Why we freeze on the big occasion

This blog is a continuation of the previous blog... 'Be all you can.... because you can!


Today's subject is the reasons we sometimes 'choke'  Why when sometimes it seems easier to win do we fall apart doing the basics?  I will tell you the time it happened to me and of course famous stories of people who have choked unexpectedly. 

Greg Norman chokes in 1996

Before deciding to watch the golf yesterday, I thought I would just check with my 'info' button on my remote control to see how the tournament was progressing at the start of the final day's play.  The 'info' told me that Spencer Levin was on the verge of winning, being seven shots ahead of his nearest rival.  So I settled down to watch the formality of Levin winning his first PGA Tour title.  What I witnessed was Spencer Levin going into meltdown and scoring four over par whilst virtually everyone else who was playing on Sunday scored under par.  So what happened to Levin? and how did he manage to lose a tournament that he should have won comfortably?  At the end of the tournament he said "I just didn't have it"  The tournament was won by Kyle Stanley from eight shots back. Amazingly Stanley had held a seven-shot lead early in the final round of last week's Farmers Insurance Open and managed to lose that tournament? Similarly in final round of the 1996 in the US Masters, Greg Norman, nicknamed the 'Great White Shark', gave away a six shot lead to Nick Faldo. Faldo tried to comfort Norman at the end of the tournament by putting his hand on his shoulder saying "I don't know what to say, I feel horrible about what just happened. I am so sorry."  People were saying about Norman that "He didn't want it enough" He was missing shots that should have been formalities, putts he could normally sink with his eyes closed.  


I remember getting to the quarter finals of the British ABA finals and was boxing a lad called Smith.  I knew he was a southpaw (led with the right hand) and was given instructions by my coach Ken Reynolds telling me basic moves to overcome the southpaw stance. "Straight right hands down the middle followed with left hooks and keep your left foot outside his leading right foot."  I had never been past this stage of the championships before and was nervous but reasonably confident. I had trained hard and even was 'adopted'  by my old friend 'Mac' who did all he could to ensure I was fully prepared for my fight.  Mac was an elderly man who was mad on boxing, he used to come and watch me train and he wanted me to be in the best possible physical condition. He ensured I ate, slept and trained properly.  Every night he would come and pick me up from work and take me back to his house in a village away from distractions. Mac fed me liver or steak each night and took me to work in the mornings, to training after and made sure I put in my roadwork, ensuring that I was properly prepared for my fight.   I had never felt better, or been prepared better for any of my previous thirty plus fights.  On the night of the fight I felt confident, right up until when the opening bell sounded.  As soon as the bell had sounded I choked. I was trying to remember the instructions I had been told by Ken but my thought process was being constantly disrupted by my opponents punches landing in my face. I tried to keep my distance from him but found it difficult to throw any punches myself.  Even my trusty left jab was slow and being countered.  I could do nothing with any certainty.  By the time the bell had sounded to end the first round I was a mile behind on points.  Ken was giving me instructions for the next round but nothing was sinking in, nothing was making sense.  I was the fittest I had ever been in my life yet had no energy, no speed and now no confidence.  The bell went to start the next round and the only thing that was sinking in was Smiths punches.  Part the way through the round I was cut above my eye and the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.  It was not much of a cut but I think the referee could see I was never going to win this fight and pulled me out for my own safety.  If a spectator had came to watch me for the first time that night they would have thought I had never boxed before.  I was embarrassed.  So many people had put their faith in me and I had let them and myself down but didn't no the reason.

Seddon Atkinson similar to what my dad taught me to drive in.
What I remember most was NO POWER STEERING!!

The reason for me choking was this...  My sub-conscious mind over powered my conscious mind.  When we sit behind the steering wheel of a car at our very first time we are told the basics of how to drive by our instructor.  My instructor well actually it was my dad at first and it wasn't a car it was a 30 ton Seddon Atkinson lorry in a quarry.  But moving on a couple of years.... after driving my own car 50 miles to Leicester and jumping out of my 1967 Riley Kestrel and into the Ford Escort Mark 2 'L'earner car for the first time I was  amazed to see a brake pedal on the passenger side of the car. I guessed that was his 'just in case' brake. When we first start driving our 'conscious' thoughts go something like this  "enter car, adjust seat, put on seat belt, check the mirror, make sure the car is in neutral, turn ignition to start the car, Depress clutch, engage first gear, check the mirror again, signal that you are about to drive away, lift your foot off the clutch whilst pressing down on the accelerator, feel for the bite, check the mirror again just to be sure and finally maneuver".  All these are conscious thought that we repeat to ourselves until we are more competent drivers and they become unconscious thoughts and we do them without thinking. Then our conscious thoughts can be used to decide where we are going and what we might be doing when we get there etc...

When I first started boxing I was taught how to stand, where to hold my hands, how to deliver punches including variations of straights, hooks uppercuts and how to avoid being punched using blocks parries,slips and lay-backs etc.  As I got more experienced these conscious thoughts became unconscious and I did them as a natural reaction to being in a boxing ring.  Choking happens when an occasion gets to you.  Under pressure we can over think and 'strangle' our unconscious thoughts by relying on our conscious thoughts.  So instead of doing what comes natural, what we had spent years perfecting we start questioning our unconscious thought and making mistakes.  So when I fought Smith I was actually trying too hard when I looked like I wasn't trying at all.   I was thinking of how to box instead of just boxing. When a golf misses fairway after fairway off the tee, it is not because he is not trying.  It is often because he is trying too hard, instead of trusting in his ability he may be continuously thinking about each component of his swing, then missing one component out causing a huge deviation in his shot.

