INT. # 6 Inside the Heart of Debi Steven

Rich here, what can I say? Except this is one of my favourite people on this planet. I love her, she's pure awesome and probably my biggest inspiration to keep forging on. What this woman does daily, I haven't even scratched the surface of, my sister from another set of parents; Debi Steven.

My name is Debi Steven and I am the founder of a UK-based self-defence company, Premier Self-Defence Ltd; two karate businesses, FSKA London and Pee Wee Karate; and a UK Registered Charity, Action Breaks Silence.

I started my karate training in South Africa in 1989 at the age of 19 and, within eight years, was selected for the South African All Styles Karate team and travelled to Tokyo, Japan to compete at the Women's World All Styles Championships. In addition, in 1998, I worked as a bodyguard to the main actors in the Quentin Tarantino movie: 'Texas Blood Money' which was shot in Cape Town, before moving to the UK sixteen years ago.

Having been raped at 11 years old, however, I quickly realized that traditional martial arts were not the answer for women – or men – needing to defend themselves in the real world. In recognition of this, I completed instructors' courses across the world, including training in Canada with Richard Dimitri, becoming the first UK affiliate of Senshido; David Turton of the International Self Defence Federation; and many others.

I believe every woman has the right to live her life free from fear of sexual and gender based violence. In my empowerment workshops I share my belief with the participants that all women are BORN to defend themselves.

In 2013, driven especially by the growing incidence of violence against women in India, I founded Action Breaks Silence, firstly as a not-for-profit company, to offer my training FREE of charge to women and girls at risk of sexual or gender-based violence in South Asia and Africa. In October 2014, Action Breaks Silence became a fully registered UK charity and we have already taught 15,000 women and girls in India.

In March 2015, I was the recipient of an “International Women of Change” award at the Indonesian Film Festival where “Power”, a documentary about my life and work by journalist and film-maker Jeanny Gering, was given a Platinum award. I am a frequent speaker at events and conferences and am a regular contributor to BBC Radio, including an interview about her life on the BBC’s World Service, and other media.

Q 1. What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

I feel that I have done almost a full circle over the last 10 years which has profoundly affected the way I teach.

Instead of believing that physical self-defence skills and techniques are enough to defend yourself, I realised that the vital ingredient is possessing the mental strength to be able to respond physically when necessary. Unless you are empowered and can recognise and unlock that strength, it is almost irrelevant what physical skills you have. For that reason, I have re-crafted both the name and content of my workshops as “Empowerment through self-defence”.

The most challenging part of teaching now is, therefore, for me to be able to bring really nice woman and men to the position where they are OK about ripping someone’s eye out or causing physical pain. The ability to pass on embracing rage and identifying what triggers can be put in place to spark that rage to the participants is a key part of my work that simply wasn’t there 10 years ago.

So many instructors are still focused on all the ‘stranger’ stuff. Both on a physical and awareness level. The reality is very different and my workshops now reflect that.

Everything is life evolves and one needs to show that in our teachings.

Internationally 1 in 3 women will suffer violence by an intimate partner not by a stranger. These are men that we often have put our trust in, manipulative and very destructive men. Men in our homes!

Then there was the realisation for me which was so hard! The part women play in COVERING up this violence, ignoring this violence. Mothers who force their daughters into silence. Mothers and other women who insist that rape is part of marriage. These mothers and woman that are reinforcing the myths of sexual and gender based violence and not smashing those myths apart.

Q 2. Is there a particular incident/occurrence/situation you recall having directly experienced/been involved in that has deeply & emotionally touched and/or altered you and your perceptions of the world in general?

The first and obvious major incident that has shaped my life was when I was raped at 11 years old by someone that I knew and trusted. This damage was compounded over the next 16 years by telling nobody what had happened to me, which was how I learnt just how destructive keeping silent can be.

When I finally broke that silence at 27 years old, my next lesson was feeling the shame that society can impose on women/children that suffer sexual and gender based violence. It is no coincidence, therefore, that we chose the name “Action Breaks Silence” for the charity I have set up to create a world free from the fear of sexual and gender-based violence.

Throughout my life, every survivor that I have talked to has deeply and emotionally touched me and the work I am doing now in India and South Africa leaves me raw because of the scale of abuse and seeing just how disempowered woman are. The sense of male entitlement is overwhelming.

The CEO of Action Breaks Silence, Stephanie Highett, once said to me ”Debi, how is it that women, who make up 50% of the world’s population, can be so disrespected?”. I constantly ask my male friends “Are you one of the good guys?” and when they answer“Yes” I ask them if they truly understand what being a ‘good guy means and how hard they are prepared to fight. Are they prepared to stand actively and firmly next to us as we fight this global war against women?

Q 3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

I have never thought about quitting but one active choice I have made is to detach myself from most of the self-defence fraternity. In my experience, I have found many instructors are fuelled almost entirely by ego or greed and that makes me mad.

