The Mammoth Book of Hard Bastards (Mammoth Books)

by Robin Barratt

  Taiji has helped me in my karate training in many different ways, especially understanding how relaxation can deliver force, as well as by refining my sensitivity for close-quarter fighting where eyesight becomes less important but sensitivity to the pressure and/or energy or lack of pressure and/or energy an opponent gives you is vital. Taiji has also improved my health and has helped me to become more in touch with my mind and body. I also encouraged one of my karate students, Paul Fretter, to train in Taiji. Paul has gone on to teach Taiji and Fujian White Crane successfully all over the UK.

  While in New Zealand Pete trained with Chinese teacher Mr Wee Kee Jin. Pete invited him to the UK to teach and once we had trained with him we were well and truly sold. Jin has been training in Taiji as long as I have been practising karate. His ability is second to none and he is one of the best teachers I have ever trained under as he is very knowledgeable, totally open and completely sincere. He is also very humble; a man who would never call himself a master but instead regards himself as a true student of Taiji. His lineage is also exemplary; when you are taught by him you know that you are being taught the true heart of Taiji. I am proud to have him as my teacher and over the years we have also become friends. We eventually found out that Jin was also taught Fujian White Crane by his Taiji teacher, Master Huang Sheng Shyan (1910–92) and Huang originated from Fujian Province in China. For me and Paul this was a remarkable coincidence as there are very close links between our style of karate, Goju Ryu and Fujian White Crane. In fact Master Huang had been taught by a Master Xie Zhongxiang (also known as Ryuru Ko), the same master who had taught one of the previous karate masters in our lineage, Master Higashionna Kanryo. Higashionna was taught by Xie Zhongxiang during the years he spent in China furthering his study of martial arts. This seemed like fate to us and we had to learn this fighting tradition. Furthermore, some of the Okinawan karate masters from previous times also trained in the same fighting tradition. Jin taught the whole Fujian White Crane system to Pete, Paul and me. Jin hadn’t the time to teach it in the UK himself, so he has left it in the hands of Paul and me to teach, develop and promote. However, Jin is always there to help and refine our practice and answer questions, and in turn this fulfilled the promise made to his teacher, Master Huang, to pass on his Fujian White Crane fighting tradition.

  Jin is wise. When I asked him about practising different systems of martial arts he said, “You should never change one thing for another but you will find that one influences the other.” I’ve found this to be true. The martial attitude and spirit I have developed from my years of training in karate is always there, but the principles I’ve learned from Jin’s teachings and my practice of Taiji and Fujian White Crane have influenced and refined my practice of karate and how I teach it, without changing anything that Master Miyazato first taught me.

  As mentioned, my friend Pete Dobson is also an ordained Buddhist minister and I also call myself a Buddhist. For many years I have had a keen interest in Buddhism and the relationship it has with the martial arts and it was Pete who inspired me to experience meditation practice. Zen Master Dogen (1200–53) describes Zen in this way:

  To study the Buddhist Way is to learn about oneself. To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to perceive oneself as all things. To realize this is to cast off the body and mind of self and others. When you reach this stage you will be detached even from enlightenment but will practise it continually without even thinking about it.

  Zen, or Ch’an as it is known in China, has had a great influence on the martial arts. The Shaolin monks of China, together with many of the warriors of feudal Japan, believed in the importance of Zen. These warriors thought that the study of Zen was essential in order both to become an effective warrior and to overcome their fear of death. In fact modern sports psychologists and security advisers use similar methods of mind development for sport and combat survival. The Zen term “Mushin”, meaning empty or no mind, and what sports psychologists call “being in the zone” is, to me, one and the same. The Japanese maxim “Tatakawa zushite katsu”, declared by some masters to be the true meaning of Budo, means “Winning without fighting by overcoming the enemy within”. For me, this holds true.

  I also practise the Buddhist tradition known as Kokoro No Kai, which is a practical form of Buddhism involving meditation through the practice of chanting and the study of a Buddhist scripture called the “Lotus Sutra”. My teacher is Sensei Hiromi Hasagawa, whom I have known for many years as he is the proprietor of the Oriental Martial Arts Centre in Norwich where I used to teach. Hiromi is a wise, generous man and a good friend, who is always there to offer me advice and guidance whenever I need it.

  My life changed in 2004. I took redundancy from the post office where I had worked for most of my life, and a long-term relationship ended. My life seemed to implode and it took me a long time to get my head together. My family and friends helped me through it all and I owe them everything for that. The phrase “You know who your true friends are when times are bad” holds true for me. In re-evaluating what to do with myself and why I’m here on this planet I came to realize that training and teaching is my true purpose in life. My mother once told me that it is important to be good at least one thing in your life.