The way I dealt with this was by taking the importance away from the activity.  I reminded myself  "its only boxing" I later competed on the world stage as a full combat kick-boxer but never again suffered from freezing on the big occasion.  I told myself it's only kick-boxing, if I lose my life will be no worse off.  It is much easier to compete when you take away the fear of losing.  I still expected to win because of the work I put in, but losing was no longer a fear. In four years I lost only twice as a full contact kick-boxer, once in the World Championships and a controversial loss on points for the British title.  In almost every other fight  I won by knockout or the referee  stopped the fight.  Eventually I decided I was too old too compete.  This left a huge hole to be filled. Like I mentioned in a previous blog when Jonathon Edwards realised the sport was more important to his life than he realised, I also felt that there was a void in my life.  I was no longer British kickboxing champion.  Being a former champion did not sit as well as being a champion. I loved the fact that I was seen as the best in the country and one of the best kick-boxers in the world but that was all history now.  Just plain old Dave Earle ...... So I started my own fitness classes and eventually got my own gym and boxing club, producing champions of my own.  I feel lucky to have been given a second chance.  I hear some of the boxers at my gym say they could never be a trainer, and they would have to fight, they would feel like they should be in the ring fighting not be training someone to fight.  they ask me if I miss competing. My answer to that question is "I used to feel the same way.  The thing I liked about boxing was being a boxer, competing in a sport that my father competed in and making him proud. I enjoyed the winning, the travelling around the world, the friends I made and the respect I got from friends and strangers. I loved being fit and taking my top off and feeling good about the way I looked.  There are so many good things to take from doing well at your chosen sport and I would recommend it to everyone.  But I have to say I didn't particularly like the training and making weight, the pre-fight nerves, I hated losing and feeling like I had let people down and can honestly say I get as much satisfaction out of giving youngsters the same benefits I got from training and competing.  I love the fact that I can pass my knowledge on with no fear of being punched or letting anyone down.  Boxing has been kind to me, helped give me confidence, kept me fit and allowed me the pleasure running my own business.  Would I do it all again? You better beleve it.

The conclusion is Black and White, and I thought it was genetics

For years I believed that my colour was the reason I was faster than my white friends at school.  That being black meant I had more fast twitch muscle fibers making me more of an explosive runner.  I believed that, because all Ethiopians, Kenyans and Jamaicans seemed to be the best runners and all the most famous world champion boxers were black, that I was naturally going to have an advantage over my white counterparts.  (Even though of course my mother was white) I was convinced that through the knowledge I had picked up over the years from friends and even some books I had read, that the fact I had the blood of my father coursing through my veins,  I was a natural athlete!  All of my family were athletes, my dad was a successful boxer, my sisters all ran for the school and the county and were in the netball and hockey teams.  It must have been because we were black.  I went to a boxing club where their were 5 Christie brothers, Simon, Andy, Errol, Michael and Wesley they were BLACK and they were all national champions at boxing, and they were all the best in the gym at running, even better than me, but they were Blacker... Actually, I could beat Simon he was a lot younger... and a bit chubby.  

So imagine how I felt recently after finding out it is nothing to do with colour or genetics.  Over the course of the last century many tests were carried out to find out why blacks did so well in sporting events.  It had long been considered that it was down to genetics.  Scientists travelled all over the world trying to find out the reasons why, taking swab tests from Kenyan athletes in remote villages because The Kenyans were winning all of the races over 5000 meters and dominated the world cross country events.  I often used to watch marathons and see three Kenyans and an Ethiopian battling it out for the gold silver and bronze medals so naturally assumed it was a 'black thang' (Kenya and Ethiopia are in East Africa)  But for all the tests carried out by the scientists genetics never came up as a reason for the black superiority in sports.  Looking more closely at the Kenyan distance runners it is found that virtually all the top runners came from the very small Nandi region of Kenya. So it wasn't a black phenomenon or even a Kenyan Phenomenon it was a Nandi Phenomenon.    Jamaicans were slaves from East Africa and produce an incredible amount of top sprinters from an island with a population of less than 3 million, That is less than half the population of Greater London.  Before the Kenyans were so dominant it was the Ethiopians who ruled distance running and before them we had a time when Finish and Swedish runners were top distance runners and they were VERY white, so the question is firmly raised against genetics and even colour.  One clever man discovered that we are all genetically the same and the colour of our skin does not affect our God given abilities.  He said we are like computers, inside we are all the same it is only the cases that are different.

Ussain Bolt  Olympic Champ &
Jamaican World 100meters record holder

Lets take the Kenyans from the Nandi Region where most of the elite Kenyan runners are from.  The Nandi region is at altitude.  All top athletes run at altitude for training as it expands left ventricle of the heart allowing us to perform better at ground level than someone without altitude training. This gives the Nandi people a natural advantage when it comes to distance running whether it is against black people or white people.  So that is one advantage, but lets consider where they live, or should I say how where they live might influence their running ability.  Running for East African people is a means of transport, as public transportation is virtually non existent.  The school 'run' for Nandi athletes would be up 20 Kilometers each day at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour which adds up to eighty minutes per day and more than ninety hours per week five hundred hours per year, in excess of 6,000 hours b their 16th birthday  With this information you might start to understand why the Nandi people are so good at running.  So What about the Jamaicans?  They are originally from West Africa Bought to America by the slave traders.  They have no such altitude benefits and their school run doesn't compare with the Nandi people.  Even if it did the distance they excel at is much shorter, only one hundred meters?   The reason why Jamaicans do so well at sprinting is this: They are always running away from the police!! Only kidding (Check my profile picture I can make this joke)  The real reason Jamaicans are so good at sprinting comes down to opportunities... or lack of opportunities.  With no genetic explanation scientist focused on cultural forces underpinning Jamaican sprinting success.  Jamaica has invested in an impressive infrastructure and  training system required to identify and nurture elite track athletes.  The effect this has had on a culture that idolizes local heroes, and the opportunity it gives to help people escape from poverty has helped Jamaica produce a plethora of top sprinters.  

Without a genetic explanation researchers looked for cultural differences that may have been responsible reasons for the disproportionate success.  So if we are all genetically the same how is it that a Small island like Jamaica can produce world beating sprinters.  The explanation from may lie in a experiment carried out by Marianne Bertrand and Sendhil Mullainathan, two leading economists.  They drafted five thousand CV's and placed typical black names such as Tyrone or Latoya on half of them and white names such as Brendon and Alison on the other half.  They then divided the CV's into high and low quality and did the same with the black CV's.