If I were to change career, however, I would definitely do something to do with animal rescue. I have one cute dog at the moment and I would definitely increase that. I would love to have at least five dogs.

Q 4. Do you feel you were proverbially ‘born’ to do what you do, that this was your calling?

Yes, I believe this is my calling and I definitely believe there are certain elements and forces driving my work that are outside my control. I feel I’m on a very fast moving train and I’m clinging on.

For example, as someone who had hated the city for years, if someone told me five years ago that I would initially focus my work in South Africa in Johannesburg, I would have laughed. But this year, Action Breaks Silence will be working in Soweto for the United Nations’ 16 days of Activism campaign to create awareness and stop violence against women.

I spent time there now and really changed my views on this incredible city.

Is there perhaps another thing you wish you would have done instead, or believe you are just as good at and should have perhaps explored instead?

I would have loved to have worked in the Sexual Crimes Unit of a police force and become a profiler but I grew up in South Africa and joining the police in South Africa in the eighties was not an option for me. It was run by the apartheid government and I would never have given a minute of my time to them.

Q 5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

Since setting up Action Breaks Silence, I have obviously spent a lot of time travelling which has definitely affected the amount of time I can devote to my partner, friends and family at home in London. Fortunately, they are all extremely supportive (so far, anyway!) and I owe them all a lot of thanks, especially my mother and father who have had to look after my dog – now known as their ‘grand-dog’ – on a number of my trips!

It’s hard sometimes to keep the darkness I see all over the world at bay. I’m consumed by what I do and that make me a very poor dinner guest. I don’t often have stories soaked in sunshine to share.

Q 6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

I do believe that my life would have been impacted positively if I had received counselling after my rape or not kept quiet for the 16 years after it. In my workshops, I describe the effect of sexual violence as the same as shattering a beautiful vase. You can put it back together, but it will never again be exactly the same. That is definitely the case for me.

One of my goals is that Action Breaks Silence opens survivor centres where women and girls are able to get free counselling.

Each time I a woman or girls talks to me about their rape/abuse in India I feel so helpless as I cannot offer them that help at the moment. Each time I have to walk away from them it truly devastates me.

Q 7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

Founding Action Breaks Silence, a UK registered Charity. We are committed to creating a world free from fear of sexual and gender-based violence. We have already taught our Empowerment through Self-Defence workshop to over 15,000 women and girls in India absolutely FREE of charge over the last 18 months. We are expanding to Johannesburg, South Africa later this year. Most participants have been from very disadvantaged communities.

This year I was awarded an ‘International Woman of Change” award at a festival in Indonesia where a documentary on my work in India called “Power” by a young journalist, Jeanny Gering also won a Platinum award. Since then “Power” has won the “Best Short Documentary” Award’ at the Artemis Film Festival in the USA.

Q 8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

There have been a number of occasions when my friends and family have been worried about my safety, especially over the last two or three years when I have increasingly been working in communities where many men oppose my teaching for any number of cultural or religious reasons.

I always listen to what they have to say and try to be as cautious as possible but, at this stage, nothing will stop me doing what I genuinely believe I was born to do, whatever the potential danger. I don’t take this lightly, however. I would never do anything to endanger the people I love or my team

Q 9. How often do you find yourself going against what you preach and teach, after all, we’re all human, we all have our ‘bad days’ and the like; and how often are you aware of it enough in the present moment to catch yourself do you think?

On my last trip to India at a school in a very poor village, I witnessed a teacher at that school beating a number of children. I heard the sound of the stick first and then as I turned witness the beatings.

It was a really complex situation as this workshop had been organised by a third party that had build up a relationship with this school over a number of years. The local men would not challenge the man with the stick, the headmaster of the school also would not stop it.

I got involved and all I have ever learnt and teach about verbal diffusion went out the window.

I challenged him, I threaten him, I publicly told the girls in the workshop, whilst this man watched me teach, that it is the weakest most pathetic man that beats women and children.

I could not stand by when our motto is ACTION BREAKS SILENCE.

Q 10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

Our plans for Action Breaks Silence are huge and I will be really excited to work with my amazing team of trustees, our teams of local instructors and the CEO to make those come to fruition. If we do that, I am certain we will make a truly meaningful and lasting impact on the communities in which we have worked. If I can do that for the next 20 years, that will take me neatly through to retirement, when I will kick off my shoes and live happily ever after with my partner and our dogs, punctuated by travelling and exploring the world while I am still able to do so.

My UK self-defence company is called Premier Self-Defence and, as well as teaching at schools and organisations throughout the UK, we also hold courses for the general public. The details of all our services are on my website, www.premierself-defence.co.uk.

If you are interested in the work of Action Breaks Silence, please do visit our website – www.actionbreakssilence.org. We are in desperate need of funding and support so, if you share our passion for creating a better world for women & girls and want to get involved in any way, please contact us via info@actionbreakssilence.org.

