John Kavanagh - Win or Learn: MMA, Conor McGregor and Me: A Trainer’s Journey

WIN OR LEARN

MMA, Conor McGregor and Me: A Trainers Journey

With Paul Dollery

Foreword by
Conor McGregor

Contents

To Mam and Dad
Thanks for making me believe in myself

Foreword

by Conor McGregor

The first time I was introduced to John Kavanagh at his gym, ten years ago, I was slightly underwhelmed. Tom Egan, my friend at school, had been training in mixed martial arts for a while. I was boxing at a pretty good level, but I decided I wanted to give MMA a go. Tom assured me that John was the only man in the whole country to work with if you had ambitions to go somewhere in the sport. I took his word for it.

Before I met John, I had been picturing a big, imposing cage-fighting guru. In reality, he looked like a normal guy more likely to be a primary school teacher than a master of combat. But it didnt take long for my initial impression to change. When John began to share his knowledge, he distinguished himself as a unique individual and you soon understood how special he was. It was easy to see why he had such a big reputation.

Given my background in boxing, I was certain I could take to MMA like a duck to water and be a world champion in no time at all. But with each day I trained under John and gained an insight into the depth of his knowledge, I realized that there was so much I had to learn from this man. I may have been able to throw a punch before I set foot in Straight Blast Gym, but compared to an experienced martial artist like him, I was a novice with a long road ahead of me. But I knew I was working with a man who could guide me in the right direction. Thats exactly what John did and, ten years later, that continues to be the case. I believed from an early stage that this man could take me to where I wanted to go. I suppose you could call that my very first accurate prediction.

Johns passion for learning and teaching is inspiring. One of his greatest attributes as a coach is his ability to make very difficult things seem straightforward. He breaks them down in a way that I had never experienced before. In a boxing gym, you go in, you hit the bag, you skip rope, you spar and you go home. You rush in the door and youre rushed back out. With John, the lesson is slowed down and demonstrated until its crystal clear to every individual.

He has successfully coached my teammates and me, in the gym and in the octagon, over the course of a decade and more, but his guidance extends into every aspect of our lives. I look to John for advice on everything, not just martial arts.

There was a time in my life when I was hanging around with the wrong people, getting up to no good, drifting away from the gym and down a dangerous path. There was no onus on John to intervene, but he went out of his way to ensure that I didnt go beyond the point of no return. His intervention was a turning point, not just in my career as a martial artist, but in my life as a man.

John invested a lot of time and effort in me over the years, and it was always an objective of mine to repay him. When I started out at SBG, we were a small group of young fighters who shared a passion to make it to the top. To see the recognition that John has received since we made it there gives me a great sense of satisfaction. It fills me with the motivation to keep striving for more.

What would have become of my life if John Kavanagh hadnt come into it? Of course, its impossible to answer that question now. All I know is Im grateful that I dont have to consider it.

I earn my living from coaching people how to fight. It may come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that until I was in my early twenties, I was terrified of fighting. I hated arguing, shouting, violence all forms of conflict, basically. Thats not unusual, of course, but to be honest, I was a bit of a wimp or, as some of the kids in school liked to tell me, a pussy.

I was raised in Nutgrove Avenue in Rathfarnham, a suburb on the south side of Dublin. My sister, Ann, had already been on the scene for two and a half years by the time I arrived on 18 January 1977. James, my brother, came along much later.

We lived in a cul-de-sac and most of the other kids in the estate were girls, which meant that I spent much of my time alone. There was one other boy but he was a lot older than me, so I was hardly ever allowed to play with him. While Ann was off with the other girls, I was hanging around with various local creepy-crawlies. From quite a young age I loved Spider-Man, and I was extremely interested in real spiders. (I still am: I have a tarantula beside my desk in my office. Dont worry, he doesnt wander around the gym at his leisure or anything I keep him in a tank.) One of my favourite hobbies was feeding spiders. Id go looking for ants and then throw them into the webs to observe the spiders as they ate them. That was my thing.

When I did try to hang around with Ann and her friends, Id quickly be sent on my way. I was a boy and they were all girls, so I was seldom anything other than a source of irritation to them. Every once in a while, though, Id get a tap on the shoulder and be told, John, youre going out with her now. As the only boy of a similar age in the area, I was sort of shared around among the girls as a token boyfriend. Unfortunately for me, this wasnt due to my irresistibility: it was just a case of them lacking options.

My parents say that I was an easy kid to deal with, but Ann and James were a bit wild. Id describe myself as similar to my mother calm, introverted. Its difficult to get me riled up. Ann and James share more of my fathers characteristics. Hes got a fiery temper, to say the least.

I was bullied quite a bit in school, and Ann was usually the one who came to my rescue. She always had my back. The main bully in our school was a boy called Steven. He was the kind of guy whod steal your lunch, or your money on the rare occasion that you actually had any. Ann spotted Steven giving me some grief one day. She made a beeline for him and attacked him with an umbrella. That was the end of me being bullied by Steven. Hell hath no fury like a Dublin girl with a brolly who sees her little brother being picked on! But Steven wasnt the only bully. I was never really in a proper fight: I usually just ran from it. When I did get punched, I wouldnt hit back.

Even though we had different personalities, Ann and I were always very close. One day Ann was walking along a steel fence that separated our garden from our neighbours. She fell and took a nasty bang and I cried more than she did. Whenever Id be given something even if it was something as simple as a biscuit Id always ask, What about Ann? I wouldnt take anything unless there was some for Ann as well. We were very tight.

My dad and I were never close when I was growing up, and it wasnt until I was in my late twenties that I started to form any sort of a relationship with him. Along with my mam, my dad did a brilliant job of raising us and I wouldnt change a thing, but he was loud and aggressive and revelled in shouting and arguing, whereas I was the exact opposite. My dad wouldnt shy away from standing up to ten people; I was frightened by the prospect of standing up to one, never mind an entire group. Hed make me watch Match of the Day probably in the hope that Id come to share his passion for soccer but I absolutely despised it. The theme tune still drives me mad when I hear it now.