The French Rugby team had just kicked the ball out of play and this was the greatest eight hours of sport I had watched on TV. Growing up in the shadows of Thomand Park in Limerick City made it impossible not to love rugby. It also was a city of violence and of knife attacks. It was in 1966 when I purchased a self defence book. It told me to run, flee and escape… to become a Hard Target.
The fiftieth anniversary of my purchase of Bruce Tegner Self Defence book was this year and I decided to brush up on my knowledge of self defence. I had spotted a self defence course advertised that intrigued me called Hard Target and luckily it was not clashing with any rugby fixtures.
As I chatted and filled in some details on a form at the coffee bar of Hard Target Centre my life’s journey flashed before me. Fifty years had passed and nobody in the room had even been born when I studied my book back in Limerick. Smiling inside, I was at home once again. I had chosen to be present and intuition had brought me here.
Ted Talks are all the rage nowadays and experts are given three minutes to condense a life in that time. When I tell you that my ten hours at Hard Target felt shorter than any Ted Talk I have seen, you will only have a little glimpse into the world of Aidan Carroll’s Hard Target Self Defence Course. When I tell you it topped the exhilaration of the final day of rugby’s 2015 Six Nations you might get some idea of how good it was. George Hook ‘s line: “Back up the horses and let’s get real here, lads,” might sum up the two day course. Words cannot fully describe the course director Aidan Carroll and when I Googled him on the Internet after completing the course, it threw up “THE best Self Defence Coach in Ireland”.
Aidan has been on a journey and is now sharing his knowledge, love and spirit of life as a teacher of martial arts to his students. Reality based Self Defence brings up many topics such a fear of public speaking, being honest with ourselves and many other issues. Aidan flowed seamlessly through every subject and giving us all more confidence. We did a lot of everything. We were challenged and we were safe. Albert and Mark, Aidan’s excellent and friendly assistants guided and coached the women and men, young and old, throughout the two days. We all bonded as a group. We were encouraged throughout and loved every minute of our time at Hard Target. I would highly recommend this course and I now see it as vital as the Self Defence book I read all those years ago.
The Journey continues…
A Word From Aidan Carroll (HT Founder)
Thank you for sharing your story with our readers. It was lovely to meet you, Michael, on the weekend course. It was a great weekend and all the students did very well.
On behalf of everyone there that weekend I would also like to say thank you for sharing your story with us during lunch… you are an inspirational man. Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you again soon. – Aidan.
Start Your Own Self-Defence Journey
We are really looking forward to our new 2 Day Dublin Self-Defence course on the 25th & 26th April. We are already taking BOOKINGS for what promises to be a great weekend. Book Online or by calling (01) 807 5037.
We look forward to welcoming you.