Int. #5 Inside the Heart of Jim Wagner

My name is Jim Wagner. Many of you know me from my HIGH RISK column I wrote for Black Belt magazine, a million of you know me from my YouTube channel jimwagnerrbpp, some of you have my books, and others of you are learning about me for the first time here and now. My martial arts journey starts at an early age from some of the world's most renown instructors in the world: Kiyoshi Yamazaki, Dan Inosanto, Richard Bustillo, Larry Hartsell, Ted Lucaylucay and others. Unlike many martial artists I actually made a career of my martial arts skills by becoming a soldier, corrections officer, police officer, S.W.A.T. officer, diplomatic bodyguard, and a counterterrorist for the United States government – a 35-year career.

I’m still a warrior, although you’d call it a “weekend warrior,” but one of my most recent missions was protecting Marine One, the helicopter of President Barak Obama, with a U.S. Marine team, along with other aircraft during one of his visits to Los Angeles. Black Belt magazine named me Self-Defense Instructor of the Year in 2006, Budo magazine of Europe inducted me into their martial arts Hall of Fame the same year, followed by the Masters Hall of Fame in 2011, and then the Martial Arts History Museum in 2013. Why? Because I helped modernized the way people learn self-defense today, and many people have labeled me the "father of the reality-based self-defense movement." As a Defensive Tactics and Combatives instructor for the past 23 years I’ve had the privilege of training some of the most elite police and military units in the world: German counterterrorist team GSG9, the Israeli National Police Academy and Israel Defense Forces Bahad 8, Argentinean G.O.E, Brazilian G.A.T.E., Finnish National Police Academy, NATO Special Forces Base Pfullendorf, FBI S.W.A.T., U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group, U.S. Coast Guard Boarding Teams, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Air Force Security Forces, U.S. Army Special Reaction Teams, Mexican Special Operations teams, and the list goes on.

When Richard Dimitri contacted me asking me if I’d answer questions for a Blog interview I was honored. Unless you have been reading Black Belt magazine (USA), Budo International (Europe), or Blitz magazine (Australia), you may not know the modern history of the martial arts. For when I first started studying the martial arts in 1977 there was no mixed martial arts, no integrated firearms training, no talk of the O.O.D.A. Process, no combat first aid for post-conflict training, no courtroom survival, no “know your enemy,” the criminals, like General Sun Tzu advised, no learning to talk with the police after a crime, no understanding of physical evidence, none of it. In fact, jumping from one system to another was considered taboo. Bruce Lee was the first to start breaking that barrier in the Western World with his small group. Dan Insoanto implemented Lee’s concepts by teaching Jeet Kune Do, and as part of that early group I took it all to the next step: integrating modern weapons (firearms, chemicals, explosives, taser, etc.), criminal and police techniques and tactics, and introducing the first system in the martial arts dealing with terrorism called Terrorism Survival. So now, let’s get into the questions.

Q1: What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

The last decade, and add two more years added to that, have seen extreme changes in the martial arts on so many levels, and I have had a big part in it, which is well documented in dozens of police and martial arts publications worldwide going all the way back to the first article about me in SWAT magazine in the November 1988 issue. However, let’s start on January 21, 2003 was when I went public with my Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection system. Before that I was only teaching police and military exclusively. Yet, I must go back a little father back in time to adequately explain how this last decade has had such an affect on me. First, as I mentioned before, I started writing for Black Belt magazine in 1998, and my monthly column HIGH RISK first débuted in the February 1999 issue, but was on the stands in January. Take a look at any martial arts magazine in the world published before this date and you will see virtually nothing about modern fighting: little about criminals, very little about police techniques and tactics, input from military personnel had disappeared for twenty years, and there was nothing about terrorism. Krav Maga was just starting to come on the scene, but the martial arts community did not know about “reality-based” systems. That is to say, systems designed to deal with actual criminals and terrorists, including modern weapons and tactics. Because of my unique background, and my column, I opened the floodgates to a whole new way of training in the martial arts, or literally translated, “war arts.” I started the movement, and like-minded instructors followed my lead.

Since I am credited as the “father of the reality-based movement,” I was breaking new ground and going in directions nobody had gone before in the martial arts. I introduced a lot of new ideas that were unheard of in martial arts schools around the world: paintball guns and then Airsoft, stage blood for realistic scenarios, Terrorism Survival, costumes, stage make-up, Criminal Chemical Defense, surviving a sniper, angles of movement during an Active Shooter, and so many other techniques and tactics I had picked up over the years. Those ten years of spreading my system around the world, literally, was exciting, exhausting, stressful, plenty of ups and downs, and a lot of nights in hotel rooms and lonely overseas flights back home.

