I first posted on this site sometime around July-August 2015

Short story - I've been involved in martial Arts for 18 years, relocated to a new city, eventually joined a local Muay Thai Gym and the evening of July 2nd 2015 was a brutal sparring session / all-out war July. My pride and fighting spirit kept me in the ring and out of work/life for 3-4 months aftewards.

The situation was worsened because the doctors wanted to pin the whole thing on a previous diagnosis of severe depression which I had recovered from. They did a good job of convincing themselves (but not me) that this literal overnight, significant drop in my high mental functioning and energy levels had zero to do with being hit hard in the head 15-20 times by guys as much as 40kg heavier than me. I was around 82kg and very dehydrated - which increases the % risk of brain trauma.

Funny how I got to the 3 months stage and suddenly I had my brain back in some semblance of working order. I know how depression affected me in this past and this recovery did not fit with me, however I was over the moon regardless!

Concussion is still not fully accepted by many medical professionals, largely due to ignorance, its an emerging area of medical science, so go with your gut and know there is hope and a better life waiting for you on the other side.



"As long as you're breathing, you still have a chance"


At my lowest point, hope was all but gone, I thought I was finished, ruined by my own personal choices in deciding to pursue martial arts etc etc, a mental vegetable with all his hopes and dreams shattered... yet, deep down inside, although severley diminished to a mere tiny flicker. the flame had not yet gone out... and thats what YOU need to hang on to. Most concusssions, like storms, are time-limited events, horrible at their most instense, however, every storm eventually blows itself out and gives way to a brighter day. So give yourself that chance, be patient and be kind to yourself - you've made it this far though the tough game of life, now is not the time for quitting.


I returned to work in Nov 2015 and I am performing better than at any point in my life - same as my workouts, fitness, energy levels and gym goals, all increased beyond previous expectations!!

I will never return to full contact sparring, which is a shame as I really enjoyed it, however, life and fulfilling my wider dreams is more important that donning a pair of gloves and beating the other guy's head in... all my martial arts training is not lost, as long we are prepared to accept our limitations, we can work around it. Intelligent risk management is key here.

So for those who have made it is this far, thats the motivational/mindset stuff done with... and I'll post below for practical tips for anyone who is interested