After seeing Scott Adkins’ abundance of trophies, the young Dave Warren was amazed and inspired. He knew there and then that he wanted to have the same kind of success (and happiness) for himself. And so he did—he fought, won championships and now helps fighters reach for their own dreams.
In this episode of the Kickstart Your Confidence, Carl invites over MMA Fighter, coach and friend Dave Warren. He’s here to talk about his fighting career, his personal life, and the ability to power through the difficulties in all aspects of your life. Dave has had his own share of difficulties. Before he even reached the peak of his career, he lost both his parents. So, without his core support group on his side, it was hard to even dream for more. He ended up in the wrong crowd and struggled with many vices. It’s incredible that he was able to pull himself away from all of these things and treat them as motivators. Listen in and discover more about Dave’s inspirational journey.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Carl and Dave were never big fans of each other. In fact, they started off as rivals—both wanting to win, as always. But it was one match, which involved keeping their pride afloat (so hard), refusing to back down, and then finally, agreeing to a truce, that began their longstanding friendship.
Dave started training in an early age at HMA. And when you’re young, it’s easy to get drawn to wrong habits. He explored and tried alcohol and such, just like any curious mind would. When he looks back to this, he doesn’t feel regret at all. He sees this as a learning, a learning that served also a reminder to continue building his career.
And so he did, he went back and trained again. He gave up the things holding him back, hurt his muscles, and started to win. He won the BKBU British Champion. He got his black belt. He became a coach!
Dave also looks back to the time when he was seeing and feeling some unusualness with his mum, it was discovered she was suffering from bipolar. Dave’s mum, though very caring and loving, wasn’t equipped with the parenting skills many other mums had. Despite this she still knew how to console him and knew everything there was to know about her son.
His relationship with his father was very different but it was his dad who believed and pushed him to go beyond his limits every single time. Whenever Dave had problems or doubts, it was his dad he could easily talk to. It was easy for him to pick himself up and regain his confidence afterwards.
Dave was always very understanding and supportive to both of his parents. After all, he said that he can’t imagine how great his life would be without them and their love & guidance.
Dave’s ultimate advice for people who’s going through rough patches: Seek help and stay away from alcohol and drugs.
BEST MOMENTS
“It’s what you do. It’s part of your life. It’s what makes you, you, so do it!”
“Don’t be selfish… There are people who have it a lot worse.”
“Surround yourself with good people. Keep your hobbies going. Seek help.”
VALUABLE RESOURCES
BKBU Kickboxing Competition
HKA Main landing page hastingskickboxing.co.uk/kickstartnow
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/Hastingskickboxing
HKA Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Hastingskickboxing
Adult community link https://m.facebook.com/groups/274624209886110?ref=share
ABOUT THE HOST
Hi, my name is Carl Denne.
I was born in Hastings 1980. Married, father of two beautiful daughters, Bethany and Leigha.
My daughters, the wife, and gym ARE MY LIFE.
IF I’M HONEST, I pretty much failed at school. Heavily dyslexic, I was dismissed for being a “naughty kid” that didn’t want to learn. I was heavily bullied for having shit clothes and ginger afro hair. I didn’t have many friends.
When I say bullied, I don’t mean called a “poo-poo head” and being looked at in a nasty way. I mean thrown down stairs and hit with chairs and tables. Clothes were stolen whilst in the shower. That kind of bullying…
Oh, how things have changed…
Martial arts, and specifically Kickboxing, have changed my life, and now I am much happier and change other people’s lives for the better on a daily basis.
I am a complete adrenaline freak, so In my spare time, track days, jumping out of planes, sitting on top of them, rage buggies in the desert… The higher, the faster the better for me. I’m always looking for the next thing to get my blood pumping, so if anyone has a challenge I’ve not found yet, please feel free to share.
I do like a Saturday night movie night, Chinese, Netflix, lots of chocolate with my three little ladies. I love being around my friends and family. This is why I love the crazy HKA family so much, as this is my extended family.
I left school with pretty much nothing! A few sad GCSE’s C - D grade, BUT I did have a shit-ton of energy and passion to achieve, and to prove all the teachers and people that looked down on me for all them years, wrong. So after a few jobs here and there, I settled on working for Openreach (BT) as a cabler/jointer copper and fiber optic multi-skilled engineer with HGV.
I left this in 2015 to chase my dream of running my own Kickboxing Academy and working with the future of today, rather than a job that just paid the bills.
I’ve trained pretty much my whole life: Karate, boxing, Judo, from the age of 9, and of course, I’ve now done over 29 years of Kickboxing. I’ve passed many Instructors and coaches courses, attended many training courses and seminars, grading up through the syllabus. I passed my 4-hour hell-on-earth 3rd Dan black belt in July 2018 with the ICO.
If I’m honest, my real passion and skills have come from learning the hard way; through being in the trenches. I know how it feels to be on your arse. I know how it feels to have to pull yourself out of the pit. I’ve been through a divorce. I’ve lived through the pain and have worked with thousands of members, students, children, teachers and adults over the years, and the one thing I get told every time is how well I/we keep it very real, and that I have a complete understanding on most eventualities.
Thank you for reading and listening. I hope you connect with me and the team, take away some ideas, understand you’re not alone, and that it’s good to talk, listen and help others as and when you can.
