PeaceWalker Blog

It can be difficult getting everything done this time of year... It can be even MORE difficult to keep your training and diet in check amidst all of your social events and hustle bustle of the holiday season... It is VERY EASY to get derailed in more than one way! As a matter of fact, I'm feeling a bit derailed myself lately! Healthy Holiday Checklist: Here's a quick "Healthy Holiday Checklist" of doable things to keep you from getting totally derailed w/your training and diet during the holiday season... Maybe make those New Years Resolutions a little closer to reach?! =) Anyway, here are the Fab 5 Healthy Holiday Suggestions: . 1) Move early. Start your day off on a good note with 20-30 minutes of some exercise. Even a short run or walk is perfect. You’ll feel better mentally and physically. And don’t put off until later because if you’re like me, it won’t happen. Maybe it’s time to work in that 5-10-15-20 workout ro...

Burn Baby Burn! A lot of my time has been spent putting out fires that not only needed to be addressed... As it turns out these fires have been the catalyst for some clarity and big growth for 2019 and beyond! So, all I can say is Burn Baby Burn! Although I may be a little crispy right now... Like the Phoenix I will be Reborn!!   The Fog of War... The holiday season can feel a lot like a war... The hustle & bustle with home life, work, kids, spouses, presents, parties, in-laws, friends, money, travel... The expectations of the holidays can be pretty overwhelming. It can be difficult to stay on track and actually ENJOY the season with your loved ones! So, take a breath, slow down & prioritize! Strip away those things that aren't necessary. Some of those things that you do you're doing because of some unhealthy sense of obligation. It's time to re-prioritize what is really important. Your kids... IMPORTANT! ...

When It's Not a Game... If you want your training to be sustainable for the long haul of your Life... It's difficult finding balance between smart, serious, yet lighthearted training. Serious enough to get the job done; lighthearted enough not wreck your body, brain or heart.   You want it to be enjoyable enough so that you'll want to do it on a regular basis. So it's part of your routine... Part of your LIFE! When you are training to prepare yourself for the situations you're likely to run into today... your approach has to be well rounded, so you can deal with everything from verbal disputes to physical violence. Kind of Like Church? What?! Yeah... Many people go to church 1x per week, but wouldn't say that church is a "HOBBY' right? Well the same w/Protector training! You may only go to your Krav Maga training a few times per week, but it's not a hobby... Not a game... Yes, you go to broaden and deepe...

What comes to mind when most people think of "Resistance Training?" Well, most, think of weight training. Weight training is one way we use resistance to tear down our muscles so that when they heal they develop into bigger stronger muscles! In Krav Maga we train ourselves for a different type of resistance. This resistance is more dynamic involving physical, mental, emotional and social   elements that are 'torn down' to be built on, developed and strengthened. The same goes for our training in dealing with other forms of resistance. Like verbal conflict. Learning how to deal with all of these forms of resistance is important for living a Protectors Life. AND... It's not just in that you "Learn" about it. It's also that you Condition yourself for it! You can "learn" about swimming, but you'll have to actually swim in order to get better at it! You can "learn" about working out, bu...

When it comes to training to protect, less cryptic and more clarity is not only a plus it's essential! That's why I like Krav Maga & the PeaceWalker Approach to Conflict. Now I know some of you who train w/me are saying... "Sometimes you're cryptic as f*ck Craig." ...and you would be right! But that's because when it comes to APPLICATION of those basic principles things get real! ...And SIMPLE doesn't mean EASY! Also... It depends on what course/class you come to and what questions you ask. If you take one of our Basic Defensive Tactics or PeaceWalker Conflict Management Courses it is a 1-2-3 approach. The basic fundamentals are not that cryptic they are elegant! It's in their application where things get a bit confusing for the novice. The concepts can be so simple that people think they are easy and believe they 'got it'. Then when they try applying that Basic Principle and fail. After that peop...

This is a concept that is taught by practitioners of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The idea of it is that you first establish a good (tactical) position BEFORE you initiate an attack. WHY? Because you will always have to give something to get something. Meaning that you are going to have to risk or sacrifice something you have to gain something you want. In a physical engagement in order to attack you have to risk some of your defensive position. In relationships, you have to risk being vulnerable and getting hurt, to deepen your relationship with another person. In a fire fight with guns, you have to expose yourself in order to get your shot in or return fire. In business you have to risk resources like time, money and effort to acquire something in order to possibly gain financially. There are few "Sure Things" out there... So it's really about Managing Your Risk... What I teach in my Assault Prevention Course can be used in life outside...