A few weeks later the offers came rolling in from the employers, and guess what? The "black" candidates were 50% less likely to be invited to interview. Bertrand and Mullainathan also found that although high- quality whites were preferred to low-quality whites, the relative quality of black CV's made no difference whatsoever. It was as if the employers saw three categories: high-quality whites, low-quality whites and blacks.   Is it any wonder that black children fail at school, given the success that is often ignored by employers?  Is it any wonder why we, oops sorry, they end up going into sport instead ;0)

Stereotyping

Stereotyping is alive and well

Between 2001 and 2005 Jeff Stone , a psychologist from the University of California and a colleague interviewed 1,500 students to uncover prevailing attitudes to race and sports.  They unsurprisingly found that blacks were assumed to be naturally superior in sports rather than academia and whites were assumed to be naturally superior academically rather than athleticism. But the researchers wanted to check this further: Do these stereotypes really matter? Do they influence the way interact with each other, both in sports and beyond or do they not matter at all.  To find out they took a group of white participants and asked them to listen to a radio broadcast of a basketball game to evaluate the performance of a particular player.  In the first test, the participants were led to believe the player was black.  After listening to the broadcast, the participants rated the player as high in athletic ability and as a superior player.

But in the second test the researchers reversed the experiment, telling the participants the player was white.  What happened?  You guessed it:  they now considered the player to be of low in natural ability, and considered him an inferior player. Just to reiterate: these most contradictory viewpoints came in response from the same broadcast.  Stereotyping can be harmful to both blacks and whites.  Deterring blacks from studying  and choosing sports as an alternative and deterring whites from competing at sports against the assumed superiority of blacks.  

The last paragraph in Matthew Syed's book 'Bounce' reads "It is all to easy to assume that racial patterns of success and failure to be grounded in genetics, but the point of this chapter is to suggest that subtler and more elusive forces are at work.  The tendency to see black and white as genetic types (which, to a large extent, underpins racial stereotyping)has long been contradicted by the findings of population genetics.  If we could only tint our rose tinted spectacles, the world would not only look different, but it would soon become very different too. Great book Mr Syed I have learnt and shared lots.

This concludes the blog 'Be all you can... because you can'  I hope this gives you the reader a reason to believe that nature plays little if any part in an athlete reaching the top at his/her chosen sport or indeed chosen profession.  We are all equally able regardless of colour, of reaching our goals but should understand the harder we work the luckier we become, don't expect talent to get you to the top of the tree.  

Be all you can be..... because you can!!

Born to run?

Do all the best athletes posses natural talent. Was Muhammad Ali born to box? does Roger Federer have some special Genes that no-one else in the world possesses. Not too many years ago Banbury had a host of British European and World Champions in Semi Contact martial arts including Alvin Mighty, Neville Mighty and Mark Aston.  Was Banbury blessed with a gene that made us natural martial artists?  All top international cross country races and marathons seem to be won by Kenyans? Does lake Victoria in Kenya have special nutrients that make Kenyans faster over long distances than the rest of the world?

Personal Achievements

At school from a very young age I was always the fastest runner, I was a good all round sportsman/boy and not much of an academic. I took up boxing when I was 15 years old in Coventry.  I was described as a 'Natural Boxer'  I boxed in a gym full of champion boxers and later after moving to Banbury became 5 times Home Counties Amateur Middleweight Champion then Twice British Full Contact Kick Boxing Champion winning my first title after only 5 months, and won numerous smaller titles eventually competing in the World Kickboxing Championships in front of thousands in Budapest, Hungary.  I have boxed and kick boxed around the world. My achievements made me a regular in the local newspaper the Banbury Guardian.  Although I had no interest in politics I was approached by the local Council and asked if I would like to stand for Council in the local elections, which I comfortably won making me the Town Councillor for the district where I live, I am currently the owner of a fitness club and I am the Chairman of the Spit n Sawdust boxing club. I do talks at schools and colleges inspiring children and youths to make the right choices. I hopefully have the respect of all ages. And to top it all I was selected to carry the 2012 Olympic torch, again this was thanks to my popularity and being nominated by the Banbury Public.  Did this all come about because of me being a 'natural talent'

A Natural Talent?

So lets go back to the beginning.  Do all the world's best athletes posses 'natural talent'? 

Was Muhammad Ali Born to box?  After having his bike stolen, a 12-year-old Clay promises to "whup whoever stole it." In an attempt to channel his aggression, the policeman he reported the crime to takes him under his wing and eventually directs him to boxing trainer Fred Stoner. Over the next six years, Clay, Ali's surname at the time, would win six Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two national Golden Gloves titles, and two AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) crowns.     He had decided after having his bike stolen all he would do was box. He never had a Job but spent all his days in a boxing club. not only training but studying other boxing styles in particular that of Sugar Ray Robinson, said by many to be the best pound for pound boxer who ever lived, and his skills are testament to all of the hours he put in over those early years. 

Earlier I spoke of my personal achievements and  how I was described as a natural boxer.  At the time being a child I believed it. I went to the local boxing club that was full of amateur boxing champions and on seeing me for the first time even they said I was a natural and said how they expected me to be a champion just as they were. What I haven't told you is that my father was a former professional heavyweight boxer.  His closest friends, the Turpin's from Leamington Spa, who were British European and world champion boxers. The family included Randolph Turpin the former undisputed middleweight champion of the world. Until I was 15 I was training at home. My father, Maxie Earle, (Who tells me he knocked out Henry Cooper in sparring and he also actually TKO'd his brother George Cooper in two rounds) and his friends. Every time we visited the Turpins I would practice boxing.  With so many people around me involved in boxing at the highest level it was inevitable the when I turned up at boxing club that I would look natural. I had a whole life of boxing practice behind me.  I was not a natural I 'had put the hours in'

Back in the 1970' and 80's after Bruce Lee hit the screens, but before Martial arts were as popular as they are today Banbury had a couple of Martial arts Dojo's that were full of Students wanting to be like Bruce Lee.  It was around the time I first moved to Banbury and Lau Gar Kung Fu seemed bigger than Boxing.  I was so surprised  at the number of British and World Championship.  I was from a City of over 500,000 yet I knew no world champions yet in Banbury with a population of around 30,000 there was an abundance of them. 

