"Fear Control"

Hi Dave,

Hope you are well.

I was recently talking to a student and they were curious about some of the techniques the Warfields adopted for facing and dealing with "fear".

It's been a while since we spoke about their training methods in the area but I remember them having some pretty extreme ideas. Can you elaborate on some of the training sessions?

cheers
Chris

Hi Chris

well he's done it again.. quiet for a few weeks, then comes in with a DOOZIE!

Chris... a lot of us christened John and Gordon's 'methods' as THE FEAR FACTORY..

They had several nefarious methods, all of which were simply designed to subject you to accepting FEAR and all it's extras... THEN when there is no further choice, DEFEAT that fear by your will and mind.. then you know fear is a controllable emotion like any other..

However each person will have methods best suited to them.

Gordon bred dogs.. well wolves really, and he could control them with a glance...

I remember MABON, the biggest sod of a dog outside of the hounds of the Baskervilles.. it would come in when we entered the kitchen (Gordon's house was on top of mountain.. I mean the TOP of a mountain.. the welsh being used to big slopes called it a HILL (Llanelli Hill).. anyway Mabon would lollop in and give us icey stares.. thne look at Gordon who would just look sternly at it, and it would slope out tail between its legs.. a bit later it would appear again and he would give the smallest of nods and the dog would lick us to death..

Gordon and John believed people could be trained in the same ways.

They would study you and suss out something you feared in the combat realms.. with ME (and I didnt know it really at the time) it was being 'trapped in a corner or on the floor'..

so in the little backroom of John's Pontypool dojo .. (it eventually became a small chapel hall... ironic)...
I was called in and there were a few others in there.. I knew most of them.

John just said.. "Dai all you have to do is walk through the door", as he closed it.. I thought "Oh just battle my way through these guys eh"

You cant .. FULL STOP.. they just crowded me, slapping hitting pushing etc.. nothing really serious, just bloody constant.. I couldnt hit anyone they were not allowing it..

I got frustrated and lost my temper..not smart..

(Chris you have done the SDF black belt grading .. you know the pressure thing well mate)

Anyway there's not really a lot to tell as such, just this RELENTLESS pressure, eventually you are backed into a corner and curled up waiting (wishing?) for it to stop.

so you say things like "OK I quit.. thats enough"

but nothing, no words aimed at you just this constant pressure.. there's no feeling that a probable end is in sight.. it just goes on.. seemed like HOURS, was probably 10-15 minutes or so.. dont really know.

Anyway eventually .. you BREAK.. its a simple as that.. I whimpered, cried, pleaded.. just wanting it to stop.

Then it did.. John said hardly anything just get back on the mat in the main room.

Nothing more was said.. WOW, is that it I thought.

It wasnt .. a few weeks later, half way through a training session, John just said.. "Dai .. back room".. I SHIT IT.. I couldnt go in there again, yet I couldnt let down this wonderful man.. I couldnt let Fred Mason, my training partner, down either..

so I went... like walking in treacle .. I opened the door, and all I was met with was a smile .. (Those who have trained under John will know THAT smile)..
And that was all he wanted.. for me to overcome the sheer DREAD of enetering the 'Fear Factory'.... I had conquered what I feared.. and came to realise that Fear is no more unconrollable than hunger.. You can be starving on the motorway, and see its 14 miles to the next service station, so you CONTROL the hunger..

With the Warfields, you learned to inflict and control FEAR ..

Now I am not sure how deeply I got into this as John rarely 'compared' you with others..... obviously Mike Gould, Jeff Keen etc will be deeper into it than me.

hope that helps bit mate