"I BrsL sLarLed LraInIn In LLe arL oI boxIn

at the very early age of just 11 and, unlike

most kids, I had no parental persuasion to
start the sport; I just had a massive burning
desire to never be a victim. It was as simple
as that! I can remember the reason like it was
yesterday! I was naturally small, had just
started high-school and, although Id never
been bullied, the thought of being helpless
frightened me. And so, I on my own, I entered
my BrsL ym and sLarLed boxIn. I quIckIy
reaIIsed LLaL LLe beLLer I was aL BLLIn
and the more my mates knew this, the less
BLLIn I wouId Lave Lo do! TLIs was proven
just three months later. I had been training
soIo LLree LImes a week and aILer my BrsL spar
my coacL Bam saId I couId sLarL Lo BLL wLen,
out-of-the-blue, the gyms young cock of the
year turned up with his friends and we were
both set to spar straight away! I instantly
left-hooked him into quitting, and that was
the beginning of both great friendship with
him, and a reputation, which meant that all
through my school years I rarely needed to
BLL aaIn! TLIs demonsLraLed LLaL II I IearnL
Low Lo BLL, I wouId never acLuaIIy Lave Lo.
I boxed all through my school years, however,
aILLouL I was cerLaInIy sLroner and BLLer
than many of my peers, I still had a massive
problem with my short, skinny frame. So at
LLe ae oI jusL 18, I sLarLed IIILIn weILLs and
became quite obsessive with it; winning many
UK junior bodybuilding titles. I would never
skip my weight-training sessions and became
very self-disciplined, which I think was the
foundation and the reason that I have gone
onto achieve what I have today, both with my
businesses and in my personal life. A total
dedication in everything I have done has led
me to the amazing life I have today.
"In 1999 I meL my very BrsL reaI menLor
Tom EIackIede, an EnIIsL mIxed marLIaI
arLIsL, Cae Fae veLeran and a coacL on
TLe UILImaLe EILLer: HeavyweILLs. We
met, we trained together, we became good
friends, he beat me up and thats just about
what it was like for the next four years! I was
training twice a day, still living at home and
had no bills, no children, no responsibilities
to consider, and I remember those days
being some of the most memorable of my life.
During that time I met many brilliant athletes
and BLLers, IncIudIn BcoL MILcLeI, now a
respected professional heavyweight boxer
and skIIIed TLaI boxer, wLo aIso Lad LIs BrsL
MMA cae BLL In June 2011 and manaed Lo
stop his opponent in just ten seconds of the
BrsL round!
For the following few years my training
became so deep and instinctive; to go to the
gym every day to train, or to spar or wrestle,
was more a subconscious act. This later
developed into the perfect business for me;
LakIn over LLe ym, and LLe MMA and sporLs
nuLrILIon busIness Fowerbeck, now one oI LLe
the best places in the UK to train and one of
biggest sports nutrition companies. And just
when I thought my life and training could
not get any better, the Atherton Submission
WresLIIn (ABW) coacL and Leam wanLed Lo
move InLo Fowerbeck! I aIready knew Daren
MorrIs, LLe ABW wresLIIn and rappIIn
coach and trainer, and knew that the club
was a proper rough-neck wrestling based
MMA cIub, wILL many oI LLeIr sLudenLs beIn
some of the most respected hard men in the
area, IncIudIn Fob 'TLe Eear' ErouLLon,
mIxed marLIaI arLIsL and Iormer Cae
Fae ErILIsL LeavyweILL cLampIon, FauI
'Eoom Eoom' CaLoon, mIxed marLIaI arLIsL
who had fought for numerous promotions,
mosL noLabIy Cae Fae and Benoku, MIke
WIIkInson, undeIeaLed UEC BLLer, and
CLrIs Hoban, pro MMA BLLer and UCC
European lightweight champion. Training
wILL Daren MorrIs and LLese uys remInded
me oI my BrsL Iew monLLs LraInIn wILL Tom
EIackIede, LLe IeeIIn oI noL jusL beIn beaL,
but being taunted and tricked into my own
submissions! It was a tough pill to swallow
but, wow, were these the people to train with
or what!? And up to today I am proud to say
LLaL Tom EIackIede, MMA and ABW sLIII
LraIn under LLe rooI oI Fowerbeck!
