PeaceWalker Blog

  Visit From the Internet Troll!! Oh, yes! It's been a while! Yep, you got it, a Youtube Video Troller! I have to admit, I do love these guys! I only wish they'd be in one of my classes or seminars... But, that would mean they'd have to actually get out of their mom's basement and train!  =D =D =D Here's what this one had to say about my 1 minute and 47 second video demoing a simple version of a foot sweep.=)        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't normally like to be so negative, but you can't seriously think this would work? You block your attacker's punch, then he just stands there while you 1/ step in 2/ having pushed him back, grab him and pull him in 3/ sweep his leg? You would never have the time to do all that against a real attack. I know you have to break things down and go with the flow to demonstrate, but this is a big no-o. I bet you have something more practical you can show us. ~Fred B.             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  We're in the middle of the holi-daze! That's the two-ish weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year where work schedules, social events, family stuff and other holiday type festivities intersect with our regular schedules, resulting in a strange 'twilight zone' type feeling, where we aren't quite sure where or when we are in the time/space continuum. Past, present & future meld together with work, family and friends. How the Grinch  'Schooled'  Whoville   Yes, the Grinch can be a crotchety, termite-infested soul with a heart two sizes too small... However, there are a lot of beneficial things we can learn from him as well... Especially as it comes to defensive tactics! Check out what we can learn from how he totally "SCHOOLED"  Whoville : 1. Tactical Thinking Coming up with all those successfully elaborate plans on the spot -- especially when under that kind of pressure -- is a pretty handy skill to have in ye olde self defense "tool box.&

  Beautiful (yet frosty) morning... Last night it looked like a snow globe w/huge white flakes blowing around highlighted by the street lights! I'll be honest with you... I'm not ready for winter! =( A Word From Our Community... In response to yesterdays [Almost] Daily email, a few of our community members took the time to write to me.  Some were just concerned citizens, others were from our law enforcement community.  Here's what PT a recently retired police officer had to say... Where's the Cavalry?! "Just read your latest email.  First, hope all is well. I haven't seen you in awhile and I hope things are all good in your world.  In reading your email I thought of sharing some material that you may want to share with your students. If not aware of this(any many are not) April 1st of this year Michigan passed Jail reform and bond reform. This is causing officers throughout the state to "not arrest" due to stipulations in the new reform. Do not read t

  A few weeks ago, someone forwarded me one of Vox Day’s darkstreams. . I'll be honest, I didn't really know who he was. After looking at his website and other media, he doesn't seem to really be my cup of tea either, but I still gave him a listen... . He was talking about how, when it comes to systems of government — whether democracies, republics, or monarchies to outright communist or fascist systems — what’s far more important than the “system” is the leadership. . He says that the right leadership trumps the so-called right “system.” . Even a systems like socialism or communism can work to at least some extent with the right leadership, while the perfect utopian democracy-fanboy’s wet dream system will (and often does, historically) crash & burn with the wrong leadership. . Personally, I think Vox may have missed the point a bit regarding what a republic (vs. democracy) was supposed to offer... . Namely, a way for there to be a representative government of the peop

  The idea of peace and war are the two sides of the same coin. Only a thin line divides the two.  Very thin... And it is that line that we walk as Protectors... As PeaceWalkers. The line between War and Peace.  "In combat we wish to control the situation at hand and manipulate the opponent to stop attacking us. We can control our opponent physically or mentally, or both. If we can impose our will without using force, we are in control. But when the opponent attacks, we have to act quickly to regain control. In all combat levels, from the basic hand to hand combat up to strategic warfare, we use tactics to deceive and expose the opponent to a decisive blow. We blind his vision and act when he cannot see what we do." ~IIan Gattegno "The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your

  Yesterday, Sara, one of our PeaceWalker Community Members forwarded me this UNBELIEVABLE Story! Well, to be honest, it wasn't that unbelievable to me and shouldn't be to you either, but more on that in a second... Here's the scoop: Sunday, Nov. 7th a Nashville pastor tackled and disarmed man who was waving a gun at worshippers during a Sunday morning church service. The heroic actions of this pastor saved his church from further violence. miraculously no one was injured during this incident! Here's Why This Wasn't So Unbelievable...  So why do you think I would say that this story ISN'T so unbelievable?! You should already know what I'm going to say... This news story simply confirms something that we already know... We are ALL Protectors! This man is a true hero, he stepped up to the plate during an extreme situation. He did what many are afraid to do.  I don't know, but my guess is that he didn't have any experience or training in this. I could b

