Thanking Batman, Summer Vacation and the classroom bully

[Ethan]

Back when I was 14 and starting high school, the world was a very scary place.

It wasn't only because I was starting a new school where I didn't know anybody, or that I was a very weak and geeky kid, it was because of someone by the name of Thomas Mitchell.

Thomas, was what I would like to call a "classic bully". You know, the type we see in most cartoons and TV shows. He was twice my size (literally) and even use to bully kids in the year above!

Unfortunately for me, on the first day of starting school, I was seated near Thomas. He noticed a Batman comic sticking out of my ruck sack and lets just say that was the beginning of a long and unrewarding relationship between the two of us

He bullied me for an entire year. Day in day out, he found new ways to humiliate me. Whether it be getting my head flushed down the toilet or simply having cola tipped on my head, his attempts to embarrass me were continuos and relentless.

Actually, in hindsight, you have to admire his ingenuity. A year full of coming up with new insults and ways to humiliate me must have taken some meticulous planning.

My life actually changed after one particularly public bullying incident.

During lunch hour, Thomas and his friends decided to pour the contents of a bin over my head. This obviously amused all the other kids and provided "entertainment" for them.

However, whilst I was cleaning myself off, I got approached my another kid. I had noticed him before but we never spoke. As he approached, I figured he was about to add insult to injury by humiliating me further but to my surprise, he introduced himself as Simon and helped me to clean up.

Whilst doing so, he suggested I learn how to take care of myself. I remember sniggering and thinking "yeah, right?"

Despite my snigger, he continued to talk and told me about a Boxing club that he was part of and how I should check it out.

I thought about what he said for a week. I figured it was a dumb idea because a nerd like me could never compete with someone. After all i was pretty weak kid, i suffered from asthma and conflict scared me.

However, my mind changed toward the end of that week.

It changed after I underwent another humiliation at the hands of Thomas.

He took a comic of mine and proceeded to rip it page by page in front of me. That feeling of powerlessness, not being able to do anything but watch, it absolutely haunted me.

I couldn't shake the feeling off and barely slept that night.

So the next day I found Simon and decided to go see what his Boxing club was all about. We arranged to go there together on the weekend.

So a few days later, we went to the Boxing gym.

Upon entering the gym I felt a deep sense of fear or to be descriptive "a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut". The same feeling whenever I had come into contact with any bully at school.

As we walked in he introduced me to his teacher, a very muscular and powerful man called Stan, this didn't help with my "sinking feeling".

I remember shaking his hand with probably the most feeble attempt ever known to man. For him, it must have been like shaking hands with a fish.

I then spoke from fear and blurted out "I'm just here to watch, that's all!"

Stan just smiled and asked me to take a seat.

As the session progressed I remember being in awe of the skill and physical strength that everyone (both young and old) possessed.

I silently told myself that I could never be like them because I was just "different".

As time went on, I reached into my ruck sack for my trusty Batman comic. I was reading for only a short while, when I heard a low but authoritative voice, it was Stan " Batman fan huh?"

I remember almost hiding the comic and saying "um, uh yeah, he's ok". On reflection, I think I did this because I felt I didn't want to be "found out" as being nerd.

Stan saw right through my poor attempt at lying and reached forward and took the comic. At this point, I figured it would be put in the trash or everyone would be called forth for some "nerd bashing". However, to my surprise he said "Cool, I'm a fan too".

I actually felt like I was in the twilight zone at this point. Either that or I was hallucinating.

But it turns out it was neither, he really did say that and I wasn't dreaming.

We then talked about Batman for a while. Here I was shooting the breeze with someone that I thought would hate me for being a nerd and we were even talking about Batman? Awesome.

Then just as he turned to return to his students, he said "you know what? Instead of reading about Batman, why don't you become like him?"

I looked confused, so he continued "Batman wasn't born with skills he developed them and you can learn skills too. Anyone can"

This simple line, revolutionised my life.

