. 3 times a day, running in the rain, swinging sticks till my hands bled, the whole ridiculous stereotype..I tried to live like a Rocky montage...but Stallone I ain't...

It didn't end well.

I found my concentration was shot to pieces, I became frustrated with myself, I stopped sleeping (regularly staring at the ceiling all night, worrying myself silly and getting less than 4 hours kip a night), shouted at my coaches, sulked like a little kid and on more than one occaision had a complete meltdown.
My health suffered. I was training hard but I wasn't training well. I kept piling on the injuries and getting more and more obnoxious till I eventually had to have a word with myself...

I had a few long chats with a few good friends. Spent time with my awesome girlfriend, slowed down the training, took a deep breath and started again.
A couple of meetings about work boosted my confidence again, a few good training sessions got me back into the swing of things and an email from Lynn finally set me back in the right direction.

I've slowly picked up the pace, training sensibly but tough. I'm training 2-3 times a day, job hunting and pulling things back together between sessions.
It's tough, but I think I'm finally getting sorted...last night I slept for 6 hours..It was heaven.

And I keep thinking..if nothing else..the last few weeks - from mood swings to lame-ass Rocky montage training sessions - will look awesome on camera.

Cheers

Andy

GIVING YOURSELF PERMISSION...

"Success is a journey, not a destination" - Chiun (Remo: Unarmed and Dangerous)


Left to Right: Nick Light, Tony Blauer, Andy Smith

I've been keeping this post on hold for quite a while now, and for several reasons...
Partly because the training and guidance I received is part of the documentary and I don't want to be a big spoiler alert, but mostly because it's taken a while to sink in...

A few weeks ago I attended part of a Personal Defence Readiness course at the invitation of Mr Tony Blauer.

I genuinely believe that those two days in Lancaster have actually changed me as a person.

Tony and his team have an exceptional reputation and a track record that really can't be beaten. They teach self defence and tactical training to military and civilians alike all over the world.
They are known simply as the best of the best at what they do.

I was invited as an observer, to sit quietly at the back of the training and make notes, perhaps interview one or two people..journo stuff...
However, once Tony and his team discovered the motivation behind this film and learned a bit about me, they decided it would be better if I "felt" the training.

I had originally intended to write a big old blog post about all of my experiences over those two days (there are a few unpublished drafts sitting on my computer, and they are epic) but i really don't want to give too much away.

Let's just say things got interesting.

If you are interested in self defence I heartily recommend that you check out Tony Blauer and his PDR team. Seek them out for yourself and do some digging. If nothing else, buy one of his audio Cds and give it a listen. You won't be disappointed.

Tony's system analyses fear responses, both physically and mentally...the course made me think as well as sweat.

I sat and thought about the things that scare me and the reasons why those fears have held me back all of my life.

One thing that really stuck with me was the phrase "give yourself permission to defend yourself"...

I'll repeat that, 'cos it's worth repeating..."give yourself permission..."

This really struck a chord with me...

I don't want to spoil any of the good stuff..you are just going to have to wait. But I wanted to share that little nugget. That simple philosophy that had such a profound impact on me.

A lot of my coaches have catchphrases, sayings and buzzwords.
Little psychological shortcuts to a mindset and an attitude.

I often repeat Lynn's maxim "Heat and Pressure makes a Strong Sword"...because I genuinely believe in it. It inspires me, conjures up a certain mood and temperament and helps me find an extra push when I'm feeling close to defeat.

I really believe in the power of these catchphrases. They often sound trite to outsiders, but they can be used to trigger a state of mind or a psychological response. They are often very personal and they mean a great deal to the person who says them.
After all, much of an individuals training is mental.

Tony is by far and away the king of the catchphrase. He is an articulate and intelligent dude with a real talent for saying just the right thing to make a connection..

The idea of "giving myself permission" really hit a nerve. There was something about the phrasing that really had a strong emotional connection with me.
I've found that it has helped me find an extra reserve of determination, resilience and confidence that I never knew that I had.

I can honestly say I'm hooked. I loved the incredible blend of functionality and thought, the mixture of deep, serious self analysis and explosive, decisive action.
I am determined to explore PDR training in more depth even after this film has finished. I honestly believe it will make me a better person.

I must say a big thank you to everyone on the PDR team, especially Tony, Cliff, Zeb and Neil and give a shout out to my training amigos Colin, Charles, Christian, Terje, Kieth and Christian for making me feel welcome and giving me a new focus and outlook on this entire experience...

thanks

Andy