The Interview - 20 Questions with Al Peasland

1. What got you started in martial arts?

“I started in Martial Arts when I was 12 years old. My sister Sharon and I both went along to a Shotokan Karate class being run by Geoff Thompson, out of an old roller skating ring near our home.

I don’t think there was one particular event or occasion that prompted me to consider a martial art, and certainly nothing that I can recall directing me towards Karate as opposed to any other art, of which there were plenty of other clubs and styles in my local area.

Like any child, I had watched lots of martial arts movies and loved the look of the stars on screen performing amazing fight sequences, and I guess I just wanted to emulate those characters. The romantic view of being the tough good guy who could take on anyone and always come out on top. You could say I was rather impressionable at 12 years old – ha ha.

It was just pure chance and good fortune that I stumbled across Geoff’s class as, at the time, I knew nothing of Geoff and was still too young to appreciate the real world of violence out there, so any reputation he may have had at that time was lost on me.
More fortunate still was that I had no appreciation for how tough this particular club was in the way it trained. I just assumed all Karate clubs trained in that way. If I had know otherwise at the time I may have sought a softer club. Thankfully I didn’t and I owe the rest of my martial arts career on the foundation that this tough, honest and down right hard, club gave me.”

2. Who are your biggest inspirations past and present?

“Me. I continually amaze myself – ha ha – only joking!  No, seriously, it sounds corny buy Geoff has to be my biggest influence and mentor. He's been around through my formative years and given me so much guidance. His personal growth has been phenomenal and so I guess I am privileged to be able to be around someone who is one of my heroes on a daily basis.

I could quote all the usuals such as Ghandi, Mohammed Ali, but I'd say one of my other big inspirations is my Dad.

Apart from Geoff, my Dad has given me the upbringing that has stood me in good stead my whole life.

He's shown me a work ethic that I don't think many 20 year olds could compete with and he's now 70.

He's taught me lots of good old fashioned values, and above all, how to be a decent person - always ready to help others, work hard, be strong but gentle.

My Dad's the sort of guy that could turn his hand to pretty much anything, and not only learn to do it, but do it better than anyone else.

An amazing guy - truly inspirational.”

4. How has your training helped you in everyday life?

“Absolutely, yes. It’s the one thing that I can always go back to. It is definitely my salvation and my own personal place where I can de-stress and re-energise to take on the world.

It’s given me courage and confidence to follow my dreams and take on challenges that I would have otherwise turned away from. There’s not many things as tough as fighting highly trained guys in Animal Days, if you can do that, most other stuff just starts to feel easy.

It’s kept me fit and healthy.

It’s definitely saved my life on many occasions, and I like to think, allowed me to save the lives of others on a few occasions too.

I’ve made a great deal of friends from the martial arts world over the years, and continue to do so now as I expand my own profile it brings me into contact with lots more people from around the world which is great for me and great for my own Martial Arts growth.

Finally, I’d say it’s given me an inner peace. An understanding of my-“self” that allows me to have better self-control. A control that enables me to stay safe, and also lead a fun and fulfilling life.”

5. What do you do to switch off and relax?

“Eat chocolates and watch tv. – ha ha!  Well, perhaps the watch tv bit anyway. My girlfriend has introduced me to the Jack Bauer, 24, series so I’ve been really busy getting up to speed watching the previous series over the past few months.

I also love meeting up with a few close friends for meals and evening out. I’m a massive fan of comedy clubs and will always choose seeing a comedian over any other type of night out.  Clubs definitely don’t do it for me these days, so anything that’s chilled with good company is my best way to relax.  

Relaxing means sitting with a good book  Switching off means hitting a heavy bag for an hour – if you’re too tired to think, you’re too tired to worry. Ha ha!”

6. What motivates you?

“I have to admit I am a bit of a worrier about money, so money is a motivator of mine. This is something I am working on though as I know deep down that money is a by-product of success and not the main goal.

My close influences are also great motivators for me. I’ve always said, if you want to be happy, surround yourself with happy people. So, for me, I want to follow my dreams, be successful at them and have a fun and full life. My closest friends are my influences as they are all doing that themselves. Watching them move on and have great successes with things they love to do is great inspiration and motivation for me to do the same in whatever path I choose.

Also, looking in the mirror most mornings is motivation enough to get back out on the road and put in a few more miles before work - haha”

7. How does your passion for martial arts affect/influence those around you?

“That’s a very good question, and not something I’d perhaps thought about too much until you asked.
I’d like to think that people draw from my own passion for the thing I love to do, and apply it themselves to their own life. I hope that is the case, that’s something that would make me feel great now that I think about it.
To think that the passion I have doing something I enjoy so much, is also inspiring others is amazing – and kind of free bonus.

I train hard and I put a lot of effort into whatever it is I try to do. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, sometimes to my own detriment, but that attention to detail is very important and also something I hope people take from me and apply elsewhere.
Whatever we do, if we want to do it well, it’s all in the detail. As a design engineer, I have been brought up on taking care of the detail. The formula one industry that I now work in is heavily focused on the detail as it’s this fine tuning that can mean the difference between first and last. I like to think I draw a lot of parallels between this industry and my own martial arts training.

Hard work, tenacity and dedication are attributes that have been passed down to me and hopefully these rub off on those who are around me too.”

8. Who has been your toughest opponent and why?

“All of my opponents have been in the real world. I fought in competition karate when I was 20 in America, in a British Team headed by Ian McCranor. But the fights were no where near as tough as those I’ve had outside. More skillfull perhaps but not as tough.

