This month we were fortunate to catch up with one of the UK’s leading martial arts figures, Geoff Thompson. What surprised me was behind his public appearance of a 'no nonsense hard man', there was a man searching for honesty and truth in what he does. Mr. Thompson is someone we can all learn from whether it be as a student, an instructor, life in general or on the street.
Martial Edge: How did you get involved with Martial arts?
Geoff Thompson: Well I was like a lot of people really. I watched the Bruce Lee movie Enter the Dragon and from that point on I knew that martial arts is what I wanted to do. I am also not afraid to say that I was someone who was bullied. Fear was also a big problem for me; you know the fear of confrontation. Even when I got involved with Martial arts I was constantly searching inwards in attempt to overcome that.
Martial Edge: Who have been the major influences on your Martial arts training?
Geoff Thompson: I started with Aikido, but soon moved on into Shotokan Karate with Terry O Neil. He was a massive influence on me. I also trained in gung fu with Charles Chan and Alan Hines and I have also done some full time Judo with Neil Adams.
Martial Edge: So what would be a daily routine in your own personal training?
Geoff Thompson: I don’t have a set routine really. At one time I just wanted to train hard and be physically strong. However I realised that I was not conditioning myself mentally or spiritually. I will even go as far as saying that at one point, my daily routine was about training spirituality, the whole idea of the spiritual warrior. I soon came to realise however that to be at one with yourself and to be truly honest in your training, you have to train all three aspects; the mind, the physical and the spiritual.
I think some people think that I am a self defence instructor and therefore my daily routine of training is about hard physical training, yet the most important thing you should remember is that the higher state of Martial arts is not about violence. Essentially you have to constantly evolve in your training bearing in mind the three aspects.
Martial Edge: As a teacher/Instructor what are the key principles you teach by?
Geoff Thompson: It has to be honesty. There are a lot of instructors out there that are kidding themselves because they believe that what they are teaching is real, and its not. I have been in situations, real life threatening situations so when I teach something it comes from my life experience. I teach students about confronting there fear in the dojo. I feel that people come to me and they want life lessons as well as the Martial arts. If I can teach someone to confront their fears, then they can confront any problems in their life whether it be marriage issues, career related, or perhaps just having more confidence.
Martial Edge: Were you surprised by the success of Watch my back?
Geoff Thompson: Yes I was pleasantly surprised by the success of this book. All I wanted to do was write a book about my experiences, it went on to sell 100,000 copies. It made me realise that I had something different to offer as a writer and decided that the path of being a professional writer was the one I wanted to take.
Martial Edge: Your abilities as a writer and martial artist are well documented. You have the books, articles and recent achievements include the BAFTA award winning short film and the theatre production. What are you looking forward to doing in the future?
Geoff Thompson: For me it is about placing myself in a fertile soil. As an individual you have to be looking to grow all the time. For 2006 I have some very exciting projects in the pipeline. I am currently writing a series for the BBC, and I have three other cinema projects out next year.
Fear
Fear
Martial Edge: What do you look for in terms of the core elements in a good Martial arts book?
Geoff Thompson: You know there is so much out there and it doesn’t do what it claims on the cover! One of my core principles is honesty, and that’s what I feel makes a good Martial arts book I don’t see that in many of the books out there. There is so much politics and hierarchy in the martial arts and so much hypocrisy. Many of the teachers I have met are not living what they teach, I am talking metaphorically here but often it is like having a fat life coach trying to teach you about diet. Having said that there are some great people out there too.
Martial Edge: Who are the guys in the industry that you really respect?
Geoff Thompson: That’s a difficult one and I certainly cannot name them all. Rick Young I think is a very special individual - he has got the skills as a martial artist but he goes a lot deeper than that. Bob Sykes the editor of Martial arts illustrated is someone that I respect enormously. He was the one that encouraged me with my writing but at the same time wasn’t like a jealous wife who wouldn’t let me write for other magazines.
Peter Constandine has been a massive influence on me and is one of my closest friends. He is someone that came on earlier in my career where I was doing a lot of shouting about what I could do but didn’t really have a focus or a guide. Dave Turtan was a big influence on me, he was the man that got me into wrestling and Ill always be grateful for that. Dennis Martin, I avidly followed his column in Fighting Arts every month. Neil Adams is a wonderful man, and Terry O Neil has always been my hero.
Martial Edge: Essentially you are a self defence expert, where do you see the industry going in the next ten years and more importantly where do you see yourself?
Geoff Thompson: I believe the danger is that the whole idea of self defence will become another system. So you will have a situation where people will be taught a formulised self defence and told that is the way you do it! Self defence is not a system, done properly it is not really even physical, it is much more about awareness, avoidance, escape, it is about understanding attack ritual so that you can avoid being in a violent conflict. If it becomes physical then it is about pre-emption because defence does not work consistently Where do I see myself in ten years? That is a difficult one. I am just trying to be honest with myself and by any stretch of the imagination my journey of self discovery is not over yet.
Everything that Happens to me is Good
I heard it the other day and it made me smile. So much so that I went and made myself a cup of tea. Someone said (with a hint of a scorn, and a peppering of self pity maybe) ‘that Geoff Thompson bloke, he lives a charmed life. He has had it so easy.’ So enjoy International author, martial artist, and BAFTA winning screen writer Geoff Thompson......
Martial Edge: Anything to add before we finish?
Geoff Thompson: Anything is achievable, and everything that you desire resides just behind the circle of fear that surrounds us all. You just have to be brave enough to break the circle.
Interviews 
This month we were fortunate to catch up with one of the UK’s leading martial arts figures, 
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