Q2: Is there a particular incident/occurrence/situation you recall having directly experienced/been involved in that has deeply & emotionally touched and/or altered you and your perceptions of the world in general?

I had been a martial artist since I was 14-years-old. I studied Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Kung-fu, Judo, Filipino Kali, Chinese kickboxing, Wing Chun, and then I became a Private in the United States Army. What started to change my direction in the martial arts was the way the Army did training. Sure, they taught plenty of techniques and tactics, but after that most training was scenario-based. They spend a lot of dollars to make things look and feel real. I saw this realism, and scenario-based training, lacking in the traditional martial arts from which I came. What made me depart from the traditional martial arts altogether was when I was a corrections officer in a jail and a prisoner tried to kill me. Right then and there I realized that my martial arts had been good for preparing me for the “ego fight,” but not against the “life and death fight.” I guess you can say that this prisoner knocked some sense into me.

Q 3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

When I started the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection system in 2003 I had a lot of things going for me. For several years I had little competition in what I was teaching, I was a fairly well known name in the martial arts world at the time because of my articles, videos, and books through Black Belt magazine in the USA and Budo International in Europe. Yet, despite my advantages it was very hard to make a good living at it compared to full time law enforcement. When I was wearing a badge there was a regular paycheck coming in and lots of benefits, but teaching self-defense for a living was a roller coaster ride; extreme highs and lows. During those rough times I thought about quitting a few times, but just as I was starting to look for a different career all of a sudden new opportunities came my way. Perhaps it was a military unit that wanted training one month, and then the next month two different police departments wanted me to teach their instructors. Or, I’d end up doing a television interview, or being on the cover of a martial arts magazine, and business would be booming again.

If I had to do something else with my life, that is to say not teach the martial arts at all, I’d go into writing full time. I just wrapped up my autobiography called The Greatest Martial Arts Story Ever Told, which is now on sale on Amazon. I have a couple of more books coming out this summer. I enjoy putting my thoughts down on paper or digitally.

Q 4. Do you feel you were proverbially ‘born’ to do what you do, that this was your calling?

I was not “born to be” a martial arts instructor. When I was a boy, I like many American boys, wanted to be an astronaut, soldier, adventurer, and because I had artistic abilities – an artist. I ended up in the martial arts like most people do, and that was to learn self-defense to survive the big bullies at school. One thing led to another, and I ended up teaching self-defense. Once I discovered that people liked the way I taught, and that they appreciated my easy realistic approach, I became more passionate about it, and eventually it became a career.

Q 5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

The martial arts was the catalyst that motivated me into becoming a soldier, and then a corrections officer, then a cop, then a S.W.A.T. officer, then a bodyguard for the Sheriff’s Department, then a counterterrorist fighting the Global War On Terrorism, then a self-defense instructor, and finally a soldier again. I’ve been serving as a Reservist for the past nine and a half years. Obviously, this warrior mentality makes me view the world a bit differently than others. For example, I can have a good time at a party like everyone else, but I scan the area for possible danger. I look for signs of trouble. I’m a trained observer. Instead of sitting just anywhere in a restaurant I prefer a booth or table near a wall, preferably near an exit, and facing the majority of people – facing “center mass” as it were. I am less trusting of strangers, I know that even good colleagues and good friends can stab me in the back after years of trust, and I am disappointed in weak people. The martial arts, and a life of violence or the constant possibility of violence, has made its mark upon me. I won’t argue that. Is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. I’m just more aware of people and situations than most.

Q 6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

Like any person I have some regrets. Nothing earth shattering, but small stuff. Yet, I look at my triumphs and tribulations as life building experiences. I know that I have learned from my mistakes, and that is what counts the most. Repeating mistakes is what would lead to haunting regrets.

Q 7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

My greatest achievement is being married for almost 30 years in a society that no longer knows how to keep their word or stay committed. I live in a very self-center culture now, and it’s all about “me.” When I stood before God and man at and repeated the words, “For better or worse, until death do us part,” I had every intention of keeping that promise, and I have. Marriage is not easy. It is not a feeling. It is a commitment. Commitment develops into a deeper love than the romance that was at the beginning.