Matthew  Syed

I am reading a book at the moment by the former table tennis champion Matthew Syed. He tells a similar story to what I am telling but includes the people he has known in his life and how he feels hard work and a good set up can lead to one street having many champions from local to world level.  He was 'lucky enough' to have a full sized table tennis table in his garage that he would practice before school, after school and at weekends with his brother.  He also had a teacher at school who was a table tennis fanatic and an expert teacher who did his best to get as many people in the school to play table tennis.  Matthew took full advantage of this and the result was Matthew Syed becoming British number one at 24 years old in a sport where 30,000 people are signed up.  Not only did he excel but the street where he lived had champions. He and his brother Andrew  lived at 119 Silverdale Road and Andrew went on to become one of the  most successful junior players of all time, Matthew himself became 3 time Commonwealth champion and two time Olympian, at number 274 Karen Witt who won countless junior titles, the national senior title and the Commonwealth championship.  At number 149 Andy Welman won a series of titles mainly at doubles and was feared by all the top players.  This one Street produced more table champions than the rest of the nation combined.  Was this one street of naturally talented table tennis players?

During my time here at Spit n Sawdust the biggest changes I have seen were with Neil Slater and Robert Evans, though there are many more who have had positive directional life changes that led them away from drink, drugs, violence and a possible life in and out of prison.

 How hard work triumphed over an assumed lack of 'talent'

Neil Slater was 17 when he first came to the gym and nobody would ever had said he was a natural talent. When I first met Neil he had learning difficulties and was at college on the 'Entry To Employment' course with students who also struggled with education.  Some of the youths in his class had disabilities such as Downs, ADHD, Asperges, and other varieties of the autistic spectrum. I felt Neil's difficulties were more related to confidence and a difficult upbringing and not a disorder per se.  After first showing Neil around the gym he was full of enthusiasm and that visit was quickly followed by a visit with his mother who quietly told me of his troubled life. She said he was on medication for his ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and had a bad temper.He was bullied at school and had very little confidence.  She also explained that all the panels in the doors and some walls at home had holes in where Neil in his frustration had punched them.  I didn't want Neil to think he was any different to any of the other people at the gym so I treated him as if he was no different to anyone else.  Neil did excel.  And to be honest I didn't expect him to.  The big difference with Neil and the rest of the students at the time was that he finally found something he believed he could be good at.  He found in me someone who believed in him.  So Neil trained every day and was more of a tenant than a member he is now a member of the Spit n Sawdust Family.  We have had many a talk over the years and I have watched him grow from an insecure youth into a far more confident young man.  Neil has been off his medication for years and is now a very capable heavyweight boxer. One of my proudest moments was when his arm was raised at the end of a boxing bout to declare he was a 'winner.'

Role model Roy Jones Jr

Rob Evans on the other hand had stacks of confidence at school but channeled all his energy the wrong way.  He was disruptive and was often in trouble.  He was drinking smoking and often ended up in trouble with his teachers and later into his teens the police.   It is clear to see now that Rob had lots of potential and just needed to direct it.  Once Rob decided what he wanted he gave it 100% He told me he was the best at all sports at school and always knew he would win at almost everything he applied himself to... and I believed him.  But the trouble was he never applied himself to anything.  Rob had two attempts of climbing the stairs to my gym but failed to make it because he could here everyone skipping and punching the bags and didn't want to make himself look silly.  He decided the best way to see what it was like was to come up when there was no-one here and came to see me on a quiet day when I was alone.  After I told him about the boxing he decided to join up.  

mmm? But well done

At first Rob played at it.  He seemed to use it as a way of showing off in front of the girls who came to watch him and the other boys train.  I remember a turning point being when I told his friends he would Never make a boxer because all he was interested in was talking to girls and looking at himself in the mirror.  Fortunately for me this was a turning point. Rob trained harder than everyone in the gym.  His pride had be dented and his ability questioned.   He never talked to me for 2 weeks but I didn't mind because this is how he became 3 times national champion in just 3 years winning all of his 17 fights along the way.  He trained 7 days a week often 6 hours a day, his role models were all the best boxers who had ever laced up gloves.  Boxing was his life. No drinking, no smoking....anything and no women.  All the boys that used to beat him in sparring were avenged and he used every negative comment to fuel his fire once telling me "You didn't think I could do this but I showed you!"  Natural talent? No way, I still think he has two left feet but he was one hell of a puncher he was extremely fit, a very skilled boxer who hated losing.  And now he is a supermodel for Calvin Klein... drinking, looking in the mirrors and talking to girls aaargh!!! I did my best :0).........NEXT!!!

Child Prodogies

So... the argument still exists and I still ask the question is their such thing as a 'natural'?. Are some children born with talent?

We see many people of differing abilities using the gym, from the students who come from Frank Wise school for the physically and mentally 'challenged'  to top athletes and academics.  Some people will take to training quite naturally whilst others will struggle with fitness or learning something new.  So many people tell me they can't join a class because they have no co-ordination?  When I see someone come in who looks like a 'natural'  I always ask what other sports they do. I have found that most people who are good at football are well balanced and find the transition from football to boxing comfortable.  You will find that most people who excell at one sport will do reasonably well in most.   So lets look at other examples.  In fact lets start with my daughter Rosie Berry.  Rosie has had no formal musical training and, as many teenagers do, spends much of her time in her bedroom away from us boring parents who are watching Reality TV, (her mum) or Sky Sports, (me) One Christmas we bought Rosie a keyboard for a present as we couldn't afford the piano she wanted, nor would a piano fit in our house.  Most evenings after Christmas you could hear Rosie bashing away on the keyboard playing something that vaguely resembled music.  Then she found that she could teach herself melodies using You Tube tutorials and started playing her favourite tunes. In no time at all we would hear tunes we recognized from her room and I found myself sitting outside her room listening in amazement.  Eventually I would ask her to play tunes for us in the living room.  It was like you would imagine in the days before TV.  Rosie playing the piano and us sitting and listening and singing her praises.... Not singing, but you know what I mean.  Rosie was certainly no expert but to us she was a natural being able to learn so quickly with just the aid of You Tube.

