Geoff Thompson has written 30 published books – 250,000 copies in print – and was on the Sunday Times Best-Seller list with his autobiographical book ‘Watch My Back’ about his nine years working as a night club doorman.
He’s a BAFTA award winner,Best Selling Author, Screenwriter, Teacher and Martial Artist.
Karl Jenkinson: Hi Geoff , welcome to kjvox.com and into what is lovingly referred to, as The Bunker. Now, much of what has been written about you, and by you, centres around your passion for the Martial Arts. After all these years, how important is that side of your life, today?
Geoff Thompson: Thanks Karl, yes, it’s still very important, but in a different way. What I practice and what I teach now is much more art than it is martial. My early practice/teaching was to do with gross physical martial arts, how to overcome fear, how to fight etc, in other words self defence against others. These days I concentrate much more on metaphysical self defence, or what I like to call self defence against the self. This is about knowing yourself (or your separate selves), isolating the sub personalities that no longer serve you (old habits, defunct scripts, past grudges, beliefs and fears) and processing them. It is still martial art, but the fight is on the inside rather than on the outside.
Kj: I first came to know you, through my regular readings of Martial Arts illustrated. I wasn’t entirely sure of the chronology, but was this your first foray into serious writing?
GT: I was a writer at the age of eleven, but a writer with nothing particular to write about. I had a huge passion but with no obvious or immediate material. After lots of colourful life experience I found myself at the age of 30 with suddenly lots to write about and a massive energy urging me to sit down and produce some words. My first published article was called Confrontation, Desensitisation (about confronting fear) and it was published in a magazine called Terry O’Neil’s Fighting Arts International, It was without question the best MA magazine in the world at that time. I was thrilled. My belief system really expanded and I remember thinking ‘if I can get one article published why not two? If I can publish an article, why not a book, why not two books why not ten, and if I can publish a book what is there to stop me from writing for TV, Film, Theatre?’ That one article opened the floodgates, within a few short years I had published lots of articles and books, and of course I have now added film and theatre to the list.
Kj: You often say that ‘Self Defence’ is about learning to defend against the Self. I’m sure most Artists feel, your biggest critic is often the ‘Self Critic’.
Did you or do you find that this is the case for yourself, and if so, do you have a particular coping mechanism?
GT: This was my biggest realisation Karl, that the only thing stopping me from experiencing the kind of reality I dreamed of, was me. In the early days I did what many artists do, I blamed others, and once I started to blame the blame never ended. It was my wife’s fault because she didn’t believe in me, it was society’s fault for discriminating against ‘people like us’ (working class people), it was the governments fault for not having incentives in place to help the struggling artist, I even blamed God for not giving me the breaks I needed. I was full of self pity, it was quite delicious actually to marinate in blame, I guess that is why so many people do it. But of course the moment you engage blame, you disengage your own power. If it is someone else’s fault, that means I have to wait for their permission or assistance, which means that they have all my power. What I realised about myself was that I was just scared, and blame was my way of avoiding the responsibility I had to confront my own fear, and to build a personal infrastructure that would enable me to cope with life as an artist. Artists by their very nature are supersensitive, so if you are going to cope you need to build a little warrior armour. I was scared of my own potential, I was scared of change, I was scared of life. I was like the terrified Messner stuck half way up the inhospitable mountain Nangar Parbat, he was too scared to go up, too scared to go back down again and too scared to stay where he was. In fact he says that at one point when the wind was trying to blow him off the mountain he was too scared to live. So the main thing I did was admit that the responsibility was with me, no one else, if I didn’t do it I have no one to blame by me. Then I had to admit that I was scared and do something about that, and to build my courage by doing the things that scared me most. I recognised also that my sub vocalisation (the internal voice) was set on a negative default, so I started to dissolve old beliefs (‘not for the likes of us’) and build up a strong internal voice, by telling myself that I could achieve anything. I also proved the old scripts wrong by succeeding, when you have a book published for instance, the old voice that says (or those old friends who say) ‘you’ll never get published’ loses its power, because it has simply been proven wrong.
Kj: You’ve written many self help, as well as numerous self defence’ manuals, moving seamlessly into the world of the Screenplay. In 2003 came ‘Bouncers’, a short film, which starred, I have to say, two of my favourite Actors, Ray Winstone & Paddy Considine. How did you find the experience of working with Actors of this calibre and was this the first time you’d done so?
GT: It was a revelation actually. The first short film I wrote attracted, as you said Ray and Paddy, and watching them work not only inspired me, it also empowered me (Hollywood Actors, actually saying my words) and it informed me. I remember watching them do one of the scenes outside a Coventry pub and thinking ‘ah! So that’s how it works.’ Everything sort of fell into place. When you are writing your first few films you are never quite sure if what you are doing is right or not, but when you see great Actors lifting the words off the page, there can be no denying that it is working.
Kj: ‘Watch My Back’ is a gripping and compelling story. How did you set about writing the book? And later, when you turned it into the script for the feature film, ‘Clubbed’, how did you then feel about compressing it down into a 90 minute screenplay?
GT: Watch My Back was written in a factory toilet. I was working as a labourer (cleaner) in the day and as a bouncer at night. I used to sit in the loo every day writing down the stories that happened to me the night before. I didn’t have much idea about what I was doing to be honest only that the stories were very strong. It took me two years after finishing the hand written text to find someone to type it out. My reality was so small that I didn’t even know anyone that owned a typewriter. A friend’s sister did it for me in the end for free. That was the basis of what became my first book. I took it to the local newspaper and one of the reporters (a lady called Sue Lawry) read it and gave me some great feedback. I then did a re-write and expanded it with more detail. I eventually sent that version off to a small publisher called Summersdale (who are now a big publisher) from the Writer’s and Artist year Book and the rest, as they say is history. That book has sold over a 100,000 copies now. And my other books are translated into 12 languages. When I translated it into film I started with the true story, and eventually allowed a little fiction in so that I could draw together what, in the book, was a series of disparate anecdotes. That eventually (it took fifteen years) became a feature film that premiered, in London, Birmingham and Paris. I did my screenwriting apprenticeship on that film.
Kj: What sort of reaction did you get from those around you?
GT: Mixed really. I come from a very working class background where people like us did not write books. So some people reacted very badly, lots of jealously and envy which I did not expect, I lost a few friends along the way. Success always weeds out the wheat from the chaff. I learned a lot from that actually, about expanding my reality, about creating entire new realities, and about letting go. There is a lovely old saying, those that would be born must first destroy worlds. Success in any field means change, and those around you that will not be a part of that change often stay behind, not that you leave them, they just choose not to come with you. This is sad, but inevitable.
Kj:Overall though, were you pleased with the final results?
GT: I was massively happy with the first book, and I have made about five films now, all of which I have learned a lot from and most of which I adore. My favourite, I think is Romans 12:20 directed by the Shammasian Brothers. I love that film.
Kj: So, Geoff, what plans for the future? Do you think you’ll continue teaching Martial Arts and Writing? Have you got any more film scripts in the pipeline?
GT: I am a teacher at heart, I still love it, so I think that no matter where I am or what I am doing that will always be a part of the milieu. I have lots of things in the pipeline Karl, Paddy Considine is directing a new feature that I have written, he is also going to star in another feature of mine called Lat Will, I have three plays placed with different directors, and a TV series in early development.
Kj: Geoff, it’s been an absolute delight. I wish you continued success in all you do and look forward to the new projects, as they come out.
GT. Thanks, Karl.
Geoff’s latest work,’Warrior-the Search for Self Sovereignty’ is available now in the VoxShop under Business & Personal Development. For further details www.geoffthompson.com
