George Jean Pierre or Something

August 21, 2009 | Instructors & Fighters, MMA Newcastle, wing Chun fighters, Kung Fu in MMA, MMA Newcastle, martial arts newcastle, wing chun newcastle

“Some Bloke Called George Pierre or something” by Richard Jones.
My journey into Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) started in Canada although I wasn’t to realise this for a while. I was on a business trip to Vancouver in the summer of 2008, sat in a sports bar, having a bar meal on my own and minding my own business, watching some sports channel. The golf had just finished (thank God) and next up was something that looked like wrestling but without the blonde permed hair and star spangled outfits; these guys looked fit, focused and incredibly scary. 
 
First up was some guy with a French sounding name (Jean-Pierre somebody or other) (George Saint Pierre Ed’s note) with someone else I had equally never heard of. The fight started and I remember just sitting there, staring in disbelief, as these guys literally kicked, punched, kneed and choked the crap out of each other. I simply couldn’t believe what I was seeing; it was the most violent thing I’d ever seen (other than a warzone) and I even remember saying out loud “For f**ks sake Ref stop this” when the Jean-Pierre bloke sprayed his own blood from his nose all over the canvas as the other guy held him in a choke and landed head shot after head shot. It was one of those things that I simply felt compelled to watch, disgusted yet fascinated at the same time. I remember thinking how barbaric, criminal almost, and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off it. That memory has stuck with me ever since.
 
Fast forward a few months; I’m sat in my car in town when I have an altercation with another driver. Nothing happened, a bit of shouting and gestures, but afterwards I remember thinking how vulnerable I felt, how poorly equipped I was to deal with any sort of physical threat. I’m not one for fighting, I’m not the sort of bloke that goes looking for trouble and I’d much rather get on with people than take them on. I’m not some well built, super athletic type, I’m just a short, bit overweight, thirty something professional person who jogs in the park. The car incident got me thinking; what do I need to do to be prepared in the event I can’t talk myself out of trouble? Huge muscles? A Pit Bull Terrier? No, I need to be trained in some form of unarmed combat. I had made the decision to get involved in something that would equip me to deal with a physical threat. The question was what?
 
Now I’ve always given martial arts I wide berth, ever since as a school kid I went to a karate class and found the teacher rather odd. I couldn’t understand why all these fancy moves would be taught but never put into practice in class. I just couldn’t make the link between wearing a white suit and standing on your own to being face to face with someone who wanted to kill you. I also thought of martial art people as a bit weird, you know the kind of person who would have a large collection of knives at home and believe they have secret mystical powers. Yep, in my mind I had martial arts people up there in the same category as religious fanatics, politicians and Devil worshippers, all a bit too detached from reality for my liking!
 
So, with that in mind, I asked myself what form of self defence class should I try? I had a quick look in the Yellow pages and stuck a search in Google. There was a lot of clubs to choose from! I immediately discounted anything that required wearing a white suit (back to my childhood experience) as I was looking for something that appeared real. What I mean by that is something that could be used in an everyday situation, something that was not an exact science and would accept me for whom I am and all of my limitations. I looked at a few websites and came across the Cyclone club. I remembered what I watched on television in Canada and thought if that doesn’t prepare me then nothing will! I read the website articles and the training; it sounded like what I was looking for, nothing flash or pie-in-the-sky, just basic looking techniques that I would probably be able to learn in a controlled and well supervised environment. I decided to try out Cyclone simply because I knew the location of where the club takes place, it’s close to where I live and the evening class days and times suited me. If I could get there easily and it fits into my weekly schedule then I know I’d have a far better chance of sticking with it.
 
My first session at Cyclone Martial Arts was in the first full week of January in Heaton, Newcastle; I admit to being very nervous, I was out of shape and I’m the wrong side of thirty. I was expecting a class full of young super fit action heroes. However, the club members are people of all different walks of life, different shapes, size, age, sex and colour and you know what, it really doesn’t matter because everyone is attending to learn. The guys put me at ease really quickly; nobody at the club has an attitude or an ego (something I was expecting to be honest) and I felt instantly welcome. I had no kit but that didn’t matter, gloves were available for me to borrow and the club has excellent facilities. Things were explained and demonstrated clearly and nobody was out to have sadistic fun and give the new boy and absolute pasting (again something I was expecting).
 
What has made me become a regular is the clarity in which everything is shown and practised and the openness of the discussions that occur between student and teacher. If a foot is slightly out of line or an elbow is in the wrong place it doesn’t mean the move is totally wrong! Again, it’s about reality, moves are never going to be executed precisely every time, for heavens sake your opponent is not going to be that obliging! It’s not about right or wrong, it’s simply about doing it better. If you understand how a move can work better for you then you are far more likely to do it better in the future. Isn’t that what learning is all about?
 
A few weeks on and I feel far more confident and comfortable doing moves, being thrown and hit. Nobody likes being hit, it would be abnormal to actually enjoy the experience, but accepting it will come with practice and becoming conditioned to contact is an invaluable part of the training. I am really enjoying the classes, being part of the club and I feel so lucky to have found Cyclone Martial Arts.