  I wanted a fresh start and at first thought about going to live in either India or Lithuania, where I already had students. Then two female karate students from Lithuania turned up to train in the UK with me and I ended up marrying one of them! Her name is Simona and I now live with her in Lithuania. Everyone thought I was a bit crazy but I have my fresh start and my own martial arts centre – I am doing something I love to do. Our centre has been open a couple of years now and we are gradually developing a hard core of students, as well as teaching seminars around the country. But without Sensei Hiromi and the support of the Kokoro No Kai we wouldn’t have achieved what we have so far. Our intention and ambition is to create a special place for people of all ages who want to study traditional martial arts, improve health and fitness, develop character, learn how to effectively defend themselves, and, if they wish, to follow the Buddhist path. Already people are saying that attending our centre has affected their lives in a very positive way. We have also trained some of the instructors who train the president’s bodyguards and hope to do some more work with them in the future. I have one government bodyguard attending regular classes with me and some anti-terrorist police attending my seminars. An instructor who has trained with me is one of the best combat shooters in the country; he also works for the government and teaches firearm skills to bodyguards, anti-terrorist teams and other specialist units. We have become good friends and he is teaching me combat shooting.

  People sometimes ask me why I still train and I have to be truthful and say I don’t really know. I think this is because over the years training has become so much a part of me, just like eating and sleeping; it’s just something I do and still love. It is who I am. If you have the right attitude, training in the martial arts is like a bottomless pit which is why masters are still able to refine themselves and still be effective well into old age. The key word here is “refinement” and through refinement seeking perfection. Refinement to me means that I’m always striving to go deeper into my training, to improve myself in order to try and achieve perfection. Sometimes I feel I’m almost able to touch it but in reality it’s always just out of reach. Striving for perfection is the way I keep my drive and enthusiasm alive. I still get a buzz from teaching, not only from seeing my students develop but also from seeing how training helps affect their character in a positive way. For example, I once had a thirty-year-old guy start training with me; he had been knifed in an unprovoked attack while leaving a pub with his wife and as a result he lost all confidence and found it difficult to go out anywhere. Training gave him back his confidence and self-respect, and helped him to overcome his problems. He only trained for a couple of years but every Christmas after that he would seek me out and give me a bottle of win
e as a thank you. Another guy, who was an ex-con, was recommended to me. As a rule I never teach individuals who I think may abuse what they are taught, but I was assured the guy was trying to sort himself out. Training helped to give him some focus and channel the aggression he felt. He was also dyslexic, which was not recognized when he was young, so as a result he became dysfunctional at school, which in turn led to Borstal and eventually prison. I never forgot his first karate examination; this big bruiser of a man was nearly in tears when he passed – he told me that he had never been awarded anything before. Once again training helped to give him back his self-confidence and his self-respect; he has now settled down and has a family.

  A good teacher is only as good as the students he produces, as the ultimate aim of any true teacher is to develop a student who excels himself or herself to refine their teachings still further. Over the years in the UK I’ve helped produce some excellent karate exponents who are now respected and highly regarded for their ability, and I am proud that they still consider me their sensei. I hope to do the same here in Lithuania. At the time of writing this I am nearly fifty-eight, and as well as trying to refine myself as much as possible, my main goal now is to produce good students who can carry on the traditions I teach.

  DAVE WEEKS (UK)/MIKE TYSON (USA)

  Hard Man/Boxer

  Introducing … Dave Weeks and Mike Tyson

  IN THIS UNUSUAL and compelling chapter, British hard man Dave Weeks compares his abusive conduct, violent rages, anti-social behaviour and anger-management problems with those of the iconic former American heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Dave chronicles his own journey through life, his legal and illegal means of employment including debt-collecting, running massage parlours and petty crime, and compares it to Tyson’s escapades in-and-out of the ring. It’s also an examination of human frailties and harmful reactions to life’s disappointments but told from a perspective of violence.

  The author Dave Weeks was born in the town of Hornchurch, Essex, England, in 1962. An outwardly normal working-class upbringing hid the fact that Dave’s father was an abusive and bullying figure who terrorized his family with his alcohol-fuelled rages behind closed doors. It was a childhood which would haunt Dave throughout most of his adult life.

  Upon leaving school Dave qualified as a graphic designer but the following years were a roller-coaster ride of random job changes, verbal and physical abuse, and failed relationships, as Dave sought contentment and happiness in all the wrong places. This culminated in several failed and abusive marriages, as alcohol and violence took control of his psyche and emotions.

  In 2004 Dave’s father died and this event forced Dave to confront the mental demons from his past and analyse why his behaviour had virtually mirrored that of his forever-angry father. Even when trying to change and become a better person, Dave still succumbed to the lure of violence and dabbled in both debt-collecting and running a massage parlour. However, in an attempt to change the pattern of uncontrolled anger and destructive addictive behaviour, Dave began to work with people with disabilities and mental health problems, as well as qualifying as both a health and fitness trainer and martial arts instructor, eventually finding solace through his work and sporting endeavours.

  Across the Atlantic, Michael Gerard Tyson was born on 30 June 1966, four years after Dave. Mike Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion of the world and remains the youngest man ever to win the World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) world heavyweight titles. Throughout his career, Tyson became well-known for his ferocious and intimidating boxing style as well as his controversial behaviour both inside and outside the ring.

  At the start of his career Tyson competed at the 1982 Junior Olympic Games, where he won a gold medal. He won every bout at the Games by knockout (KO) and still holds the Junior Olympic quickest knockout record with eight seconds.

