20 Questions with Gav Richardson

It would appear that I have inherited some of the craziest folks on the planet - practicing martial arts - as friends [and students] from a certain Reverend Anthony Sean Bedlam Pillage!

What can I tell you about Gav Richardson?

Hmmm… you know what - I’m going to plead the fifth on this one and simply let him loose on the readership.

I will add one thing though… it is the first time that I have had to place a warning at the start of 20 Questions - but then, Gav wouldn’t be Gav without his ‘colourful’ language, nor faithful to his Scouse heritage if such were not the case and of course, this is the whole point of the questions - to get to know the real person behind the art!

Oh, I will add a second thing…

He really is a cuddly bugger when he is not “coughing up his giblets” all over the place!

So, here goes…

LH: Hello Sausage, it is great to have you here at Lift Hands, please tell our readers a bit about yourself.

GR: My name is Gavin Richardson. My friends call me Gav and my really close friends call me whatever they like!

I started my martial arts training in 1984 and continue to study and develop my skills to this day. I have studied lots of different disciplines over the years and have developed an understanding of what works and how to teach it to students from all backgrounds.

During my time teaching, I have developed outstanding communication skills, having worked with a diverse group of people of all ages races, genders and abilities. I have fantastic leadership and interpersonal skills, and consider myself a very good listener who can follow instructions as well as being able to delegate tasks to others when needed. I’ll willingly tackle any task with determination, commitment, tenacity and enthusiasm.

As a Physical intervention Instructor, I am responsible for the training and development of staff, both in the UK and USA. My duties include physical intervention training and hand to hand combat where I teach weapon awareness courses covering anti knife and edged weapon technique through to disarming techniques. These techniques are incorporated in to the close protection tactical training modules.

As a close protection officer I have worked with clients all over the UK and USA in all roles within the teams from SAP to TL. I continue my own development and research and seek out people of influence in order to help me gain a deeper and more effective understanding of my roles and responsibilities of a Close Protection officer and Martial Artist.

I have spent most of my time as student learning from the best people in the world these include:

Sensei Kase (Shotokan Karate) Sensei Kato (Shotokan Karate) Mo Teague (Jeet Kune Do) Richard Bustillo (Jeet Kune Do) Geoff Thompson & Peter Consterdine (BCA) Nasser Butt (Taiji)

I hold the following qualifications and certifications:

4th Dan Sho Go Ryu Karate. 4th Dan Way of the Spiritual Warrior Instructor. 3rd Dan Shotokan Karate 2nd Dan Go-Kan-Ryu Karate 1st Dan Full Contact Kick Boxing World Combat Arts Instructor. (Functional Jeet Kune Do) IMB JKD Instructor. (Jeet Kune Do) Mo Teague’s Hard Target Instructor. (Personal Protection) BTEC Level 3 in Close Protection. Health and Safety, 3-day First Aid Certificate City & Guilds, 7303 Teachers Certificate BTEC Level 3 in Delivery of Conflict Management BTEC Level 3 in Delivery of Physical Intervention Pearson BTEC Level 3 D13 advanced first Aid in Pre-Hospital care.

LH: Thanks for that Sausage! Certainly got some pedigree there!

Well, if you are ready for your questions, let us begin - If you could have personally witnessed anything, what would you want to have seen?

GR: I love history and engineering so seeing the great pyramids being built and completed and seeing them in all their glory would have been fantabulous.

LH: If you had to leave earth on a spaceship and take 4 people with you, who would they be?

GR: Well my head says it would be my two kids and two grandkids…but the way the question is written suggests planet earth would carry on as normal. Therefore I would leave them with the rest of the family and follow my heart, I would take the Swedish Nymphomaniac Beach Volley Ball team.

LH: Hmmm… I can see that [laughs]! In what ways are you the same as your childhood self?

GR: I like to take thing apart to see how they work. Even as kid I would take things apart, whether it was my bike with the spanners or a dead seagull with a pen knife. Now I'm not a bad spanner twirler when it comes to fixing the cars etc. and I have a fairly good knowledge of anatomy through my first aid training. (I just don’t bother to cut up dead animals…or do I??? Does butchery count???)

LH: Dead seagulls??? Oh dear, maybe I should go expand on that warning! Dare I ask what animal best represents you and why?

GR: Hmmmm probably a big dog! I'm loyal to my friends very protective of the ones I love. I have a nose like a blood hound and can smell pot heads a mile away [don’t like drugs]. I love having my belly rubbed and playing in the sea or any stretch of water, and if you get on the wrong side of me I will quite happily bite your face off.

Gav teaching at the martial arts expo Kaizen 2019

The problem with being big dog right now is that I fall off the couch every time I try to lick my own balls!

LH: What is your greatest strength or weakness since you’ve already told us that it’s not licking your dangle bits?

GR: The ability to communicate and influence others and a weakness for chocolate and cakes.

LH: Do you trust anyone with your life?

GR: Yes there are couple I could count on if needed.

LH: How do you want to be remembered?

GR: As that great big sexy psychopath. He did what he wanted, where he wanted, when he wanted and with whom he wanted. He took care of his family and close friends didn’t give flying fuck if you liked him or not. For he was the BIG WALLOPER. BIG CHIEF OF ALL THE SAUSAGE NOSHERS & THE LOVE CUDDLE KING!

LH: What have you always wanted and did you ever get it?

