Alright mate,
I’m currently sat sipping coffee in my father’s house writing this email.
I’m here to visit family before I take my little brother to Rome for a week-long surprise trip.
But when I return, I’m going into full 12-week warrior mode.
I’ve decided to train at a gym called Bad Company Muay Thai in Leeds with Liam Harrison — one of the top Muay Thai fighters to ever come out of the UK.
Stupidly … I made a £5,000 bet with a friend that before March 2026, I will go to Thailand, fight a Thai local in a kickboxing match AND WIN.
Lord help me.
But this has got me thinking about a hill I would die on:
I believe every man who values self-improvement should train a martial art.
My own journey with this says it all.
I trained MMA from age 15 – 22.
In that time, I had two fights in MMA and won them both.
Then, around age 23, I discovered MDMA and went full hippie mode for several years going to festivals and raves.
As enjoyable as this phase was, it turned me into a total people pleaser with zero backbone — because the connection to my life-giving masculine energy had weakened dramatically.
Meanwhile, my “inner nice guy” took over and was sabotaging my relationship at the time.
This is because I had ZERO boundaries or assertiveness, allowing her to constantly disrespect me in public and private.
Inevitably, her respect for me died, and so did her attraction.
She cheated on me and left me for someone else.
The pain of this breakup is what kicked off my nice guy recovery journey.
At some point along this journey, I decided to go back to martial arts and reintegrate the inner masculine warrior I had lost touch with years before.
And it was one of the most transformative decisions I have ever made.
Now I realise that martial arts gives a man so many benefits that it’s practically essential.
Here are a few quick reasons you should absolutely sign up to that local boxing/muay thai gym tomorrow:
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You build resilience and discipline – There’s nothing like getting hit in the face to teach you how to stay calm under pressure. The rigorous training builds mental toughness that transfers to all areas of life.
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You release shame around strength, power and dominance – Modern society often conditions men to suppress these natural energies. Martial arts provides a healthy container to express and channel them.
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You connect with your own inner wildman – That primal part of ourselves needs expression. In the ring, you learn to access and integrate this energy rather than repress it.
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You build genuine friendships with other men – The bonds formed through shared struggle in training create authentic male connections that are increasingly rare today.
I could go on for hours about this.
But most importantly, I truly believe that if a man is incapable of asserting and protecting himself physically — a part of his mind will always fear conflict and confrontation … and force him to play the “nice guy” role to avoid it at all costs.
THIS IS DEVASTATING TO HIS CONFIDENCE.
So if you want to stop being a pushover, build unshakeable self-respect and start being a more attractive, confident and self-assured leader … get in the ring.
It will change your life.
After my Rome trip, I’ll be documenting my 12-week journey to become a Muay Thai wrecking ball.
I will also be live-streaming my Muay Thai fight live from Thailand for you all to watch (whether I get knocked out or not).
I’ll be sharing updates, insights, and lessons learned along the way.
If any of you have trained in martial arts before or are curious about starting, hit reply and let me know your experiences.
Until next time,
Stay courageous.
Oliver
P.S. Click this link if you want to see a 21 year old Oliver beating someone up. Young whippersnapper, haha.
P.P.S. I’ll send some photos from Rome with my brother next week!