Ok that was a personal story that we found astonishing and I have heard many a similar story at my gym.  It seems every time a story is told the person listening has an equally amazing story.   Unless of course your name was Leopold Mozart and your son was the famous Wolfang Mozart.  Now then, young Wolfie was charming the aristocracy with his piano skills, often with his sister Maria Anna  at the age of six and had been composing pieces for the violin and piano since he was 5 years old! (three of  Wolfgangs earliest pieces can be heard by clicking on the link) Surely Mozart was a 'natural talent'?  Let's just check his early life. I know for a fact You Tube wasn't about so let's rule that out first.  As I mentioned Wolfie's dad was Leopold Mozart who was a famous composer and performer in his own right.  He was also a domineering parent who started his son on a programme of an intensive training in composition and performing.  When Wolgang was 3 his father was interested in how music was taught to children.  While Leopold was only so so as a musician he was highly accomplished as a pedagogue (that's a strict or pedantic teacher) and had a book on violin instruction published the year Wolfgang was born. He remained influential to his son for decades from the earliest age.  Mozart's first work that was regarded as a masterpiece today 'piano concerto No. 9' was composed when Mozart was 21 .  yes that is early but it was after 18 years of extremely hard expert tuition.  3 of Mozart's early works were written when he was 16 and were re-arrangements of the music of other composers. A bit like using You Tube then mixing the songs?  Mozart was one of the hardest working composers in history which explains why we are still talking and writing about him today

When Tiger Woods became the youngest ever winner of the US masters in 1997 many said he was the most naturally gifted golfer to ever play the game.  But once again when you dig into his past another more reasonable explanation comes to bare.  Like all of the stories previously  

Tiger could drive a ball 80 yards aged 2 years and 4 months
and pitch 40 yards accurately  

mentioned there is much hard work in producing a golfer as good as the Tiger.  Tiger's father Earl Woods believed practice brings greatness.  He started his son at what he described as an 'unthinkably young age', before he could even walk or talk.  Earl used to sit Tigar in his high chair as a baby so he could see his father hit balls into a net, and had a golf club before his 1st birthday.  By the age of 2 years and 8 months Tiger was familiar with bunker play and by the age of 3 he had developed a pre-shot routine.  At the age of two after much practice on the driving range and putting green he entered his first pitch and putt competition where he could already hit his 2.5 wood 80 yards and pitch accurately from 40 yards.  Earl hired a professinal to accelerate Tigers learning when he was 4 years old and Tiger won his first national tournament at 15 years old.  Drills would typically involve putting a ball from thee yard consecutively  into the cup to see how many putts Tiger could make.  After 70 in a row Earl would be still standing there.  By his mid teens Tiger had clocked more than 10,000 hours of expert practice just like Mozart.  In tennis the Williams sisters Serena and Venus have a similar story and even practiced tennis using baseball bats instead of rackets.  One very important thing we should know about all of these child prodigies is that they all loved their activities.  Pushing a child into something they are not interested in will not yield the same results.

Though I have many more stories of fantastic achievements by people who have gone down in history as 'naturals' and 'child geniuses' to wow you with, and believe me some of the stories are quite unbelievable until they are explained. I feel I have dwelt long enough on this subject to make the point I set out to achieve.

Taking It To The Next Level

Right what next?  Ah yes.  We have, or rather, I have explained how I believe success is achieved and the importance of hard work and a good tutor can bring out the best in an individual. I also mentioned how enjoying what you do is equally important (especially when dealing with children) if you want to yield great results.   So is there anything else we should know, anything that we should consider if we are to reach the top and be better at our chosen activity than anyone else?

It makes more sense to me to talk about experiences I have had than it does talking about stories I have heard 'second hand'  So that is where I will start in this chapter. I run a humble gym in Banbury in Oxfordshire.  People have been using the gym for 8 years.  The people who use the gym come here for a number of reasons.  Most come to keep or get fit, some want to lose weight, some children are bought here by their parents because they are being bullied at school some come here for social reasons and want to make friends with people etc....  The boxers on the other hand come here because they want to box.  All of the other reasons may be some of the reason why they first joined, but once they join a boxing class and start to learn boxing skills their primary objective is to compete in a boxing ring.   

Now and again, normally when I am unhappy with the commitment of the boxers, I will have a group meeting. I will ask the class who wants to compete as a boxer.  And just about every time all hands will be raised.  I will then go on to explain the importance of regular training, how important it is that they listen to the coaches and learn at every opportunity.  I remind them that boxing is dangerous and if they are not as fit as their opponents they may get hurt.  Boxing is not a team sport.  Once the first bell goes you are on your own. At the end of your bout it is you alone who will take all the glory.... or you can be the loneliest person in the building after a defeat. My little talk is always followed by a committed class.  The class will be focused and the only talking that is done is about boxing. 

