Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 36

HEALTH & well-being

O

The Power of
Self-Defence

riginally from Worksop,
England, Bangkok expat Sifu Kieren Krygier
has studied martial
arts and self-protection
for the last 22 years. His experience
includes karate, boxing, wrestling,
Brazilian jujitsu, and Wing Chun
kung fu. Kieren developed a course
called ELITE Self-Protection, which
he has recently brought to Thailand.
In this interview, we learn more about
Kieren’s background, why self-defence is important, and the ways
in which his system truly is elite.
HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME
INTERESTED IN MARTIAL ARTS?
My interest in martial arts started
as a child. I watched Bruce
Lee movies and boxing fights
with my Dad and two older
brothers. I was fascinated with
the speed and power being shown,
and at a young age, I knew I wanted
to study martial arts.
I started Karate lessons in my local
town when I was nine years
old. The classes were popular
and we would stand in lines
copying the movements shown
by the instructor. Nobody questioned
the techniques being shown- we just
listened and copied the movements.
WHAT PROMPTED YOUR
INTERESTED IN SELFPROTECTION?
My interest in self-protection, beyond
standard karate lessons, was sparked
by a robbery and by my father.
One day, while walking home with
my friend, we were approached
by two men. One of them
had a knife, and they robbed
us of our skateboards. Shocked
and upset, we explained
to our karate instructor about what
had happened to us. We had been

34 WANDERLUST

studying karate with him for four
years, but we didn’t feel we could
use any of the techniques
he had shown us. After hearing
our story, he decided to train us both
privately at his home intensively every
night after school. The instructor told
us not to worry about money and that
he would train us for free.
The training we completed was tough.
We would spar with each other full
contact, often leading in bruises
all over our bodies and blood coming
from our noses. This was an external
and physical type of training, which
was significant in my development
and understanding of martial arts
and combat.

looking back at the two strange
men as we walked away and seeing
them stand looking at each other
confused.
Once we reached our home
I asked my father why he told
them he didn’t have a watch,
when he always wore his gold
watch on his right arm. He simply
replied, “If they would have seen
my gold watch, then maybe they
would’ve wanted it for themselves.”
It wasn’t until he passed away when
I was 21 that I realised how much
martial skill and self-protection
knowledge he had.
I continued to study martial arts
throughout my teenage years
and often came to the same
conclusion. The problem I’ve always
found is that it takes many years
of dedication studying a certain
martial art before the student
feels confident enough
to effectively defend
in an attack.

My father was the second reason
I became interested in self-defence.
I was the youngest sibling of four
in my family, and my father
was 59 years old when I was born.
He was older than most
dads and a small
man in height
and size. He would
walk with
a walking stick
Wing Chun
when he left
is the only martial
the house and
his movement
art invented
was very slow.

Another issue
is that martial
arts rely
on either speed
or strength,
so tryi