As far as my professional achievements go, as a martial arts instructor, it is hearing stories from my students how I changed their lives, or even helped save their lives. For example, let me bring up my French student Julie Duranton. She was a shy teenager when she took her first self-defense course from me. Class by class I saw her come out of her shell and become more confident. The following year at another seminar in Paris she dreaded talking before a group, and so I had her teach a technique she knew to the other students. At first she refused, but then she reluctantly gave it a try. By the following year she was one of my assistant instructors, and her parents thanked me for giving her boldness and confidence. She was a changed person. Then, last year I got an email from Ryan Leef who was one of my students in British Columbia, Canada who was eventually elected as a Member of Parliament. In this email to me he thanked me for helping save “the entire Canadian government.” It turns out that when every major official of the Canadian government, including the Prime Minister, was in session on October 22, 2014 a terrorist stormed the building with a rifle trying to kill as many people as he could. Just outside the nation’s capital he had already killed a soldier and had a shoot out with the police. Ryan, who had taken my Terrorism Survival course a few years earlier, in 2009 to be exact, was the first one to react to the gunshots and started barricading the doors of the chambers. Others followed his lead. I had set up the exact same terrorism scenario when he was my student, and he was doing what I had taught him in a real situation. Next, he prepared to ambush the terrorist if he managed to penetrate into the room. He had a flagpole with a spear at the end with the determination, “Nobody is going to get through that door alive!” These stories, and more, are in my new book. But, I’ve also heard from my students from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, from police officers in New York City and Amsterdam who survived an attack, and even a housewife I had taught sent me an email stating that she was able to do the right thing when a man approached her at a gas station to harass her. I know through my teachings I have helped to keep a lot of people safe, and even more aware of dangers. Over the years I’ve been given a lot of awards, ribbons, medals, and inducted into Halls of Fame, but hearing actual survival stories from my students is the ultimate reward for me.

Q 8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

My stories are the stories my friends and family want to hear. It’s definitely not the life of a banker or an accountant. I’ve lived an exciting life, and people like that kind of stuff. Why are there so many cop shows and movies? Whether it’s about a car chase of a murderer I had back when, teaching a counterterrorist team in Europe, meeting the President of the United States in the Oval Office, or invited to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican last November, I have some very colorful images I put into people’s head. I’m never at a loss for a good story. Yet, honestly, I would not recommend my life, or life style, for anyone. It was too dangerous, too unstable, and too unpredictable. I’m just thankful I’ve made it this far.

Most martial artists will never use their martial arts skills in a life and death fight. In fact, most martial arts instructors have not been in actual gunfights, knife fights, gang fight, or the like. Yes, perhaps they have been in an “ego fight,” the proverbial bar fight or shoving match, but never eye to eye with a criminal or terrorist who intended to kill them. Unfortunately, I have, and more times than I’d like to remember. As such, what I teach to my students is what has kept me alive in the jails, in the streets, and on counterterrorist missions. I truly do practice what I preach and teach. That said, the question is “have I made tactical mistakes before?” Yes, and some of them have almost cost me my life. It’s all part of the Conflict Cycle. The main thing is that I learn from my mistakes, adjust my training accordingly, and prepare myself mentally and physically for the next time I may face it. I also pass on this knowledge to my students. That’s the good thing about my past. I have actual experiences, and not just theory. I know what it is like for a blade to come at my neck or chest. I know what it feels like when the bullets are whizzing past. I’ve had to give first aid to injure or dying people. I know the anxiety of being outnumbered. I’ve had the thoughts, “Am I going to survive this?”

Q 10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

I am now over 50-years-old and I know I am coming to the end of both my military career and my self-defense instructor career. Moving and shooting is a young man’s game for law enforcement and military. Even if I want to stay out in the field, because of my high rank and my age those above me will eventually put me behind a desk or have me “lead from the rear.” It is inevitable. Knowing this is going to happen I am preparing the next generation of soldiers to take over in my little part of the world. I’m trying to pass on my knowledge and experience, along with traditional values that are ever eroding in my country. And, if they are eroding in society, that means they are eroding in the military as well.

Regardless of the future I will always train myself, family members who want to learn, and some close friends in the martial arts, but I don’t see myself teaching publically in 10 years. I may be mentoring or encouraging those teaching my system in a decade, but my life then will definitely not be as it is today. I’ve always used the expression, “nothing lasts forever.” I wanted to be on a S.W.A.T. team, and I did it. I wanted to chase down criminals and drag them to jail, and I did it – plenty of it. I wanted to go around the world teaching, and in so doing I’ve been on every continent except Antarctica doing it. I wanted to have my own martial arts school, and I’ve had three in my life, and many teaching under my name in their own schools. When it comes to the martial arts, I’ve done it all, or at least more than most. However, I am a religious man. And, as much as I have enjoyed my life, I have always allowed God, Jesus Christ, to guide my life. I pray to Him daily, sometimes a few times a day. I have definitely prayed to Him when staring into the face of death, or finding myself in some very tight situations. So, in 10 years or 20 I know He will take care of me, be it in this life or the next. I’ve already lived long enough to see a few of my instructors pass away. I know my day will come eventually. I may not make it to the numbers 10 or 20. Again, “nothing lasts forever.” Not in this life anyway. However, I believe that the soul does last forever, and this life is all about the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, Heaven and Hell, and God or continued rebellion. I believe that the Bible is true, for a lot of reasons, and I am putting all my eggs into that basket. As a martial arts instructor I have taught Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, atheists, straight, homosexuals, sane and borderline insane people over the years. To every single one of my students, regardless of their beliefs or background, I gave each one of them my very best. Anyone who has ever been in one of my classes or seminars could testify to that. I treated the housewife wanting to learn self-defense no differently than the high-speed low drag counterterrorist operator from an elite tactical team. But for me personally, the most important fight, and the one I wish I could have shared with all of my students more, is the one that determines where you’ll be for eternity. For me it has always been about John 3:16 (crack open a Bible, go to the New Testament, then to the Gospel of John and check it out or just Google it). It is the God’s plan for you, should you choose to believe it, in a nutshell.