  Three years later Tyson made his professional debut on 6 March 1985 in New York, defeating Hector Mercedes via a first-round knockout. During his first two years as a professional, Tyson won twenty-six of his twenty-eight fights by knockout, sixteen in the first round.

  Nicknamed “Iron Mike” and tagged “The Baddest Man on the Planet”, on 22 November 1986, Tyson was given his first title fight against Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight championship. Tyson won the title by second-round total knockout (TKO) and, at the age of just twenty years and four months, became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

  On 7 March 1987 in Las Vegas, Tyson fought James Smith, winning by unanimous decision and adding Smith’s WBA title to his existing belt. And on 1 August of the same year he took the IBF title from Tony Tucker in a twelve-round unanimous decision.

  In January 1988 Tyson faced Larry Holmes and defeated the former champion by a fourth-round knockout which was the only knockout loss Holmes suffered in seventy-five professional bouts. On 27 June of the same year Tyson faced Michael Spinks. At the time, the bout was the richest fight in history. The fight ended after just ninety-one seconds when Tyson knocked Spinks out in the first round. Spinks, previously unbeaten, would never fight professionally again.

  During this period, Tyson’s problems outside boxing were also starting to emerge. His marriage to actor Robin Givens was heading for divorce, his future contract was being fought over by Don King and Bill Cayton, and late in 1988 Tyson fired long-time trainer Kevin Rooney. Without Rooney, Tyson’s skills quickly deteriorated.

  In Tokyo, on 11 February 1990, Tyson lost his heavyweight title to James “Buster” Douglas by a knockout. Douglas unleashed a brutal combination of hooks that sent Tyson to the canvas for the first time in his career.

  And then in July 1991 Tyson was arrested for the rape of eighteen-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island, in an Indianapolis hotel room. In February the following year Tyson was convicted and given a sentence of ten years; six in prison and four on probation.

  Tyson served three years of his six years and after being released from prison in 1995 engaged in a series of comeback fights. He regained one belt by easily winning the WBC title from Frank Bruno by knocking him out in the third round, and added the WBA belt by defeating Bruce Seldon. However, on 9 November 1996 Tyson lost to Evander Holyfield, who at the time was given virtually no chance to win. Their rematch on 28 June the following year ended in shocking fashion as the fight was stopped at the end of the third round and Tyson disqualified for biting off part of Holyfield’s ear.

  Tyson’s boxing licence was revoked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and Tyson was fined $3 million, which effectively made Tyson unable to box in the United States. However, little more than a year later the commission voted to restore Tyson’s boxing licence.

  Legal problems caught up with Tyson once again and in 1999 Tyson was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and fined $5,000 for assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident.

  In 2000 Tyson fought Lou Savarese in Glasgow, UK, winning in the first round but he continued punching after the referee had stopped the fight, knocking the referee to the floor as he tried to separate the boxers. In October of the same year Tyson fought Andrzej Gołota, winning in round three, but the result was later changed to no contest after Tyson tested positive for marijuana in a post-fight urine test.

  Tyson fought only once in 2001, beating Brian Nielsen in Copenhagen with a seventh-round TKO.

  In 2002, at thirty-five years old, he fought Lennox Lewis for a championship. Two years prior to the bout Tyson had made several inflammatory remarks to Lewis, “I want your heart, I want to eat his children.” On 22 January 2002, a brawl involving the two boxers and their entourages occurred at a press conference held in New York to publicize the event. The fight eventually occurred on 8 June in Memphis, Tennessee, when Lewis knocked out Tyson with a right hook in the eighth round.

  Despite receiving over US$30 million for several of his fights and $300 million during his career, Tyson was declare
d bankrupt in 2003.

  Tyson finally retired from competitive boxing in 2005 after two consecutive knockout losses to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.

  Tyson began spending much of his time tending to his 350 pigeons in Paradise Valley, an up-scale enclave near Phoenix, Arizona, and, on the front page of USA Today, was quoted as saying: “My whole life has been a waste – I’ve been a failure.”

  On 29 December 2006, Tyson was arrested once again on suspicion of driving under the influence and drug possession after he nearly crashed into a police vehicle shortly after leaving a nightclub. Tyson pleaded not guilty. On 8 February 2007, while awaiting trial, he checked himself into an in-patient addiction treatment programme. On 24 September 2007, Mike Tyson changed his plea and pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and driving under the influence. He was sentenced to twenty-four hours in jail, 360 hours community service and three years’ probation. The judge praised Tyson for seeking help with his drug problems.

  Tyson has been married three times and has seven children with several different women. At the height of his career he was one of the most recognized sports personalities in the world and undoubtedly once was “The Baddest Man on the Planet”.

  ROUND TWELVE – JANUARY 2002 TO JUNE 2005

  By Dave Weeks

  I’d met Maggie through work. We’d hit it off immediately but, at that stage, I was reconciling with Liz and Mags was with her boyfriend of three years. It seemed that we’d met at the wrong time in our lives.

  However, I left Liz shortly before my fortieth birthday and Maggie finished with her boyfriend, so I moved into her flat in central London and we spent the following months “getting to know each other” properly.