INTERVIEW

Bob Sykes talks to Matt Frost - S2C8 academy head coach and KFM top team member - about his colourful life and how it was saved by martial arts...

att Frost is certainly one of the most colourful characters to have walked the KFM path of self-discovery, but he has led a life which has exposed him to many cruel lessons that most will never know. For this reason, his journey into the martial arts, his passion thereafter and his desire to build a positive life - and, consequentially, a prosperous martial arts academy - is an inspirational story worthy of your ears. He also has a great sense of humour. Andy Norman Matt and Justo go head-to-head in Spain Bob Sykes: Hi, Matt. Thanks for your time and hospitality - its a lovely place you have here. Matt Frost: The pleasure is all mine, sir, and thank you. We have worked hard to build our academy and were very happy with it. So, how did your journey into martial arts begin and who were your heroes? Truthfully, I was never into martial arts as a child - in fact, I didnt become interested until my thirties. As a child, I loved Saturday morning wrestling, so if I had any fighting heroes it would be Giant Haystacks and Cat Weasel. I really thought they were fighting and I loved it. I used to go see them at Bellevue in Manchester and I would scream the place down. Cat Weasel used to get in the ring with a squeaky toy and tickle his opponents then run all over the place, while Giant Haystacks would enter the ring and everyone would boo him - he was the bad guy and I loved him. Right there, you see, you have the Yin and Yang of martial arts. Deep stuff, eh? (Laughs.) So you only became interested in martial arts aged thirty - why? I experienced a lot of violence in my life and needed to understand violent people and violence. The truth is, violence terrified me and I seemed to be on the receiving end of it and surrounded by it more than the average person. I began looking into martial arts to understand something about humans and, hopefully, conquer my fears which thanks to Andy Norman, I did. You say you were surrounded by a lot of violence and violent people - can you elaborate on that please? I lived with the travelling community for twenty years - I only moved into a house recently. I travelled from Poland to Portugal and throughout the UK and lived in some interesting places with some interesting people. In Spain, I was involved in several knife fights and in Portugal I was shot at. Fortunately for me, I moved the barrel of the gun from my forehead in time. But, unfortunately for my girlfriend, the bullet hit her and went through her arm and her other hand that shed put up in front of her face...but it could have been worse, I guess. I have been involved in gang attacks where groups of up to twenty guys wearing masks and carrying weapons put me and my girlfriend in hospital. I have seen way too many hospital beds - the list goes on-and-on, so I wont bore you, but it was quite extreme at times. It all brought me to a point where I questioned life and humanity. That is extreme, Matt. So you say you looked to martial arts to understand violence and this is when you met Andy Norman? Yes. I tried several martial arts out - ones that all claimed to be self-defence - before I eventually met Andy. I met some nice people, but unfortunately they were all completely deluded which also bred deluded students. This, to me, was reckless and dangerous and it annoyed me. You dont tell a child to jump off a building because he can fly, do you? He would believe you and then die. So why do people teach complete nonsense, with no understanding of violence and violent people, to their students who believe every word their coach says? Im not saying you have to have had the experiences I have had - I hope you never do - but you do need to study your subject and pressure test it. So what was it about Andy Norman and Keysi Fighting Method that changed all this? Well, I had been training with Andy for around three months and, to be honest, I didnt really know what I thought of the physical stuff he was teaching. I signed up for the instructor course to try and understand more as I really didnt know what I thought. I remember it clearly to this day, the point where it all made sense and my life changed for ever... Andy was talking to the group about violence and what humans are capable of, We are the most sophisticated predator on this planet... he said. He continued talking for a long time (a really long time, eh, Andy?) about how we are emotionally driven creatures and the fight is emotional. He talked about what we, as humans, are truly capable of - using real-life examples from recent tragedies

I WAS INVOLVED IN SEVERAL KNIFE FIGHTS AND IN PORTUGAL I WAS SHOT AT. FORTUNATELY FOR ME, I MOVED THE BARREL OF THE GUN FROM MY FOREHEAD IN TIME. UNFORTUNATELY FOR MY GIRLFRIEND, THE BULLET HIT HER AND WENT THROUGH HER ARM AND HER OTHER HAND THAT SHED PUT UP IN FRONT OF HER FACE...BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE, I GUESS.
- that was it for me. I knew exactly what he was saying and no one had ever said these things before. I knew what I was capable of - I found that out when my girlfriend was bleeding to death from being shot while the gun man continued shooting at us, or when my friends were lying in pools of their own blood form serious knife wounds while I fought the attackers off with fire extinguishers. When Andy spoke, I knew he was speaking either from real experience or serious study - his words resonated with me. From that point on, I knew the physical stuff he was teaching must relate to reality - I just needed to stick at it - and I did. It soon became clear that KFM was what I had been looking for. Never once did I doubt what Andy taught me, as I had enough experience of violent situations to relate the training to. Its not that KFM had all the answers to everything - nothing does. If you have been told different you are being lied to. It was the brutal honesty that steered us away from delusion on a daily basis and the functional brutality of KFM that appealed to me. How long have you been studying with Andy and Keysi now? Im in my thirteenth year now, and it never gets boring, its always inspiring when I train with Andy because, after all these years, he can still blow me away with the basics. I think thats such an important statement of fact. He has never come up with crazy, wild and complicated stuff to impress, that looks flash and takes forever to learn. Its the stuff that always makes me smile and sparks those little light bulb moments is always simple and drops straight into my training. I have my academy in Lincoln now and KFM classes are very popular - we have just added more classes as were getting full and we just martial arts illustrated | 43

