"Gordon McAdam is the best-kept secret in British martial arts" - Alex, headteacher
Gordon McAdam is the best-kept secret in British martial arts.
I’d heard his name in passing for years. Most of the time he was mentioned as a Muay Thai instructor. A typical exchange would involve a group of martial artists grumbling about the challenge of finding anyone in Britain, in the South of England, certainly, who was teaching really authentic Muay Thai. Usually, there would be a lull in the conversation and someone would pipe in: ‘Apart from Gordon, obviously.’ There would be vigorous nodding from those in the know. Eventually, Guro Bob Breen overheard me whinging at a seminar and simply said: ‘If you want to learn Thai, go and see Gordon.’ And, as everyone knows, if Guro Bob says go, you go.
Were the rumours true? Not exactly. Gordon is certainly the Thai Boxer everyone says he is. And then some. But he is also much more. He is a complete martial artist. ‘Complete’ not because he has a bottomless trick bag of techniques into which he can reach at a moment’s notice, but because he has immersed himself in South East Asian martial arts to such a degree that they infuse his every movement and gesture. Gordon doesn’t ‘do’ martial arts; there is no point at which he slips in - or out of a choreographed sequence. Training sessions begin and end quite formally, but his modelling of the arts through his movement and carriage is the same whether he is in full flight or simply stretching out as part of a warm-down.
That’s been the biggest lesson for me. I could talk about how, in the short time I’ve been training with him, Gordon has improved so many aspects of my technique, but that would be to miss completely the more profound impact he’s had on my experience of the arts. My understanding of martial or combat arts as devastating yet life affirming has never been as deep or as rich as it is today, thanks to Gordon’s influence. I’m getting faster, yes, and stronger, and more balanced. But I’m also happier in my training than at any time I can remember.
Gordon is also – and he may not thank me for saying this – a role model for those of us for whom our twenties seem like an increasingly distant memory but who have no desire to surrender our health and vitality. I think this is an absolutely essential insight for anyone involved in the martial arts. Training can be training for life - in the fullest sense of the word.
Alex - Headteacher, London
