We’ve signed up for the Beast Race… which, in hindsight, feels like a decision that should have involved more thinking and less enthusiasm.

We’re a team of Sooyang Do students and instructors, so we like to think we’re fairly tough — disciplined, focused, and used to pushing ourselves. That said, none of our training has fully prepared us for voluntarily crawling through mud, climbing over obstacles, and questioning our life choices halfway round a freezing course.

So why are we doing it?

Because we’re raising money for Befriend a Child — a charity that supports children and young people who need someone in their corner. They provide friendship, guidance, and stability to kids who might otherwise feel alone. It’s the kind of support that can genuinely change a life.

We train together, we support each other, and we (mostly) enjoy it — and that sense of belonging is something every young person deserves.

The reality is, the Beast Race is going to be cold, muddy, exhausting… and there’s a very real chance at least one of us will regret everything about 20 minutes in. But that discomfort is temporary. The impact of what Befriend a Child does is not.

So if you’d like to support a group of slightly overconfident martial artists as we slip, slide, and struggle our way around this course, we’d really appreciate it.

Every donation helps — and will give us something to think about other than how cold we are.

Thanks for your support!

Mr Lawson