Winning and losing 

What I tell all aspiring boxers is that to be the best in the world you first need to be the best in this gym .  I tell them they need to be faster, more skillful and fitter than everyone in the gym.  They should be the best in all departments including skipping, punching bags, press--ups everything.  If a heavyweight boxer tells me he can't be as fast as a lightweight boxer I ask him why not?  To take a boxer to the next level you have to train him at a higher level.  Sometimes this means taking him to other gyms for sparring and coaching techniques and sometimes we have to improvise.  One way we might improvise is to put the best boxer into a spar with 2 or even 3 other boxers to improve his/her movement and skills.  This also is a reminder to that boxer that he is of exceptional skill and above the level of the other boxers. At the same time it gives the lesser skilled boxers an opportunity to get in the ring with someone they aspire to be like.... and maybe land a few punches on him/her.   If a boxer struggles with infighting (boxing up close) then I will split the ring into 4 smaller rings making it difficult to 'run away' forcing the boxer to learn how to fight in a smaller space.  I remember an incident many years ago, when Ken Reynolds, my former coach took me on a coaching course.  Ken was an advanced coach and had been teaching boxing for many years and was full of boxing knowledge.  He had studied all forms of boxing and also knew some martial arts. Unbeknownst to me Ken used to teach us techniques that other gyms didn't use.  Tricks of the trade he had picked up over the years from other trainers around the world.    When he saw me sharing this knowledge with a trainer from another gym he quickly came and told me off saying 'they don't know this stuff'  Having the edge over an opponent can often be a simple training method or technique that others are not familiar with.  So I won't share any more ;0)  

Brazilian Futsal Player

In other sports different methods are used to increase skill levels.  For many years the Brazilians were, and to some still are, considered the most naturally gifted footballers in the world.  Their one touch accurate passing and intricate skills were marvelled at by many.  When we look closer into the reasons why this might be we find that in Brazil children are bought up playing a sport called futsal.  which is football played on a much smaller pitch with a smaller and heavier ball.  Futsal players touch the ball six times more often per minute this requires decisions to be made more quickly and the skill level to be higher.  Sharp passing is paramount and the game is all about looking for angles, spaces and quick combinations.   Ball control and vision are crucial, so that when Futsal players play on a full size pitch the feel as if they have acres of space in which to operate.   Almost all of the Brazilian greats played futsal.  Names who played futsal that you may be familiar with are Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Zico

Growth mind-set v fixed mind-set

Those people who firmly believe that talent is genetic, something we were were born with, maybe a gift handed down through generations through gifted relatives can be described as people with a fixed mind-set.  Where as those who believe that intelligence can be transformed  through effort had a growth mind-set.  

In an experiment involving 330 students 10 to 11 year old's all the students were given task. As the tasks got more difficult the students with the fixed mind-sets decided they had reached their level of intelligence and quit the experiment deciding they were not smart enough to go on, where as the growth mind-set group kept looking for answers and had far better results.  The thing is, once we have decided we can't do something it becomes true.  The same can be said about once we decide we can do something.  A fixed mind-set limit a persons beliefs.   I know this personally because I always doubted what I could do as a child. I decided on the subjects I liked and the subjects I didn't like.  The subjects I liked I done well at an the subjects I didn't like I decided were too difficult, or I just blamed the teachers.   

When I flunked Maths and English at CSE level at school at 16 I knew it was because I was not an academic.  When I passed them at the higher GCSE level at college I knew I was wrong when I was 16.  I had a different mind-set at 16.  I knew that as long as I put the work in I would pass both exams.  At 16 I never thought I could pass so why study?  With a growth mind-set you don't need to pretend you are intelligent because you will know you are on the way to getting there. If we adopt the fixed mindset we have already decided we have gone as far as we can go.

missed 26 game-winning shots

The people who progress the furthest are the people who have made the most mistakes. The legendary basketball player Michael Jordan once said in a TV commercial that he had missed more than 9,000 shots, I have lost almost 300 games and 26 times I have been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.  Michael Jordan is a testament to the growth mind-set and that to become the best player in the world you have to embrace failure. 

Others with a growth mind-set who turned failure into success: 

The Beatles

Turned down by a recording company saying "We don't like their 

sound and guitar music is on the way out"  

Charles Darwin

Was told by his father that he would amount to nothing and be a disgrace to himself and his family 

 Beethoven

Told by a music teacher "as a composer he is hopeless" -

Walt Disney

Fired from a newspaper because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas" - 

Belief

During the second world war the allied forces decided to launch an attack at Anzio, Northern Italy but it went wrong and the Americans ended up trapped in caves and received far more casualties than the medics could deal with.  Although the casualties kept pouring in the medics had run out of anesthetic.  A young medic, Doctor Henry Beecher from Havard was responsible for treating the injured.  What the doctor decided to do when presented with gaping wounds that needed operating on quickly, was to  administer a salt water injection into the buttocks of the wounded soldiers, instead of morphine before operating.  Beecher found that the soldiers could tolerate the pain equally well after a salt water injection as they did with the morphine.   Just believing they were injected with morphine was enough to take away the pain.  

Muhammad Ali was, according to the media and many of Ali's camp and followers, at 32 years old, well past his best and no match for the younger, fitter and stronger George Foreman who was destroying opponents Ali had struggled against. What the media didn't figure on was Ali's religious beliefs.  Muhammad Ali was  a devout Muslim and believed that Allah would help him defeat the odds.   Ali actually said "How can I lose with Allah on my side?" I remember watching that fight with my father as a ten year old child.  I watched as Muhammad Ali took a tremendous beating for seven rounds.  I was an Ali fan but remember being frightened for Ali.  Foreman was using him as a punchbag.   But somewhere deep inside with the belief that Allah was with him Ali came out in the eighth round and came off the ropes with a 5 punch combination to knock out George Foreman.

Faith helped this born again
atheist to win Olympic Gold

There are lots more stories about God, Allah, Jehovah and how these heavenly bodies have helped people in times of need.  Whether or not you are a believer  in a higher power, having a belief has certainly helped many people.  Jonathon Edwards was a world record triple jumper and an Olympic champion and also a christian.  Every time he attended a competition he would carry a tin of sardines in his kit bag as a reminder of the miracle in bible, telling the story of the feeding of the 5,000.   As he walked to the field of play Edwards whispered a silent prayer "I place my destiny in your hands"  a few hours later he captured the Olympic gold medal making him a household name and securing his status as one of Britain's greatest athletes.  His high status and his faith secured him position presenting   Songs of Praise the most high profile religious programme on British television.   Being retired did not sit comfortably with Edwards.   He realised his sport was a bigger part of his identity than he had previously thought.  He started asking himself questions about his life, his sport and his faith.  He went though a personal crisis and doubted the existence of God.  He retired from his position presenting Songs of Praise and became a born again atheist.  But he is aware of the fact that religion played a huge role in his accomplishing what he did. 