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adults love it - we promote reading to all our students - young and old, everyone loves a good story. What are your plans for the future? Expansion - were going to expand and open more schools, but I have a few things to understand first. Running an academy is a serious business and business is the key word here. I devote as much time to studying business, marketing and sales as I do my martial arts training. The one thing Ive realised is that it doesnt matter what business you run or what you teach, make or sell - were all in marketing and sales - not the business of martial arts. The moment I realised that, everything changed and were growing at a phenomenal rate right now. I love the psychology of it all and I put in around

twenty hours a week of study - every week, without fail. If youre running a school and youre not studying business, then youre mad as a hatter. Imagine teaching martial arts without ever training - and training should never stop - ever. Were martial artists and we fight for a living - the marketplace can be a vicious opponent or your greatest ally - this can change at any time. You need to keep sharpening the sword daily to survive and keep up. Todays marketplace is a modern day battlefield and were all out there competing with much larger opponents than us on a daily basis. I dont care how hard-core you think you are, if you dont understand the market, then be very careful, because it will bite you in the ass.

Anything else you would like to add before I leave? Read Napoleon Hills Think and Grow Rich. For one thing, its an amazing book and not what you might expect from the title. Surround yourself with good people, dump anyone who brings you down straight away - lifes too short for idiots - dont take life too seriously. Other than that, thank you to the violent cowards who helped shape my life into the incredible one it is right now. And, thank you to those who have pointed the finger, I see beyond the moon - in fact, I see the back of my own head, so Im off now to get my hair clipped and add some green dye to those grey bits. Great speaking to you, Matt. Good luck with your future plans. Its always good to read an inspirational tale. bob sykes

With Braulio, Andy Norman and the KFM top team at a recent DekemnRekkem seminar

Working some one-on-one drills...

MARTIAL ARTS HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE AND JUST A FEW WORDS FROM YOUR COACH AT THE RIGHT TIME CAN ALTER THE COURSE OF YOUR LIFE, AS IT DID MY OWN. ITS A VERY POWERFUL POSITION TO BE IN AND I AM FULLY AWARE OF HOW IMPORTANT IT IS.

graded our first KFM black belts. Well, Andy did actually, my adrenalin was pumping so much, I didnt sleep all night afterwards - it was very intense and very tough. We all felt the pressure - it was a first for me as a coach and I wasnt quite prepared for how emotionally involved I was with my students. They all did so well and Im very proud. This is a fantastic academy you have here, I see you have a cage installed... Thanks, we are pleased with how the place turned out. It was a lot of work and without the help of my students and family it would not have been possible. It was a true Karate Kid story building this place and I am forever grateful. Yes, we have a 24ft cage installed and we also have a fantastic MMA programme - again courtesy of KFM. The new D&R Ultra MMA programme is great and, with Braulio Estima on board, it goes without saying, the ground game is world class. The blend of Braulios BJJ and KFMs devastating and unorthodox striking makes for a unique MMA programme. We also run our own MMA fight shows, INSTINCT MMA, and we have a great fight team. We won seven out of our first eight fights - thats a better percentage than Greg Jackson, isnt it? (Laughs.)

So are you also interested in the sport side of martial arts? I am, yes. Im also interested in the educational and leadership development that can be taught through martial arts. The sport side, for me, is MMA and BJJ. I love them both due to the competitive element - although I will never be competing in MMA at my age. We have an adult MMA programme, as I mentioned. We also have childrens classes from ages five and up - childrens summer camps, parties, and educational trips. Were off to Poland next year to take the cadets [ages nine to fifteen] to Auschwitz and a weekend in the city of Krakow. I believe we should all learn from history and events that should not be allowed to happen again. Martial arts have changed my life and just a few words from your coach at the right time can alter the course of your life, as it did my own. Its a very powerful position to be in and I am fully aware of how important it is. Its not just the kids either - I often read to my adult classes from Miyamoto Musashis Book of Five Rings or Marcus Aurelius Meditations and other wonderful books like these are what we can all learn from. You realise that, aside from all the material things in life and the technology, nothing has changed really and the Matt demonstrates advanced street application! martial arts illustrated | 45

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