To wrap up this interview for Rich, I encourage you to read my new book The Greatest Martial Arts Story Ever Told sold on Amazon in paperback or Kindle version, soon to be on iTunes. It is actually three books totaling over 1,500 pages and tons of photos. If you really want to know how much Reality-Based Personal Protection opened the doors for Krav Maga, KAPAP, Russian Systema, Combatives, and the rest, then you’ll enjoy reading this fascinating history. If you want to know about martial arts training in the police academy, in different militaries and police agencies around the world, and for the Global War on Terrorism, I’ll take you inside that world as well. If you want to know how I brought KAPAP out of Israel you’ll get a front row seat. And, God help you if you become well known and respected as a martial arts instructor, for you will have enemies coming out of the wood work like you can’t believe – enemies from the other side of the globe you have never met. Oh yes, I go into detail about the seedy side of the martial arts community, for I have been a target since day one. Even if history and cool fighting stories may not be your thing, you’ll learn a ton of techniques and tactics that will give you great ideas for your own training just by reading it. So, I’ll leave you with the Jim Wagner Reality-Based Personal Protection motto – Be A Hard Target.

My Family the Carnival

From day 1, April 11^th 1994 when I first opened the doors of Senshido at the arrogant age of 24, I’ve attracted some of the best humanity has to offer to surround me across the never ending journey.

It’s what set us apart. If you were a misfit, if you felt alone, if you felt like you didn’t belong anywhere and were or are regarded as the proverbial ‘black sheep’, a freak, deemed ‘insane’ or just felt completely out of place amongst the norms; you had a home with us at Senshido.

For the most part, Senshido and I attracted characters, survivors. These were and are as real as people get; raw, opinionated, and honest to the bone, each and every one of them marched strictly to the beat of their own drummer and made no apologies for it. They were people with empathy, heart, passion and more often than not, misunderstood by most. They really cared about the very people who labeled, judged and misunderstood them.

Though they come from every walk of life, culture, religion or lack thereof, social denomination, race and social economical backgrounds, we all shared a few common grounds that created an immediate bond. Senshido became home for many.

Our student’s were our friends. We’d hang out after classes, go out together, partied together, worked, trained, travelled and even lived together at times. We’d be there for each other during some of the toughest moments when it seemed no one else understood or gave a shit. We literally laughed, cried, fought and bled together.

It is how I handpicked the Senshido team both local and international. I used to refuse between 50 and 60 requests to join our team per year on average. In order to join the Senshido team I had to get to know you on a personal level, we had to be friends first and foremost. We had to share common grounds large enough for me to trust you with my legacy.

These people became more than friends, they became family. They are all over the world and not just those that have become instructors, but those who have participated in and attended our classes and workshops on a regular basis as well; they are all family and treated as such.

The family has exponentially grown along with Safe International and Spartan Gear; we are a large but tight community. We more than have each other’s backs. The May 23^rd Montreal seminar was a huge testament to that, people from all over the world showed up including Australia, Europe, the US, Brazil and more.

You’d think walking into a room with so many instructors from so many different groups and parts of the world would sound like a martial combat symposium but you were greeted with hugs, love, beer, weed and goat jokes.

I’ll tell you one thing, we are not everyone’s cup of proverbial tea and you know what, we don’t give a fuck either. That’s the beauty of it. We’re not out to please or tease ya, we’re out to give you the best damn self defense training we can provide and do we ever; and if you’re not a puckered up tight assed anally retentive individual that offends easily, then maybe, just maybe…. You can be a part of our carnival.

As one of our friends Jace Lynn put it:

“In 1992, a crack crazy unit was sent to train with Rich by a court for a goat crime they probably committed. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Canadian underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as a ragtag outfit of street fighters. If you have a problem; if no one else can help, and if you can find them; they won't give a Fuck. Maybe you can hire… The Goat team.”

Int. #4: Inside the Heart of Lee Morrison

My name is Lee Morrison I work the International seminar circuit teaching Combatives to Civilians, Law Enforcement, Security and Military Units. I operate under my company Urban Combatives or UC and am based in the UK.

