21/12/2025
‘A strong man is he who exists Between a Warrior and a scholar and knows how to call upon either when needed’
Story telling and art made me a scholar.
Grappling on the mats and grappling restless demons made me a warrior (of some sort)
As a kid I hated boxing, I literally just did it to keep other people happy. The grappling game was my battle of choice. Eventually throughout the years I found a healthy level of respect for the sweet science but never thought I’d be trading the mats for punches until 12 weeks ago when our club needed to beef up the fight card.
The whole 12 week preparation phase of morning & evening training sessions and dieting was another great reminder of what me and my son are capable of outside our comfort zones. Being way out of my depths, there were so many times I wanted to pull out and convince myself to do it next year. I didn’t even take any progress photos of us just in case I pulled the plug but I kept telling myself ‘this is all for the ‘De-shelling process. to shed away the years of doubts, criticism and disappointment I’ve held in myself all throughout fatherhood.
‘After the fight, you can you can throw the old shell away’
That’s what this was for. It was for me.
Every time you fight, an old shell of you is peeled away. A better version of you awaits regardless of winning or losing.
Don’t get me wrong: ju jitsu and grappling gave me the peace and security I needed in many bad situations.
becoming a successful author/artist was the validation I needed to silence my demons.
BUT! Boxing for me was a beast my younger self never made peace with.
It was a great honour getting in the ring for the Broome fight night along with my son Aidan and our other Broome boxers at Red Dirt Rumble who made the club proud.
BIG thank you to the man mr. Shane for going the rounds with me in both training and on fight night.
And of course huge Thank you to the Broome Boxing Club for coaching and supporting all of us.
Hope we made the club proud.