  It was snowing here this morning! Luckily, I'm getting my snow tires swapped out Friday! So, the other day I was doing my thing when... I Get a Text That Said... Hi Craig. Just wanted to say thanks. Your training helped me handle a pretty serious situation Saturday night. I'll tell you about it tomorrow... Needless to say I responded, asking if everything was alright?! His response: "Yes, except they (the police) wouldn't arrest the guy, which I don't understand or agree with..." So, What Happened? Seems that a couple Saturday's ago a man came into the restaurant ranting and raving about his takeout order.  When the hostess checked, she didn't see any order for this man. (They quickly found out that he never really order anything...) That really set this guy off, he started yelling and looked like he was going to get physically violent. The owner (Our PeaceWalker community member) heard this and went out to see what was going on. Introducing himself

  Happy Halloween Weekend!! . I have to admit, Halloween is my favorite! . I love the time of year and the feel of all of the mysterious, scary stuff. The costumes, intrigue and festivities! . Did you know its the second highest retailing holiday next to Christmas!? . Trick or Treat!! Wondering which you'll get is Good for Halloween... . Bad for Protecting Yourself! . Remember Halloween night when you were a kid!? . You prepared for weeks: . What you'd dress up as? . We'd map out our route to the houses that we knew handed out the best candy. . We'd pick up our Halloween flashlights. . Remember those things?! . They were these really cheaply made flashlights that had a pumpkin, ghost, skull or witch face made of plastic on the front end of it.  , We got them at Meijers (our local grocery store). They never survived the night w/o breaking or just not working. . Then we'd pick a bag for our candy... . Not too small... (You want to make sure you have enough room for al

Back in 1996, Rickson Gracie of the famous Gracie Jiu Jitsu family taught a seminar in Chicago Il.  I had the pleasure of being there. It was my first in person experience in that art. After watching the first few UFC's, like many people, I became very interested in Gracie Jiu Jitsu, so when I had the chance to go to a seminar I jumped at it!  I still remember how I felt during the experience. Rickson was the real deal! It was a huge seminar. A gymnasium full of a few hundred guys. Rickson could have beat us all, yet, he was the humblest one there! A long time ago, Rickson gave Graciemag a long, thorough interview about his career, ideas and philosophies. He spoke about the role of instructors and the essential mission of those responsible for teaching the art.  "The life of the martial artist is, first of all, to serve. It's to help, it's to be a person who participates in the community," he taught. "The martial artist, therefore, has to be a positive person

Here's another re-post from my friend Moshe Katz. I posted an article from him a few weeks back regarding the history of Krav Maga. I asked him if I could re-post this one as well.  Why!?  Because this is the same way I feel about teaching defensive tactics. People are often misguided when it comes to training.  Learning how to protect yourself (and others) is a skill, a perspective, a Lifestyle that is of benefit to everyone! So, training should be accessible to anyone who wants to train. Moshe's approach reflects this ethic.  So here it is... VICARIOUS ABILITY AND POWER KRAV MAGA BY MOSHE KATZ I had an interesting discussion with one of our students/instructors. Often I am asked to recommend Krav Maga schools in various areas. I am reluctant to recommend schools that teach self-defense but violate what we consider fundamentals of self-defense. Schools that rely upon the three unreliable amigos - Speed, Strength, Precision; Schools whose techniques demand excessive practice, g

A few years back I was hired by the Michigan Counselor Association to be keynote presenter and do a couple breakout sessions on conflict management. In one of the breakouts, I showed them how verbal communication and physical defensive tactics go hand in hand. I demonstrated to them how these two are essential not only for your safety, but when you bring these together, your confidence raises in pretty much everything you do! The Experience Stunned Them... Someone brought up the topic of bullying. . "In my opinion, one of the main problems of many of the approaches embraced by today's schools is that they are coming from the wrong place. They are starting from the wrong foundation. They are beginning from a place of false assumptions and more importantly from a flawed, warped perspective of the human experience.” . What?! The crowd mouthed. . " Could I get a volunteer?"  I asked politely. . A small, young lady stepped up. . "Let's say that you have to talk