Great films and now coming to a class near you! -
If I had a cat and it got stuck up a tree, Rich Mitchell is the guy I would ask to coax it down; such is his calm and persuasive manner. He comes across as patient and his instructions are clear but oh my Lord, what a filthy mouth! For an hour on Thursday I watched him coach the new wrestling class – he made it look like the most logical way to entangle and untangle yourself from another. With the volume down it looked like a love making session with the lover you’re completely at ease with. With the volume up it sounded like a scene from ‘Full Metal Jacket’.
As he runs through the instructions for each move he pragmatically layers each move on to the next and then with 15 minutes to go he lets his students try their hand at a bit of sparring and this is where the instructions become colourful. It goes something like this…
“This guy here’s powerful, if you want bullying and fucking up go with him…”
“Your knee should be in my arse……”
“Put your leg in his arse and sprint out of there…”
I asked Rich if he had a favourite curse word to which he replied, “I like all the ones that make your Nan wince.”
Rich Mitchell, Basildon born but living in Hornsey comes from a family of four boys. He’s a fireman but feels most comfortable in the gym training and coaching as it all comes naturally to him. Combat runs in the family, “ my dad taught karate so I grew up immersed in combat sports. Nearly all the men in my family are obsessed with fighting”. One of his earliest memories is seeing his dad knocked spark out in a karate competition when he was tiny.
But Rich is much more than just a spectator, as a fireman he needs to be fit for purpose and he has a rigorous training regime, “I do lots of lifting. Running the tower at work, hitting pads, sparring…you name I like to get stuck into it”. Rich continues, “I’m currently learning BJJ with Michael Russell and trying to get my head around the GI. I’ve competed in submission wrestling and the Keddles interclub MMA bouts”.
Rich is not all about combat though, in fact his perfect day doesn’t even include training because when I asked him to describe it he replied, “I wake up, check my emails and realise that I’ve won the lottery”.
He also likes a bit of fancy dress. He went as Sooty to the last fancy dress party he was invited to and his most treasured possession is his health and his play station. When asked on what occasion he would lie he was clear in his response, “Whenever it’s appropriate”!
Staring fear in the face is not something many of us have to do in our jobs and I mean real fear. But Rich brought a lump to my throat when I asked him what his greatest fear was and he answered, “Burning to death in a fire without getting my pension or giving up because I’m tired”.
Like all our coaches Rich mixes his expertise with a hint of humour but all with the sole purpose of making you the best you can be. He coaches the wrestling classes new on the timetable at the Angel every Tuesday and Thursday at 7.30pm.
11th July 2010
Sue Finnegan