I pondered it realising that I didn't have to be weak and a victim, I might actually be able to change my situation. I learned the power of making a decision.

The next day, I signed up with the Boxing gym.

Although I felt like a fish out of water with so many athletic individuals, I soon realised that they were all encouraging people and sincerely wanted to help me to grow.

I really sucked at the beginning. I had no coordination and my asthma made me constantly stop as the simple act of breathing became a challenge.

I refused to quit because I had my "why" in life. I was training to escape being a victim.

Every pushup, every struggle, it was all bringing me closer to who I wanted to be and what I wanted to achieve.

I learned that if you have a reason for why your doing something, it gets you past pretty much any barrier that might come your way.

Trust me, learning the art of Boxing when your asthma is constricting your breathing, is pretty much as hard an obstacle as they come.

I also learned about sacrifice. Sometimes you have to sacrifice short term pleasure for long term gain.

For me, I sacrificed my whole summer vacation that year to train. That meant, no goofing off with friends, no staying in bed late, no video games or being lazy all day. Was it hard? Yes. Was it worth giving up these little "pleasures"? Absolutely.

So I had trained an entire summer and now it was time to return to school.

I was definitely not looking forward to it.

I knew that Thomas and his friends would be waiting at the school gates to "greet me".

As the I walked to the entrance of the school, I noticed that as predicted my "welcome party" was waiting.

As I drew closer to Thomas, I felt fear start to surface but then I stopped myself and reminded myself of the sacrifice I had made all summer. All that training and discipline, it must have been worth something, right?

I remembered the words of encouragement from Stan and how I could "be like Batman".

Then, as I came into close proximity with the bullies, I did my best impression of Batman and looked at Thomas in the sternest face I could muster before saying "you better back off or Im going to hurt you!"

I couldn't believe I had uttered those words (I internally cursed my poor choice of words) but now there was no turning back.

Instead of replying to my comments Thomas took a swing at me. I stumbled but managed to dodge it. I then threw one of my own and connected. This was my first introduction to muscle memory, the summer had not been wasted.

Now I would like to say that just like Batman, I floored Thomas and all his gang but the truth is, it didn't pan out that way.

It was more of a "tussle" than a fight. Think wrestling and shirt pulling, as opposed to a polished fight scene.

There was no real "winner" of the fight. It all got split up by some teachers and we all got detention.

But...this is a big one....neither Thomas or any of his friends ever bullied me again. In fact, it was as if a Bat-signal type message had been broadcasted to the school, that bullying Ethan was no longer an option.

Following this experience I continued to train in the art of Boxing for many years. I also picked up the art of Filipino Kali and Catch Wrestling too.

These arts eventually led to me being spotted and recruited as a Hollywood fight choreographer.

I now also have a few celebrity clients that I not only train martially but also motivate and provide life coaching too, just as Stan did with me. I feel proud to be able to convey the lessons life and martial arts has taught me to help others who feel lost in life.

I learned some valuable lessons that summer, ones that not only I, but anyone can use

1 You have the power to change your circumstances

2 Your life is sculpted by your decisions so make them mindfully and stick to them

3 Know your "why". Why do you want change? What will happen if you don't instigate change?

4 Commitment is the cornerstone to success

5 Batman rocks! Ok, that might be a personal one

All this would never have been possible if it were not for Batman, summer vacation and the classroom bully.

[Simba]

Truly inspiring story! Thank you for sharing and welcome aboard from one batman nerd to another

[Ethan]

Thanks Simba. It's always good to meet a fellow Batman nerd

[faerywethyr]

This is awesome and you are pretty awesome. Love me some Batman especially the old 90's cartoon.

[---]

Learning boxing as an asthmatic...sir, as a fellow asthmatic, my hat goes off to you. Welcome to the Rebellion!

[GDPWired]

What a story! That is so inspiring! Fantastic read. Thanks for sharing.

[Laocoon]

That is a truly inspiring and beautiful story, thank you!!