My training, from an early age was always geared towards the street and real life encounters rather than competition.

In the gym, the toughest opponent has been Geoff, without a doubt. He never pulled punches, even when I was a teenager sparring blokes twice my size. I definitely learned the hard way, but it’s stood me in good stead.

Outside there have been a few guys that really gave me a run for my money, but none that succeeded, thankfully. I had an incident with a huge power lifter one night, something that has been mentioned in lots of other interviews over the years, so I won’t go into it too much. Basically he judassed me with 2 or 3 clean shots to the head as I was ejecting some other guys from the club. I saw stars that night, and it was only the good fortune that I stumbled back into a table that stopped my fall and allowed me to grab hold of the guy. I thought I was holding 2 guys he was that big. It all ended after a battle in and out of the club with me choking him out in a rear strangle.

This was just one incident of many when I worked the doors in Coventry and I put a lot of my successes down to my love for the grappling and ground fighting arts that I studied heavily during my twenties.

But, if I may be so bold to say, I would have to suggest that my biggest opponent has been myself. We all have the Mr Negative sat on our shoulder from time to time. The guy who wants us to stop, take it easy, go for a pint and turn away from our fears. My training in Geoff’s club and the Animal Days, my time on the door, my dark days of depression have all been the vehicle that has provided me the biggest challenges in my life, but all of those challenges have really been within myself. To face what scares me and to deal with it instead of turning away.”


9. What is your greatest fear?

“I don’t know if I actually FEAR anything these days. I don’t mean that in a big tough-guy way. Just that I have learned over the years not to Fear things, but to analyse them and deal with them, or not as the case may be.

10. What goes through your mind before combat?

“What on earth am I doing here? Ha ha

Again, my training is for outside and not in the ring, so perhaps my answer will be different to someone who has chosen to step into a ring or cage and fight.

For me, if I’ve gotten to a stage where I have to get physical in a real situation, then I have made a lot of mistakes along the way and so I would have to ask myself, “how did I let it get to this”.

I don’t have any doubts that I won’t win. There is no question that I will not win. And that is not being pretentious or big headed or over-confident. That is just the attitude that you absolutely must have if you want to survive any confrontation outside.

But my main thoughts would be more of, how can I end this without physical.”

Profile

Al Peasland is Geoff Thompson’s highest graded and longest serving instructor in the Real Combat System. With over 20 years of reality based martial arts training and many years of experience as a nightclub doorman, Al has brought together effective techniques from a wide range of arts and blended them into his Complete Self Protection system.

As Geoff Thompson puts it: “Al took the knowledge he gained from me in thousands of hours of blood and snot instruction and subjected it to 7 years of pressure-testing on the nightclub doors of a city (Coventry) that was once polled as being the most violent in Europe for its size and population.”

Al has put his own life on the line in order to pressure test all of the techniques and concepts taught in CSP.

Al’s qualifications include:

Al has kindly agreed to be interviewed by the Bristol School of Self Defence so keep on scrolling down to read about his incredible life dedicated to protecting himself and others from violence.

Fear is, after all, only an emotion triggered by a series of events and inputs that our body and mind has processed via it’s senses. So to allow yourself to be frightened of something means you’ve given up your inner control.
I wouldn’t lie and say I don’t worry or don’t feel anxious about things, but again, I try to gain control over these emotions and listen to what they are telling me rather than how they are making me feel.

If I was to fear one thing it would be the Fear of Failing to do my best at whatever it is I choose to do.
As my dad always says, if something’s worth doing, its worth doing well. I’d add, if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing to the best of your ability. So failing to do that and letting myself down would be a fear of mine.”

3. Who has had the biggest impact on your training?

“I may have answered this already, but obviously, Geoff has to rank top of the list in terms of bringing me on from a timid, shy and bullied 12 year old, to a streetwise, hardy doorman at the age of 19, to a 5th Dan BCA Senior Instructor today.

Geoff has both taught me, guided me and directed me in my training and personal life and has probably had the biggest influence in shaping me into who I am today.

In addition however, I would have to mention a few other people who I’ve had the privilledge to train with either on a regular or seminar basis and who’s own abilities and attitudes have also given me inspiration and new heights to aim for.

People like Terry Barnet, who is my instructor in the JKD arts. I’ve been training under Terry now for a little over a year and he’s truly awesome. An amazingly talented martial artist and one of the nicest guys I have ever met, and I say that with all sincerity.

Rick Young has been an inspiration for many years, having trained with him on many occasions on seminars over the past 15 years since the British Combat Association was founded. If you ever wanted

to see a combination of the most amazing fighting talent and ability, coupled with the most warm, compassionate and gentle humility, look no further than Rick. An example if ever you needed one of how you don’t have to act tough to be tough.

Mick Tully also has to feature highly on my list. His attitude to training is perfect in my opinion. He trains hard, he trains regularly, he seeks and trains with the absolute best, and he does it all with a constant humor and fun approach. He’s also been one of the best friends I could have ever wished for, having been one of the few who stuck with me during some very dark times and made sure I got through them to see this amazing world and lead the amazing life I now do. I true friend and a guy who has given me the kick up the backside, quite literally, to get my own MA career back on track and back into the senior ranks of self protection instruction in the country.  Mick also introduced me to Terry Barnett, so a big thank you to him for that.

There have been lots of other instructors over the years whom I’ve had the utmost pleasure to train with, whether it be for long periods of time or brief seminars. My CV highlights some of the key people who have been involved in teaching me the various arts that I’ve graded in, so recognition must go to those guys too.”