Brad Ware learned that his anger was misplaced.
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Almost 12 months ago, the 27-year-old started training in Muay Thai at Chaffey's Martial Arts in Tamworth. He thought that he could channel his anger through the sport.
Ware, whose daughter died suddenly five years ago, discovered that to be a good fighter his anger needed to be replaced by self-control.
He said he also "realised that being strong physically doesn't count for everything".
"And Muay Thai actually got me to be able to collect my thoughts ... become more calm," he said. "Because in the ring, you need to be more calm; you can't do things out of emotion."
![Brad Ware has not been defined by the acute grief he has endured. Picture by Mark Bode Brad Ware has not been defined by the acute grief he has endured. Picture by Mark Bode](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/24002f69-9978-47ab-9a28-4a82e34ccb92.jpg/r0_0_3629_2763_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
At St Mary's Band Club in Sydney on October 6, Ware will enter the ring for the third time as he chases his first win.
He has not been deflated by losing his first two fights; on the contrary, he doesn't regard them as defeats. "It's more information I'm able to put into my training; I'm able to get better by losing."
Ware's pursuit of knowledge does not, however, extend to wanting to know who his next opponent is. His trainer, Scott Chaffey, knows - and that is good enough for Ware.
The McCarthy Catholic College alumnus said he was "just gonna get in there and fight him - and come back home, hopefully".
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Ware is cognisant of the fact that his approach to Muay Thai is similar to how he has approached building up his commercial cleaning business, Ace 1 Cleaning, which he has operated for eight years.
He had started the business with a partner, but said they "unfortunately" parted ways.
"And then the stress from that came on," he said. "Then I decided that I needed to hire people.
"All of it's more and more of a learning curve. The more information I get, the better I am at it." He added: "It's a good company."
![The poster promoting Ware's next bout. Picture supplied The poster promoting Ware's next bout. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/b46a6ad4-dbee-402b-9cb1-92477a028cfb.jpg/r0_0_900_1598_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Ware's philosophy on knowledge acquisition also extends to parenting. He said his five-year-old son, Noah, was "the light" of his life.
"He's always made me strive to be the best father that I can be. I just do the best I can, while I can."
Scott Chaffey knows Ware better than most - and he likes what he sees: "Brad is incredibly hardworking and always eager to learn."
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