The Perfect Gentleman Issue 1 - March 2016 | Page 32

Sporting Gentleman

THE KEYS
TO DEFENCE
by James Marwood

The ability to defend yourself and your loved
ones is important. It’s a vital facet of being a
gentleman. Skill in managing confrontations
and the risk of violence is, to my mind at
least, essential.
Violence and crime are not, however the most
common risks we face. As civilised men in
most of the world we are far more at risk of
ill-health and a lack of fitness. This is why the
first of these articles on defence for the
modern gentleman starts here.
In most industrialised countries men most
commonly die of heart disease, cancer, stroke,
diabetes and liver disease. For young men the
most common are car accidents, suicide and
accidental poisoning. In other words we tend
to die of unhealthy lifestyles and mental
illness. This means we need to look at
combating these issues before we worry about
learning to fight.
Luckily, the solution is straightforward and
requires only minor lifestyle changes. To
reduce the risk of these illnesses we need to
make a few healthier choices - exercise a little
more, eat a little better and drink a little less.

All of us have heard these messages before,
but it’s perhaps surprising how little effort
they take. It can start as simply as parking a
little further from the office, or getting off the
bus a stop earlier. Taking the stairs once a day
or going for a walk at lunch time. Playing
sport is a great way to exercise, especially if,
like me, you loathe the gym. Team games can
make getting a workout fun, and if you have
the opportunity dancing is great exercise.
Eating more healthily is similarly easy. Whilst
it is easy to get caught up in fad diets and
conflicting advice, the simplest to follow is
Michael Pollen’s: “Eat food. Not too much.
Mostly plants”. By all means eat pizza and
chocolate, but try and cut down a little. Have
more vegetables and a little less fast food.
Think about if you’re actually hungry or
eating because you’re bored, upset or tired.
It’s also surprising how much exercise and
diet can help your mental health. It’s
important to take care of this, just as much as
it is your physical, and helping one with help
the other. Sports and dancing give physical
and social contact, both of which are great for
improving mental health.

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