Question: What is a Pound?

Answer: A home for mongrels and strays!

2000 Proto-Pound

After a bitter split from a martial arts organization, I decided to go ‘underground’ and started training a few people in my garage. I wanted to make the training process more like a ‘shared amateur experience’ rather than a business. So, I stopped training people and started training WITH people. I also decided to put all the training fees towards buying equipment or education (I’ve continued this practice).

Many of the guys I trained with considered themselves to be ‘outcasts’. They no longer felt comfortable in regular commercial gyms (or martial arts schools). Consequently, we started calling one another ‘mongrels’.  The idea stayed with me.

A few of the guys I trained with were musicians, so we’d often get together and jam after training. That idea stayed with me too. Training and artistic self-expression are a good match!

This was also when I had my first experience of training alongside people with serious mental illnesses. It had a big impact on me. I realized that many people are simply unable to take advantage of the regular strength and fitness options available. It also added extra-meaning to the idea of training with outcasts and mongrels.

2005 The Pound (I)

The first Pound was started by James Patterson (Jimmy the Cat) and myself. We rented a house down the road from my home and set it up as both a training and recording studio. I continued training with 'mongrels' following the same ideals I’d developed at the Proto-Pound. Also, both of us would get together a few times a week, train and work on an album. The album was dedicated to a training-brother who had died from a brain tumor. We also performed the album at the Kayaking World Championships. A lot of fun was had by all :)

2008 The Pound (II)

The second Pound was started by Brendan Dart (Gunner) and myself. We combined our training gear together and set it up in Brendan’s garage. We had our own small groups of ‘mongrels’ we’d train with seperately, but we would also meet up regularly and train together.

(I also started this site at the same time. The Pound Online is a place where any self-professed mongrel can come and find info about how to train at home.)

Along with the training we worked on an ‘underground strength’ comic series called, Gruntman & Geek. Brendan was Gruntman (the strong, confident hero), and I was Geek (the brainy side-kick). We included many people from the Pound in the comic. The whole experience was a lot of fun :)

Brendan is still operating and training out of his garage. Hopefully his Pound will continue to grow from strength to strength.

2010 The Pound (III)

I started the third Pound in my basement. Whilst I train with a few regular folks, I’m still committed to training ‘mongrels’! I’ve now had 10 years experience training with the mongrels of society: the unemployed, those suffering from various mental illnesses (PTSD, anxiety & depression), acquired brain-injuries, those recovering from addiction, domestic violence and sexual abuse. To be honest, I’ve found some of the experiences to be heart-breaking and soul-destroying. Training with ‘wounded’ people can often lead to getting some nasty wounds yourself! But I still believe it’s what I should be doing! So I’m going to keep doing it :)

Along with the training, we are working on another album and comic series. These will be dedicated to my best friend who died in early January, 2010. It should be finished late-2011.

Kira Clarke.

The Five Mongrels

The best way to understand what THE POUND's all about is to take a close look at it's members—our posse. We're all mongrels—five types of mongrels to be precise ...

The Bitsa

No pure-breeds here. We all heartily subscribe to 'mixed-breed' training. As mongrels we've learned that our diverse training inclinations are an asset, not a liability. We're not trying to be the best at any one thing—we like exploring a lot of different strength and fitness activities—it keeps us motivated. My personal fitness bent includes muay thai, underground strength work and kettlebells—but that's just me. Everyone's got their own fitness tools they bring to the table and we all enjoy hitting one another with them regularly ;)

The Stray

Let's be honest—none of us here at THE POUND really fitted into the regular health and fitness scene. We were square pegs that couldn't be jammed into the round and expensive hole that the fitness industry has become. The cookie-cutter programs, snake-oil supplements and over-priced gyms confused us, bored us, and ultimately led us to find a better way of training.

The Mangy

To newbies our training dens and equipment look a little shabby. Well, that's because they are. When it comes to training were stingy. Why spend money on new and expensive training equipment that doesn't actually improve your strength and fitness? We like our training cheap, simple and effective. No hi-tech cardio trainers, expensive supplements or designer workout attire here. Free, cheap or DIY—that's the kinda conditioning we like the best. Fitness is for everybody—especially the mutts of society.

The Unlicensed

Here at THE POUND we don't recognize 'dog-collars'. No gurus, no professionals, no teachers, no star-athletes—we're all mutts here. We listen to what the experts have to say, but we learn from doing and we take responsibility for what we do. If you're looking for qualifications and expertise then you're in the wrong place—go join a gym or hire a personal trainer.  We are amateurs exploring strength and fitness for ourselves. We know the risks and we personally accept any consequences when we make mistakes. And given that we're not experts—on occasion—we do make mistakes. But at least they're our mistakes!

The Feral

We're all rabid hounds at THE POUND. We grunt, growl and sweat (and you should see what we do when we actually workout!) There's no place for political correctness or half-assed training here—un-diluted self expression is what we expect. We don't care about manners or rules, fashion or style—all that matters is the training :)

If you can see a bit of yourself in these mongrels, feel free to kick around on our site, or even join us and get into some training—mongrel-style.

If this is too kooky for you, that's ok! There's a wide variety of good fitness sites out there, and we hope you find one where you can feel comfortable.