Q 1. What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

As an Instructor who always thinks more as a student, I realised that the more you teach others the more you really learn and grasp yourself. I think I’ve found my niche in life. I never really wanted to teach but kind of veered into it which on a personal level, finding something you really can do well, is a very fortunate thing as there are many things I’m not so good at. I guess I feel it has given me purpose and direction so far in life. I like working with good people that get something worthwhile from what I teach, I don’t just mean in a Self-Protection sense but things that translate to other areas of life in general. Combatives just gives me a vehicle for that.

Oh mate, many from the earliest age, none of which make fun reading. During my life people and human nature in general never fucking failed to disappoint. With that said I have met many of positive influences also. In regards to dealing with violence? I learnt long ago that people only treat you the way you let them.

Q 3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

I did look to doing something else as the travelling and various other elements of working the circuit were having a negative impact on a previous relationship. So I took a regular job and did a lot less teaching for a while but the same outcome became inevitable. During this time I felt like I should be doing what I love best, but career was in no way more important than my relationship at the time and so I tried. In view of the future, injuries and of course age dictate a timescale. There is no way that I will continue doing this when I am in no way as capable as I am now. I will hang it up and pass it to my top guys if they want to continue. For me, I have a few ideas, some lecturing in University, working on my media company, some clothing line ideas but most of all I’d like to get into fight scene choreography for ‘realistic’ depictions of violence in film.

Q 4. Do you feel you were proverbially ‘born’ to do what you do, that this was your calling? Is there perhaps another thing you wish you would have done instead, or believe you are just as good at and should have perhaps explored instead?

Yes I think so, like I said before, it was a calling I was born to do this shit!

Q 5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

Travelling 3 times a month abroad takes its toll in a relationship, working a regular job brings a fair basic living if you work hard at it. But UC has made me a comfortable living, nothing fantastic by any means but good. I am not a materialistic man in any way, but I like to take care of the people I care about so it has been a necessary means to that end, doing something I enjoy very much.

If you work around, study, immerse yourself and have had a vast experience of violence it is possible to a certain degree, to become somewhat de-sensitized to the small things most people may have a larger reaction to. I mean this in a verbal/conversation sense.

Example a bigger kid shoves your kid over in class; there is a procedure to follow with such things with teachers etc. My response to my son was to take the kid by the hair and bounce his face off his desk a couple of times, it WON’T happen again son! There I proceeded to show him how. Not acceptable in ‘normal’ society apparently.

A ‘pikey’ threatens to punch my 65 year old mother in law in the face, so I realize no amount of conversation with this man will bring about a suitable outcome. So I go to his house and tell the man if he ever says a single word in her direction again I will fucking end him, I offer him the opportunity to show me what he thinks he can do, he declines!

A good result I think made possible from projection of pure Intent and confidence to back it up. No physical response needed. But apparently NOT normal behavior. Bit of a catch 22, when you share less love of the human race than some, you get branded anti-social, yet when family or friends potentially have a confrontational problem in my circle, who do you think they think about, to bring it to a conclusion for them?

I think serious people within our field that have come to their general conclusions from live experience, may be less tolerant with anti-social people and if that feels like a normal response to them, can also have a profound effect on those around you that don’t think that way.

Q 6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

Yes of course I’m human. Best left unsaid I think.

Q 7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

In personal life the birth of all my children 🙂 in my line of work, getting to work alongside my most motivation role model, Kelly McCann at the Crucible with an Elite Unit. Was just great like Robby Williams getting to sing with Frank Sinatra

Q 8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

They think I’m an educated thug! ( : Just kidding, I don’t know, they see me on YouTube and stuff but know me in a very different light. They know I’m capable and caring some say I have a presence about me, but I tend to leave my work at the gate.

Not often but I realize it immediately and usually say something like ‘do what I say, not what I do’ will a smile and a laugh.

Q 10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

I am doing a lot more in the US right now so I’d like to explore that further. I absolutely love Australia, I have two good guys out there who you know Rich, Nox Tauakipulu in Sydney and Jimmy Armstrong in Melbourne I’m there every year and the plan is to move there.

Int. # 3: Inside the Heart of Tim Larkin

So for the past 25 years I’ve instructed people on the realities of dealing with imminent violence. My system is called Target Focus Training. The client list has included everyone from the elites of the military and law enforcement community, celebrities, CEO’s, and great people in over 52 countries.

I have an instructor cadre of 48 instructors (10 Master Instructors) and we offer seminars worldwide. My HQ is in Las Vegas and we operate another full time facility in San Diego.

I’m a father of four (20 year old son, 4 year old son, twin 20 month old daughters) and my wife is a LT on Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept.
I want to thank Richard for this interview because these questions are very different than the run of the mill media questions I usually answer. I take what I do seriously but never have made the mistake of taking myself seriously and with that in mind here are my answers.

Q 1. What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

The biggest change that I've gone through is that I've become a much better communicator on the subject of violence.

I realize the vast majority of the clients don't necessarily want to do long-term training nor do they actually want to be good at "self-defense".

