All parents want to teach their children the ways of the world. Guide them through the ambiguities of life showing them with a soft and gentle hand, the lessons that they learnt the hard way. Parents will say things like ‘be careful crossing the road’, ‘remember to say please and thank you’ and ‘follow your dreams’ with the hope that their young will heed their advice. Doing so will hopefully result in their child having the skills to successfully navigate their way through life in a much more secure and painless way. To his credit, Dad was no exception, he did teach me some things.

He taught me how to fight. When I was quite young, I had a bullying issue. In the beginning it wasn’t too serious, just some posturing and the occasional threat. However, over time the threats became real and it often turned physical. To make matters worse the other kids were starting to join in. Once I summoned the courage and told Dad about it, he was visibly saddened. He pulled me aside and showed me how to hold myself in a fight. Told me how to clench my fists, put my guard up and how to throw a punch.