Rather than me going into detail on what to do or not... I thought I'd let ROB BARRETT talk to you about his experience of recently being through an actual school lockdown... This was NOT A DRILL mind you... It was a REAL Lockdown in response to an actual threat! But rather than tell you about it, click on this short video below, where Rob tells you what happened and how they responded to the situation.     https://youtu.be/6m9ieh9nBqw Keep Going, ~Craig Get more Tips & Tactics About Living a Protector's Lifestyle by Signing Up for My FREE Newsletter - www.peacewalkersubscribe.com

Trick or Treat...  Good for Halloween...  Bad for Protecting Yourself! Remember Halloween night when you were a kid!? You prepared for weeks figuring out what you'd dress up as... Mapping out your route to the houses that you knew handed out the best candy... Getting your Halloween flashlight... Remember those things?! They were these really cheaply made flashlights that had a pumpkin, ghost or witch face made of plastic on the front end of the flashlight. We picked them up at Meijers (our local grocery store)... They never survived the night w/o breaking or just not working. Or... Choosing your candy bag?!  Not too small... (You want to make sure you have enough room for all that loot!) ...or too big... (You don't want to lug around something that slows you down from getting to the next house... Lord knows they might run out of candy before you get there...) So finally, the night comes!!! You're...

Let me be clear, this is ONE WAY to deal with someone who is not doing as you asked... It is NOT THE ONLY WAY... It is simply one way... No, it won't magically make someone succumb to your every request, it is just simply clearly communicating expectations and setting boundaries. Here's the Process! When you clearly asked something of someone and they agreed to do what you asked, but didn't: You: "Based on what we agreed on, my expectation was (say what was agreed upon)." "However, what happened was (describe what actually happened)." "So, the impact was (describe how the situation affected not only that person, but if you can, how those actions [or lack of] affected a bigger picture and/or others)." "What happened?" (LISTEN) Then Say:   "I hear what you're saying. I've had things happen before too. So, let me get this straight (Ask any questions you need to clarify ...

Does More Skill Make You More Ethical? I've trained my entire life... I'm no stranger to violence... In the ring... My youth... My job... Life... I've met, learned from and trained the best in the world... Martial arts... Tactical training... Sport... Military... Law enforcement... Private security... Domestic & overseas... However, some of the toughest people that I know are some of the nicest... Those folks who know they can take care of themselves and don't have anything to prove... I was fortunate, because I was taught this first and foremost by my Dad and Grandpa (on my Mom's side). Both were strong good male figures who trained me more by what they did than what they said. Neither were perfect... They had their shortcomings like we all have... But in my eyes they were great men by their own right and their flaws only made them more interesting. Regardless, I owe so much to them that this pos...

All of my weekend social events had me thinking about how much we rely on verbal communication, not only for casual conversation, but also during conflict. It is an intricate part of interacting with others. Have you ever known someone who can talk their way out of (and into) anything? Someone who has learned to weaponize their words to be persuasive or even deceiving? They can use their words to spin a spell that has a certain control over others. It's a skill that is largely overlooked not so much in action but in TRAINING! Most believe that you either 'have it' or don't... And we both know that some folks seem to have been born with the gift of gab and others struggle... However, you CAN learn how to do it! So, in preparation for the LIVE On-Line PeaceWalker Conflict Communication Course coming in January, I wanted to start sharing some methods of using verbal communication as... Another Facet of Defense When most people trai...

Anger, Action & Israel?! A couple days ago we were talking about Anger. I promised you we'd talk about how to take that anger, focus it the right way and turn it into action. I also asked what Israel had to do with all of that!? . Well, we've already determined that when you're Angry, sh*t gets done!  So, let's build on that shall we?! =) Turning Anger Into Action... In order to start using your anger... First STOP resisting it! WHAT?!? Are you crazy Craig!?  If I do that I'll kill everything that MOVES some days! Wait a minute... Listen to me first... Stop resisting the feeling of your angry emotion. Just because you FEEL something, it doesn't mean you have to act on it! Simply notice how you are feeling without judging it or acting on it... Just be aware of it! Then breath (from your belly) and decide if you need to act on it or not. Sometimes it is alright (even good) to act on it... Other time...

Classmates who passed away since our graduation... Reminding us that life is precious & fleeting... Saturday was off the hook w/social events: My Morning - Bar Mitzvah My Afternoon - Wedding My Evening - Class Reunion Oh my! It was a whirl wind of cool craziness and a bunch of mini road-trips gallivanting around West Michigan!   It was a great day of re-connecting and celebrating w/friends... The ONE THING I Learned from My Reunion that Could Instantly Change the World! One thing happened at my class reunion that really stuck with me... Something SO POWERFUL that all cliche's aside... COULD CHANGE THE WORLD! A group of people who are decades removed from our K-12 experience reunite for an evening... We've all lived long enough to have Life kick us around a bit... After some time here on this planet, it's difficult to avoid having things happen to us that we have absolutely no control over... And I...

Just got back from New Jersey; a weekend of training (and a bit of teaching too). It was great hanging out w/old friends, meeting some new ones and getting some good training in. As I unpacked my gear, I was reminded of a discussion that Jack Hoban's teacher Maasaki Hatsumi had regarding space. He took out a piece of calligraphy parchment and painted the character of LIFE on one side of it, let it dry as he explained his thoughts of space, distance, timing and what we in the 'tactical' world would call the 'Reactionary Gap.' When the paint was sufficiently dried, Hatsumi then flipped the parchment over and painted DEATH on the other side... He then looked at us and said "In battle, the difference between Life & Death are often only the width of a paper apart!" I thought it was an eloquent example The Space to Live... When fractions of seconds count... Distance often equates to time. The way you move, the posi...