Penny Bridge Boy (ePub)

Born into a working class family his was a sheltered life as a country boy who got a rude awakening about real life when he started school and was constantly bullied and was too insecure and weak to stand up for himself. The bullying continued after he left school at age 14 where he found himself subjected to more verbal and physical abuse in the work place. The Ballymena of his youth was much different than now with high unemployment so he took the major step to travel to England to work. Dan describes the decision of going to England to work was for him like going to the other side of the World. With no contact to home for weeks and sometimes months he learned to be independent and to take care of himself. In England he got involved in illegal work place battles on a regular basis where the winner got two thirds of the purse and the loser got one third. These experiences changed him from being timid and insecure into an aggressive young man with a chip on his shoulder. On his return home to Ballymena he got into conflict with a local gang and his name as a trouble maker became known to the police. Dan says 'I had suffered bullying and humiliation for much too long and I felt that I had something to prove to myself and others. This was of course an indication of my continuing insecurity. I had developed physically. My thinking had not changed'.

Dan describes what it was like to be growing up in the 50's and 60's and how later involvement with the martial art of karate brought discipline into his life and remoulded his thinking. He also gives an interesting narrative about old Ballymena town history. Having been involved with karate for 48 years he holds the rank of 7th Dan Black Belt with The British Combat Association. He has travelled extensively and has had many exciting experiences in places as far away as China, USA, Russia and Cuba. Many people know him as Dan the quiet disciplined karate Sensei who coaches both young and old and is mentor to them. Here is his exciting story from being a scared bullied child and teenager to becoming a violent street fighter who is now recognised as a man of peace.