Heart and Soul: Wrestling for redemption in Jordan

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2024

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Injuries meant wrestler Dan Russell missed out on two opportunities for glory at the Olympics back in the 1990s. But missing the chance to fight for gold twice was not what left him feeling empty when he retired from the sport. Dan had a difficult childhood, suffering abuse from neighbours and enduring a brutal training regime, being made to wrestle all day, every day, by his father. Once retired, Dan’s past traumas began to haunt him, leading to a deep depression. Dan had trophies and medals from his sporting days, but what next? And where was God in his life when he needed Him most? Then, a call from USA Wrestling asking Dan to head up Wrestling for Peace, a charity project bringing people together through wrestling and humanitarian work, changed the course of everything. A dream told him he was destined to move and work in Jordan, in the Middle East and Dan and his wife Joy, moved to Jordan to set up the charity there. Can Dan find redemption as he continues to wrestle, now with life itself rather than in the ring?

Transcript

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0:00.0	The wrestling match, when you think about the wrestling match, the first thing that hits my mind is battling fear.
0:10.0	You look across at the opponent that you're about to face and he may look stronger, he may look bigger, he may look better.
0:19.0	You got to learn how to embrace the struggle, embrace the fight, the blood, the sweat, the tears, the time, the
0:26.5	training, the discipline, the dedication, the self-control all comes down to
0:31.5	this moment.
0:33.8	The voice that you're hearing is that a former world wrestling champion Dan Russell.
0:38.6	And we're not talking about W. W.E and the type of wrestling made popular for scripted storylines and entertainment.
0:45.0	But the type of wrestling which is considered to be the oldest documented sport in the world,
0:50.0	one that Gladiators employed in front of blood-hungry crowds impact colossums
0:55.8	and a competition where athletes are shortly set to go to battle at the Olympic Games in Paris.
1:08.0	I'm Regie Guptter and this is the documentary on the BBC World Service. In this episode of Heart and Soul which explores personal approaches to spirituality from around the world.
1:14.6	I'm in Jordan meeting Dan and his wife Joy who moved here from the US five years ago.
1:22.0	Dan has been wrestling not only in sport but throughout his life.
1:26.4	I'm meeting him as he undergoes his latest fight as he tries to get over past traumas and find healing through his faith and humanitarian work in the Middle East.
1:38.0	Halla Walla Hayala Edfuddl. Welcome to Jordan. This is my home. I'm going to welcome you to my home.
1:45.0	Wow. Well, you've certainly embraced the culture. I feel like I've walked into not an American's home, but a Jordanian home. It's got a pattern,
1:55.0	textile, sofers. You've got some beautiful paintings. It must be very different to what
2:00.9	you were used to growing up in the States. It's very different. We love the people, we're used to growing up in the states. It's very
2:04.4	different. We love the people. We love the culture here and so our house, which is
2:10.5	an apartment, it's just a flat, but we bought it.
2:13.7	And when we bought it, it came with the furniture, it came with some of these unique designs
2:19.8	that just remind us where we live and our love for the people and the culture here.
	...

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