GR: To be able to hear in stereo and NO [I’m deaf in my left ear] and to get of rid of this bloody cough I have [over 23 years now of coughing my giblets up every few hours]!

LH: Do you know your heritage?

GR: A good chunk of it from near history yes.

LH: Are you still learning who you are?

GR: Always, life is a journey. If I can I will always try to pick the path less followed or to make my own. Some people don’t like that. Or won’t come with me on a trip, but average people don’t go on excellent adventures. Boring people don’t learn new skills and meet new people.

LH: What, if anything, are you afraid of and why?

GR: I personally don’t think I have any fears for me personally. I quite like the usual stuff like snakes and spiders, heights and the dark. I have no problem with pain either receiving or inflicting [evil grin] but I suppose seeing the kids getting hurt or harmed. That would wind me up.

LH: What is the most memorable class you have ever taken?

GR: The first lesson I did with Mo Teague, down at his dojo in Weymouth. My Spiritual brother Tony Pillage had introduced us and Mo invited us down for a private training session with him at his club. It was my first introduction to the Filipino Martial Arts and Mo’s Functional Jeet Kune Do. At the end of the class he offered us his holy trinity. The first was his one inch punch. When I demo it I hit the shoulder or chest Mo doesn’t do that… a nice strong punch on chin I got. I just started laughing as I knew Mr P was next and he didn’t look keen. Next

With close friend - The Late Tony Pillage

Next was a bicep strike. Pillage went first and got a good whack to the side of the neck and instantly went the colour of boiled shite. He had a wobble and went down on one knee. I took mine and my legs went as well but I managed to stay up… I was laughing my head off, Mo was grinning his little evil grin. Pillage looked ready to cry. He then offered up the last of the 3… his heavy hand. I took the first shot this time. a lovely big drop of the hand onto the back of the neck. The legs had gone, I turned into Norman Wisdom wobbling around the room laughing like a nutter and using every single part of the force I could muster not to go down on the floor. We both looked at the Pillage monster. He just smiled and said fuck it come on then. About a second later he was flat on his back I think I pissed me shorts laughing. That was the start of my JKD training and I drove down to Weymouth every Wednesday for the next few years to learn more.

LH: What book has influenced you the most?

GR: Unlimited power by Anthony Robbins

LH: What ridiculous thing has someone tricked you into doing or believing?

GR: Somebody tricked me into doing martial arts years ago…said I would be good it. Lying bastards!!!

With Tony Pillage

LH:Who or what has been the greatest influence in your life?

GR: In the Dojo it would be Sensei Kase JKA Shotokan.

Outside the dojo it would be Merlin my old Rottweiler, he taught me that when ever there was a new or strange situation or problem to over come I should give it a good looking at from all angles then give it a real good sniff (breathing and meditation exercises) then if I couldn’t change it or eat it or fuck it I should just piss on it and walk away.

LH: What is the craziest thing one of your teachers has done or made you do?

GR: When I was at school they tried to make me believe in some invisible space zombie who sees everything you do and condemns you to burn forever unless you love him.

I remember for our religion class we had a nun teaching us and our form tutor was also our Science teacher. They were walking down the corridor one afternoon when I was going the other way. I stopped them both and said I have a question for you two.

“Go ahead Gav what is it?”

I said to the Nun, “When we were in RE you told us we are descendants of Adam and Eve, is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!” she said in her strong Irish accent.

OK, I turned to our form teacher, “So you know when we were in Science and you told us about Darwin and how we had all evolved over the years to where we are now is that true?”

“Of course it’s true! he said. “We looked at the evidence through the text books.”

“Ah yes I said I remember now…so which one of you is lying to me???”

All’s I got was detention for being cheeky.

LH: When did you screw everything up, but no one ever found out it was you?

GR: I'm not sure I ever have… when I break things I usually laugh loudly and take great pride in my fuck ups. I did shoot one of my cousins in the balls with and air rifle once, but he has kids now, so no real harm done. I whipped one of our Dobermans on the bollocks with an 8 foot leather bull whip when I was about 13 for a laugh…He didn’t find it funny and tried to eat me. And when I was about 16, I had screwed a scaffolding plank to the roof of the shed and hung a punch bag off it. It only took a few hours for the bag to smash all the front of the shed in. then the shed collapsed into a pile of broken timber and me mum battered me. So I didn’t even get away with that either!

LH: Oh, heck… whipping a doberman in the nuts! I definitely need to expand the warning at the head of the questions! Dare I ask if you had to choose to live without one of your five senses, which one would you give up and why?

GR: Losing the sense of smell wouldn’t be the end of the world. There are some right dirty smelly fuckers out there. You know the ones. People who smoke then want to talk to you up close or the others who don’t even clean their teeth…they smell like they drip shit on their corn flakes in the morning! I've no time for them and true to form, I will normally use all of my tact and subliminal forms of communication to let them know they smell bad. I find something like “Hey you, ya smelly bastard, fuck off away from me ya fuckin stink!” works wonders.

LH: If you could select one person from history and ask them one question - who would you select and what would the question be?

GR: Nikola Tesla. I would ask him for his notes. I believe he could have changed the world for the better given the chance.

LH: How would you describe your art in ten words or less?

GR: Making extreme physical violence look like a love cuddle.

LH: Well Sausage… that has been enlightening and may also be the end of 20 Questions!

GR: My pleasure.