A true story about the courage to stand up, keep going and never give in!
Bullied at school, Simon Gray set off on a journey to avenge his demons.
From the Muay Thai ring to the traditional Japanese dojo his journey of self-discovery is packed full of humour, inspiration and lessons to live a better and more fulfilling life.
Approaching his mid-thirties, he stepped away from the corporate rat race. Having sold his house, car and other worldly possessions he travelled to Tokyo, Japan where he enrolled on one of the toughest martial arts courses in the world.
For 11 months he trained with the Tokyo Riot Police on the bruising and often brutal course that changed his life.
In Suck It Up Or Go Home he shares his story of training, torment and ultimate triumph.
In a world where challenges are ever-present, Suck It Up Or Go Home is about the courage to stand up, keep going and never give in!
This book is about stepping out of your comfort zone to embrace new opportunities and challenges.
While a book with martial arts at its core, it's much more than a book on martial arts.
It's a true story of resilience, discipline and succeeding against the odds.
It charts the author's life from a tough boarding school to the present day.
It's a tale of self-discovery, self-awareness and is packed full of humour alongside serious observations on life.
It details what happened on the Yoshinkan Aikido 16th international Senshusei course in Tokyo Japan, and brings to life the craziness of everyday life on one of the toughest martial arts courses in the world.If you have an interest in the martial arts, Japanese culture, or what it takes to keep going during difficult times, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
Simon Gray is an experienced recruiter, chartered accountant, entrepreneur and martial artist. As a consultant and then founding director of his own recruitment business, he has extensive experience on the frontline, acting for both jobseeker and employer. After many years in the recruitment industry, he realised that the best way to help jobseekers at any level, was not to find them a position himself but to empower them to find the right opportunity for themselves. This led to the publication of his first book, Super Secrets of the Successful Jobseeker, and the formation of Career Codex, a careers and employability training company. Since then he has written two more books about standing out in the job market, Super Secrets of Successful Executive Job Search and Super Secrets of the Successful First-Time Jobseeker. In his leisure time Simon is a keen martial artist and while living and working in Japan, he completed the world famous Yoshinkan Aikido Senshusei course with the Tokyo Riot Police. In his book, Suck It Up or Go Home, he describes his experience on the course and the lessons he learnt about life, resilience and never giving up! Simon is an experienced speaker and commentator; he has appeared on BBC National News at Ten and has been quoted in The Guardian, Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is a past president of the Nottingham, Derby and Lincoln Society of Chartered Accountants and a freeman of the City of London (Merchant Taylors' Company).