Belief, faith and placebo's are all important when it comes to increasing performance.  I have noticed with my boxing club a huge difference when a boxer has belief and a boxer doesn't.  One of our boxers used to attend classes when he felt the need. When he had a bad day at home or a fall out with another boxer or a girlfriend he might go missing for a week or two so was never really as fit as he should have been.   If we told him he had a fight coming up he would train hard for the fight for a couple of weeks in preparation.   On the night of the fight he would be anxious and worry that his fitness level was not up to scratch and would be a nervous wreck by the time he entered the ring.  Being a southpaw and standing about 6ft tall, weighing only 67 kilogrammes at the time gave him a great advantage over his competitors, plus he is a stylish boxer who boxes off the back foot making it very difficult for boxers to reach him.  After one round of the three round bout he would be very tired, after two rounds he was ready to throw the towel in and after the third and final round he would be exhausted and glad it was all over even before the result of the had been announced.  After winning his first three fights in this manner he then realised that he needed to train harder as the opponents were going to get tougher.  So he attended all the classes and also came to the gym between classes for extra tuition.  His next fight was a home show bout so he wanted to impress.  He was still a little nervous as he was performing in front of 7oo people in his home town but had no worries about his fitness so was confident and looking forward to his bout.  He was boxing a lad who had an identical boxing record as him so we expected a tough fight.  But a clash of styles left him frustrated.  Although throughout the fight he was comfortable with his energy levels and didn't tire between rounds he was frustrated because the other lad didn't seem to want to get involved in a 'fight' and felt, although he had won on all of the judges scorecards, that he had let the public down by under-performing.   After this fight he started to go missing again and would turn up to training make his excuses then leave. We matched him again and took him to box in Slough.  This time the confidence had disappeared.  When he was warming up he complained about tiredness after only a few seconds on the pads so I knew things were not right. Then Just before he stepped into the ring he whispered to me "I am Sh**ting myself.  The bell sounded and it looked as if he may have been on his way to earning another scrappy win when he broke his thumb and the fight was called off. 

Belief comes from many different sources.  We can ask for guidance from our respective God's and we can train hard knowing that the opposing person has not trained as hard or gained the same skill level as we have as we have.... but we must always have belief. As Henry Ford once said " Whether you think you can or think you can't- you're right!" He also said  “Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”  
  

Spit n Sawdust is where we: Build Confidence, Improve Fitness, Strengthen Bodies, Help People Realise Their Dreams and Change Lives.

Another New Year and no doubt lots of you will be thinking New Year New Start.  But what do we want? Are we all looking for a quick fix or do we want a LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE??

If you have read my earlier blogs you will know the reason I started to run Spit n Sawdust was to help over weight men to improve their quality of life and hopefully extend their life expectancy. The reasons for this was because of the early departure from this world by my parents due to what I believe were the wrong life style choices.Eight years on many things have changed and I am happy to say I have many more friends due to running the gym and many people telling me how the gym has changed their lives.  I also have a team of volunteers who have helped me transform the amateur boxing club, that continues to focus the lives of the youth in the town and surrounding area.

What I want to do with today's blog is inform you about some of the people who have benefited from using  Spit n Sawdust. over the years.  The benefits have been varied and the 'students' from a diverse background ranging from Formula 2 race car drivers @Will Bratt to lorry drivers and factory workers to housewives. No matter who we are and what we do being fit and healthy makes life easier and more enjoyable.

We have many troubled teenagers who have joined our club and found a direction and a way to direct and focus their lives. Many went back to school stayed out of trouble got themselves good jobs, whilst their friends are still getting in trouble with drink, drugs and even ending up spending time in prison and youth detention centres. But for all the publicity surrounding the work we do with helping youths Spit n Sawdust is a club that is open to the public as a fitness club

simple tasks are not simple to everyone

For people who have struggled with their weight the benefits have been remarkable.  I remember many years ago, one man who was in his 40's coming a class I ran for overweight men.  One of his first achievements was tying his shoelaces with ease. After attending a few classes he told me he had not been able to tie his own shoe laces without struggling to breath because the pressure it put on his stomach when leaning forward so was delighted when his stomach was no longer a hindrance.  He also suffered from having high blood pressure and his doctor told him he would never have any sensation in the toes of his right foot after injuring it in a motor bike accident.  After only 3 months of training his blood pressure was back to normal and he regained the feeling in his toes. This man also challenged me and matched me in the number of sit-ups achieved in one minute.  

More recently a man of 63 @Mick Salt visited my gym and asked if he could join. I said "of course" and asked "what are you wanting from the classes?"  He replied "to be honest Dave I just want to extend my life a little"  The man has been coming twice a week since the summer of 2010 he is training hard and has a fitness level comparable to many of the youths who attend the gym.

The benefits of joining the club are not always physical. One man @Mark Cooper who joined found that one benefit he did not expect was courage.  Although this man had been attending boxercise classes for many years he had never attended a boxing class and had used the boxercise classes to help him lose 5 stone in weight.  So when he told me he had been involved in an altercation at a local kebab shop I was very surprised.  This man was, although very strong, not the sort to get involved in any sort of conflict but he happily told me that he saw a friend getting picked on so stepped in and confidently dealt with the situation.  He told me he if he had not taken up boxercise he wouldn't have dared to stand between the two men but in his own mind he knew he had the 'tools' to deal with the situation. Confidence or a lack of confidence has a big influence on our everyday life.  Confidence can make many things easier, from walking through a park to going swimming. Confidence will help us meet new people and take on new challenges. Who knows maybe one day you will become a 3 times National Champion and a supermodal +rob evans 


There are so many reasons for joining a fitness club but many will find more reasons not to.  I am sure the benefits outweigh the reasons for not joining.  The most difficult thing about joining any gym is stepping through the door.

