WE

ALL HAVE FEAR;

SOME OF US SO MUCH,
IT OVERWHELMS US
AND COMPLETELY TAKES OVER OUR
LIVEB - AND N0T E0F THE EETTEF!
Although fear differs from person to person,
I have not met an honest man yet who
hasnt been afraid of something; Ive known
grown men bolt at the sight of a spider and
cower aL LLe mere LLouLL oI a sLreeL BLL.
I, personally, have sat in the company of
fear so many times throughout my life that
I have lost count, and over the years I have
avoided many things because of fear; places
and peopIe, and LerrIBed LLaL I wouId be
on the losing end of a beating. Maybe, if I
had chosen my path in martial arts earlier
in my life, things would have been very
different and I wouldnt have let my fear of
things get so out of proportion. My fear of
everything grew so big, it eventually became
bigger than my everyday life, and it left me
literally doomed to a future indoors; I became
agoraphobic and took to daytime TV for my
solace and comfort. But the slight comfort I
had from television was then chased away
by depression, and even more fear of people
coming to visit; when friends knocked on the
door inviting me out, I would just cower and
hide behind the curtains.
However, saying this, I was actually very
lucky as I had the support of a lovely lady
in my life who would not give up on me. She
endured countless evenings in, and put up
with our rare nights out together, when we
would only go to very quite places where
I wouldnt have to engage or interact with
anyone. The life we were having was no way
for a young couple to live in fact no way for
anyone to live - and so something eventually
had to give. And then, during a nervous
breakdown, I stumbled across a book about
fear which offered its readers both hope and
redemption. I swiftly devoured it from page
to page, and my thirst for both the written
word, and a better life, slowly grew. A shelf of
self-help books developed rapidly; daytime
TV and the front room gave way to short
walks on the local common.
And then, after playing a Taekwondo video
game, I jokingly said to my partner that
Id love to try Taekwondo for real, and she
quickly replied with; So, why dont you
LLen?' BLe menLIoned LLaL sLe saw a noLIce
in a shop window from local Martial Arts club
advertising for new members. I struggled
with the doubts in my mind and my stomach
went into overdrive at the thought of actually
joining a class full of students, but with
the support from my partner, together we
ventured down to the local club and I joined
my BrsL marLIaI arL cIass and acLuaIIy, aILer
feeling so much fear about it... I found that
IL wasn'L Loo bad aL aII! WakIn LLe IoIIowIn
day, I felt a sense of freedom that I hadnt
felt for a very long time; the demons that
were sitting inside my head and the dark
voice mocking me were disappearing. But, as
the next training day approached, I felt the
Carnival of Fear had made camp in my head
once again, and my reasons and excuses
Ior noL oIn IeIL jusLIBed, buL as LLe LIme
to go approached, I jumped up, reached for
my sports bag and set out once again for
the training center. Fighting fear is a slow
process, and conquering the demons that
can keep you in fear can be extraordinarily
dIIBcuIL, buL I Lad made a sLarL and I wasn'L
going to look back; it was now a battle I just
had to win. And personally, I used music to
LeIp me BLL LLIs baLLIe, I wenL runnIn Lo
the sounds of Bill Conti, punching to Bruce
Springsteen and I cooled down listening to
Gospel; they all pushed me when I needed it,
inspired me when inspiration was called for
and soothed me when it was time to rest.
As I progressed in my martial arts, I began to
hate the fear that had controlled much of my
life and for so long, but I embraced it too and,
as I dId, my worId rew massIveIy. AL BrsL IL
Look every Bber oI my beIn noL Lo succumb
to it again, but with each day it got easier and
easier and within a few years I found myself
sLandIn In IronL oI AIBe LewIs, one oI LLe
worlds greatest martial artists, shaking
LIs Land, LakIn my BrsL bIack beIL.
I never thought that having a black
belt would be a bullet proof vest or
a cape LLaL aIIowed me Lo By
anywhere, but I did know that
by achieving one of my biggest
dreams and facing some of my
biggest fears would help me handle
lifes other challenges head-on.
Almost two decades later I found myself on
a stage being inducted into the Martial Arts
Hall of Fame and, as I looked out into the
audience, shielding my eyes from the light, I
could see my partner and our children with
tears in their eyes. Fear was quiet on this
night and allowed me my moment.
And if I can do all of this, YOU can too; no
matter what you want to do, no matter who
you want to be, no matter where you want to
go, if you want it bad enough then its yours.
You just have to really want it. But give
our friend Fear an occasional little voice
too, but just a little voice because we
need it; it tells us that what we want
Is worLL LavIn and worLL BLLIn Ior.
Give fear the little bit of respect it
demands, and then turn the music
up as loud as you can and smash it
Lo pIeces!
**************************************
Conquering
Your Fears
PART TWO
In the second part of 5th Dan martial artist Simon Morrells column
on overcoming and conquering fear, Simon talks about his fear in
more detail and how a video game started his career in martial arts.
By Simon Morrell
S
imon Morrell spent most of his life
suffering in a dark cave of anxiety. As
a child and into his early adulthood, he
was the victim of bullies which escalated
into unprovoked violent assaults. This led
to Simon developing full blown agoraphobia,
panic attacks and a nervous breakdown.
Scared of his own shadow, Simon turned to
the martial arts and karate for some solace,
and it was here he found his path in life.
He became a very successful martial artist
and LIs quaIIBcaLIons IncIude beIn a SLL
Dan bIack beIL, a quaIIBed wresLIIn coacL
(BAWA), a Registered Senior Self-Protection
Instructor with The British Combat
Association and a national competitor. He has
attended and successfully completed training
in close protection, surveillance and close
quarter combat, and is the Chief Instructor
at Fight Fortress. He is also a member of
The Global Network of Professional Reality
Based Fighting Instructors and in September
2018, Le Lakes LIs LesL Ior 6LL Dan under
AIBe LewIs, one oI LLe worId's mosL Iamous
martial artists that has ever graced the semi-
contact mats. Simon is also the author of
From Bullied To Black Belt and An Everyday
Warrior. Both books are based on his life
story and are currently being made into a
IeaLure BIm. AII LIs books are avaIIabIe dIrecL
from his website: www.simonmorrell.com
BprIn 2018 tough talk magazine 47
Simon Morrell
46 tough talk magazine BprIn 2018