I grew up on a really rough estate in England. Bullying, beatings and violence were a part of my everyday life. One day, aged about 11, I was choked so bad in a classroom that my windpipe was damaged and blood vessels burst in my eyes. I learned early what it felt like to be afraid, what it was like to lose your voice and your dignity.
In my adult life I always felt the need to test myself, to push the envelope and develop new skills. However, I started martial arts training quite late, having spent many years teaching and training in shallow and deep diving skills.
When I started training in martial arts, I was struck by how little it resembled the kickings I’d received when I was young. It still hurt, but the raw, naked terror was missing.
Fairly early on into my training I started to seek out other avenues to supplement my martial arts. I attended seminars by people like Geoff Thompson and realised that I needed more reality in my training. I trained and researched voraciously.
Then I saw FAST. As soon as I saw it, I got the UK team in to put on seminars for myself and my students and put my name down to fly to RMCAT and train as a bulletman with Bill as soon as I could.
Since then FAST has helped me to face down a few of my own ghosts, and to give my students and their families the best training there is to offer. Someone once asked me why I still do traditional martial arts, given my knowledge of reality and this training methodology. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t do something more hardcore. I thought for a while about this and what I came up with was that, apart from loving the art and the people I train with, having a more approachable art has allowed me to expose many more men, women and children to the FAST experience. These people would never have been able to step up if the traditional art hadn’t given them the opportunity to walk through the door ‘safely’.
I truly love being part of the worldwide FAST team. It is like a big extended family. I’m honoured that Bill has chosen myself and some of the other UK FAST team to train more teams in the UK and Europe. It’s a job that I take very seriously. One of our US brothers-in-rubber said recently that we have a responsibility to take this out to as many people as possible.
The benefits go far beyond simple self-protection.
But then again, maybe I just like dressing up.
Love and respect to you all,
Dik Chance
June 2006.
BIO: Dik Chance runs a very successful Taekwon-Do school in Bristol UK, with his partner Louise. Dik is also an instructor in Underwood Defendo, a combative system taught to allied forces in WW2. Dik worked for the UK Ministry of Defence before becoming a full-time martial art and self protection instructor.