Who knows maybe joining us could change your life and make you feel more ALIVE

Going it alone?

Going it Alone

Yes I have been selected to carry the Olympic torch and I was shocked and as happy as I have been for a long long time.  The nominations were the reason for my selection but the reason I was nominated was because of the gym and how people have benefited from using the gym.  I have ran this gym for just over 8 years and many people have been through it and many have been here since the start but I haven't always managed alone.  For the first 2 years it was a gym that catered for my 'boxercise' classes weight loss classes and a bit of personal training.  Over the years I have introduced more classes and schools and the local colleges have been using the gym for many years. 2 years with no assistance was difficult and just getting people to know about the gym and where it is was hard work, especially for someone who had never run a business before.  But luckily for me and the gym users people came along and joined in to help run the club.

Amateur Boxing Club

Two years into running the club and after many teenagers had harassed me about introducing an amateur club to Spit n Sawdust I decided to ask Ken Reynolds, my former boxing trainer, to join me and start an amateur boxing club at the gym. He agreed and he did a fantastic job.  In fact he ran the boxing club and I became his assistant watching and learning from his vast knowledge that he had picked up in 40 or more years of being a boxing coach, inevitably he eventually got introduced to the England team and looked set to be a part of the GB set-up for the 2012 Olympic Games in London where ironically I will be carrying the Olympic torch.  Ken unfortunately left this world in January of 2010 and was never able live that dream.  He will be in my thoughts as I carry the flame for that short time between Oxford and Reading on July 11 2012.  


After the passing of Ken, Ben Malcher, who like me boxed under Ken's guidance, took over the reins as Secretary of the club, I became Chairman we enlisted a man who trained here in the fitness classes, Mark Cooper, as the treasurer and we were up and running again. We have since added more coaches, Jamie Johnson, who boxed under Ken Reynolds 20 years ago and who has recently passed his ABA coaching badge and Paul Evans who passed his coaching badges many years ago and was an experienced boxer 'back in the day'  Ed Bilsdon is our most recently added coach and he also has been training with me for more than a decade so all in all I have a great team that I can rely on.  We increased the committee by adding Maggie Muir as an official and Zoe Bourne who helps with fundraising and anything you ask of her.  oh and of course Geordie Danny Patterson who is a reformed kickboxing nutcase who is the parents representative for the club. Ben Malcher is now number one matchmaker (no not like a dating agency) and is responsible for a large amount of arranging our home boxing shows at Spiceball, which seem to improve year by year, and organizes opponents for the boxers at other clubs we travel to. He also brings his expertise to Spit n Sawdust to help coach the boxers, as like me he is a level two coach, with the rest of the team. On the whole between us we manage to do what Ken used to do on his own.  We now can cater for more boxers so we can hopefully help change a few more lives for the better.  And what makes this all the more remarkable is that all these people are volunteers. The only benefit they get is how helping makes them feel.

Frank Wise School

I was lucky enough to have a friend named Anthony Munday who works at Frank Wise special needs school and he asked me if I he could bring his students up on a weekly basis about 4 years ago and now they are here year in year out and I get invited to the school for talks parties and have even taught them ballroom dancing.  I had never worked with the physically and mentally disabled children before and the experience has been fantastic and has helped me understand a little more about there lives and how lucky we are to be fit and healthy.  What I also came to understand is that there are a lot of people doing great work in the community and are not getting recognition for what they do.  The Staff at Frank Wise are some of the nicest people you could ever meet and do a fantastic job of looking after the children of this town that will never be able to look after themselves.     

Talks to Youths

Occasionally I get asked to do talks to schools and colleges. Sometimes here at the gym and sometimes at the school or college.  One of the talks I gave was about making the most of your life.  I had a group of around twenty students who came to the gym not sure whether they were going to train or have a talk so I decided, as I always train people, that I would try a bit of life coaching to see if I could benefit any of the students using my life's experiences.  So I gathered them downstairs and proceeded with my informal but hopefully informative chat.  A little way into our getting to know each other chat I informed them that most of the people in the room would not go on to take up the profession they were studying for.  On hearing this I noticed on young lady whispering to her friend. It was clear to me that she was not agreeing with me.  So I asked her What she was studying. She told me "beauty and hairdressing" so I asked her what she wanted to do when she left college, and she happily told me "I am going to be a hairdresser" so I told her that was great and wished her all the best.  Then I asked the person next to her what she was studying and she also said "beauty and hairdressing" so again I asked her "and what will you do when you leave college" and she said " I don't know" I asked a young man what he was studying and again his subject didn't match what he wanted to do when he stopped studying. In facy of all the people I asked only the first girl new what they wanted to do once they finished college. 

So I told them a story.  I told them they were all at the start of their adult lives and to imagine that as the start of a river that leads to one of the world's largest waterfall, the Niagara Falls, with the Falls being the end of their lives.  I explained that their destiny in life was governed by the choices they made as they travelled down the river.  They could do as I did and go with the flow letting the river make the choices for them or they could choose their own route.  By going with the flow I decided education wasn't important and this determined what choices I had as far as the places I have worked.  I explained that I had many jobs over a twenty year period after leaving school but can't remember enjoying any of them.  Because I had no formal education my choices were limited and I had some jobs that would last for up to 5 years where I would spend my time doing menial jobs and watching the clock waiting for the day to finish or 'temping' doing a job that had no future or security making it difficult to pay my bills.  I told them they are at the point where they can make choices and that they can decide what direction they want to take now instead of doing what I did a choose it 24 years down the river and struggle against the tide with a lack of knowledge and experience of how to make my business  work successfully. 

If you want to re-visit this Blog soon as it will continue