"TLe ABW was orIInaIIy Iounded by Jack
MounLIord, wLo Is now 78 years oId, buL BrsL
sLarLed LraInIn wLen Le was jusL 14, aILer
pIckIn up a book In LLe IocaI IIbrary caIIed My
MeLLod oI Judo by M. KawaIsLI and LransIaLed
by EJ HarrIson. BLorLIy aILer readIn IL, Jack
got into a confrontation with the school bully
which resulted in him throwing the bully to
LLe Boor. Erom LLen on Jack IeII In Iove wILL
LLe sporL! Eack LLen judo and wresLIIn were
two separate sports, and were kept separate
by the traditionalists, and so because of
Jacks love for the submission, as well as his
Iove Ior boLL judo and wresLIIn, aL jusL 16
years oId Jack sLarLed LLe EoILon WresLIIn
CIub, specIaIIsIn In LIs own sysLem. TLIs was
initially based at an old, dilapidated house
wILL sLraw on LLe Boor and an oId waon
cover Lo keep LLe raIn ouL! And so LLe ABW
was formed and over time its reputation grew
and BLLers LraveIIed Irom as Iar as Europe
to train with Jack and his team. This is when
Jack beIIeves LLe MMA was BrsL born. Jack
is proud to have now passed on the coaching
Lo Daren and IeeIs LLaL under Daren MorrIs
LLe ABW Las evoIved even more, buL Le Is sLIII
around to offer his expertise and wisdom and
still out-trains many men half his age!
"0ur LraInIn sessIons are aII based on
submission wrestling from the traditional
WIan sLyIe caLcL wresLIIn, wLere we
would specialise in simply taking people to
the ground and keeping them there until
submIssIon. We wouId be drIIIed In LLese
routines non-stop for a full two hours, time
and time again, up and down the mat until
they became so deeply etched in our brains
and subconscious that even under extreme
exhaustion our techniques could still be
puIIed oII perIecLIy. CoacL Daren reuIarIy
LesLed LIs sLudenLs and a IavourILe ABW
LecLnIque oI LIs Is Lo do LwenLyBve press
ups, LwenLyBve squaLs, LwenLyBve sIL ups
and LwenLyBve Ie raIse... LwenLyBve LImes!
And then, when completely exhausted, he
would then test their take down techniques.
AnoLLer ABW IavourILe Is nIcknamed 'BLark
Tank, when the student is in the cage full-
sparrIn Ior a Bve mInuLe round wILL jusL
80 seconds break, and LLen a IresL sparrIn
parLner Ior anoLLer Bve mInuLe round,
LLen a 80 seconds break and anoLLer IresL
parLner eLc... Ior sIx rounds or a LoLaI oI 80
minutes solid hard sparring with just a three
mInuLes recovery. WLen you Lave BnIsLed
this successfully while still maintaining good
technique for the last rounds, only then will
you earn LLe rILL Lo BLL Ior ABW!
"0ver LLe years many BLLers Lave come
and gone because of one simple fact; our
LraInIn Is Loo Lard Ior LLe averae BLLer!
EuL wLaL makes my sLory dIIIerenL Irom
LLe many oLLer BLLers ouL LLere Is LLaL I
don'L jusL LraIn Ior an up and comIn BLL or
competition, but I train hard like this every
sInIe day. WLy? Eecause quILe sImpIy, I Iove
it and there is no other place Id rather be
LLan on a maL wILL my ABW broLLers!
"My IIIe Is now one oI perIecLIon. I o Lo work
aL 9 am, pIan my day, arrane my sLaII and
LLen aL 10 am unLII 12.80 pm LraIn wILL
ABW nexL door In LLe BLLroom. And LLen I
conLInue wILL my daIIy work scLeduIe. How
lucky am I?
*********************************
+WV\IK\1IVIVL)\PMZ\WV;]JUQ[[QWV
?ZM[\TQVO);?
.IKMJWWS" http://facebook.com/ian.quigley1
<MT" + 44 (0) 1942 269677
*********************************
Combat specialist, owner of Powerbeck gym
and nutrition centre, and trains with the
Atherton Submission Wrestling club
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18 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM BprIn 2018 BprIn 2018 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM 19
Interview: Ian Quigley Interview: Ian Quigley