Excerpt James came in and watched me teach a class and after it was over walked up to me and said he was joining my class. I said, Excuse me? You mean you would like to join my class! This eleven or twelve year old kid walking up to me, telling me he was joining my class was not the way to get on my good side. He hesitated briefly then apologized and asked me if he could join my class. I told him to go see Groce about signing up. After that little adventure, he got off to a good beginning and became a very good fighter.
I remember very clearly his persistence in another matter. He had been training with me for about five or six years and he began requesting private lessons. I told him no! He asked about once or twice a year. I dont do private lessons and I did everything I could to discourage this. He persisted until finally I gave in. I told him that he must do everything I say, no questions asked. He agreed, then he wanted to ask me one final question. I told him he was not ready. He said that he was. I repeated myself. After several tries he understood. And agreed. I gave him these instructions: be at my house at 9 AM Saturday morning, ready to train. He told me years later that he spent two hours warming up in preparation for the lesson. When he arrived at my door, there was a note taped to the door waiting for him.
The note said: Write a two page letter explaining why I should accept you as a private student. Deliver it to my house next week at the training hour.
The lessons were on Saturday mornings only.
He delivered the letter but there were too many grammatical errors so I told him to correct them and give it to me the following week. So, on the third Saturday after I agreed to teach Simms privately, the physical lessons began. In actuality, training had started three weeks earlier. I dont recall how long I continued to train him privately and I dont remember whether it was him or me who finally terminated the lessons. In all probability, it was a job change or shift change, which caused the termination of those classes. As I said, I prefer group classes rather than private lessons. The primary reason being that I draw my energy from the class when I teach.
The oldest student to train with me there was a 41-year-old gentleman named Berkley Brown. This was an incredible age at which to enter the type of fighting system that I taught. And this school had a very tough
reputation. I had gotten to know Berkley while shooting pool in a tavern in downtown Chester.
Late one rainy Saturday afternoon I was sitting in that tavern watching Berk play, or at least attempt to play pool. The tavern was nearly empty that afternoon and I didnt feel like playing so all I did was watch. That day, Berkley was having a particularly difficult time staying focused and couldnt seem to run more than two balls consecutively. The guy he was playing was beating up on him pretty badly. He was normally a very proficient player, but obviously had other problems on his mind. While holding a conversation with him between shots I asked him to do me a favor. As you walk around the table, pay attention to your breathing. Consciously slow your breathing down.
After several minutes he seemed to relax. I said to him when youre aiming and stroking the cue stick, breathe in, then exhale half-way and hold. Shoot your shot. The next time, breathe in as your stroking and exhale on the shot. Use whichever method works best. He did that for awhile. I said, keep relaxing, however, the most important principle for you to practice is to picture the ball falling in the pocket just before you shoot your shot. It worked wonders on him. It was pretty incredible to watch him gradually start to flow around the table as he was shooting. Eventually, he was practically dancing around that table. He wanted to know who I was and how I used those ideas. I told him that I taught those principles in my art. When I explained what my art was, Berk joined the school. Many of his friends, who were his age, thought he was crazy to start martial arts training at that age but he had a surprise for them. He excelled in this art. Berk gained an understanding of this art that people half his age couldnt begin to understand.
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