Most people come to me because they don't have an understanding of violence and how it pertains to them personally and how to navigate the subject.

This is a big departure from my early career where the focus was on producing "badasses" and exclusively focusing on military/ law-enforcement units and hard-core practitioners.

I still love to train those groups/individuals but I've found that they'll still seek me out whereas the people that truly need the basic information rarely will so I've availed myself to speaking in other non traditional arenas where I reach people that wouldn't necessarily seek out a self-defense instructor for information on how to live a safer life.

This change came about after 9/11 when I received more inquiries from general population groups and associations. I was challenged on how to craft the message so they hear me rather than dismiss the message as too aggressive. It made me a better communicator and forced me to re-think how to introduce the subject of self protection.

I wouldn't say there's a particular incident but the fact that I have traveled worldwide since I was a small child gives me a different perspective on the human condition.

It's gonna sound like the negative take but I operate with the idea that everybody is just three days away from killing each other.

What I mean by that is if you take away access to water from a group in three days you are gonna see a vast difference in how humans interact with each other. I just like to keep that in the back of mind whenever I'm operating in society.

Probably sounds like an extreme attitude but I found it to keep me very polite and very aware

Q 3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

Sure there have been many times that I've thought that I would leave the industry. Sometimes it was because of better financial opportunities in other fields, sometimes because of difficulties with partners in the business.

I think if I was to leave I would still find a way to teach a subject that I'm passionate about. I really enjoy the challenge of becoming a subject matter expert and then sharing that knowledge with others.

I definitely think I was born (sounds hokey but I'll stick with "born") to teach people.

This subject matter was something, since I was a small boy, that fascinated me so it's not a surprise to me that I ended up in this field.

I can't really think of another subject that I'm as comfortable with or more passionate about that I wish I had explored more.

I feel pretty comfortable that this is an easy area for me to share my talents of communication. It has never felt like work for me.

Q 5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

Well my career has cost me two divorces and numerous other personal relationships due to my travel schedule and passion to get out and share the material.

Most people couldn't understand why I was so devoted to training and the fact that I would be gone for months at a time in various parts of the world training what they saw as merely punching and kicking.

I have to admit that I wasn't the best at attempting to enlighten those around me about what I did.

I had more the attitude if they couldn't figure it out it wasn't worth communicating to them. In hindsight I probably should've had more patience in attempting to communicate this to those around me but honestly I don't think it would've made a difference in how those relationships turned out.

Q 6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

My regrets come from the fact that throughout my life and career I've had opportunities to receive training and enlightenment from some incredible people and enjoy amazing places but because I was so single-minded in my career I often missed out on taking advantage of those incredible opportunities.

I think this is a common pattern in driven type A personalities to sometimes not stop and smell the roses and I certainly have been guilty of that in the past.

Q 7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

As young intel officer in the late 80s early 90s I participated in some incredible operations and worked with units that I really didn't deserve to be part of.To this day I still have great relationships as a result of those years.

Professionally in 2002 I presented in Prague to a group which included the recent former head of MI6.

After the presentation he took me aside and told me was the finest presentation he'd ever seen on hand to hand combat and opened some doors for me after that event that were professionally incredible.

Since that time I've had multiple magazine covers a New York Times bestseller, lots of media accolades etc...yet nothing has outdone that conversation I had in Prague.

Q 8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

Until recently I've been a bit of an embarrassment for my mom and dad as they couldn't understand why I never used my degree in international business to get a real career.

I always laugh thinking of the 52 countries that I presented in, numerous corporations that I worked with as well as other business professionals yet my mom sees me basically as a punching and kicking specialist.

That is hard for her to compete with in her social circles since her friends have kids who are Drs and lawyers. So she loses those bragging rights.

My friends mostly misunderstand what I do and usually talk about me in tough guy terms or joke with me about being a "killer". I like it this way because the majority of my friends don't participate in self-defense training.

I have many friends who are entrepreneurs in other fields and I'm able to have a relationship with them and talk about things that have nothing to do with my subject matter.

I find this to be essential for me to stay grounded.

I'm definitely a very flawed individual and there are many times I catch myself going against what I teach.

Often times it has to do with daily meditation other times it has to do with how I responded to antisocial aggression behavior. I humbly recognize that it's much easier "to do as I say" and hopefully ignore "do as I do".

But I think this is a very human condition and I'm okay with it because I don't delude myself that I don't violate on my own teachings and I do catch myself in the act. That last part is the important bit.

Q 10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

At this stage in my career I'm really trying to leverage my audience so I'm focusing the majority my time on writing books, doing presentations in front of large audiences and really trying to get my message out.

So this is taking me away from small group trainings which of been the focus of the past 25 years of my career.

What I found now is that I can share my message and make much bigger impact if I focus on using technology and media to reach as many people as possible.

This doesn't mean that I don't still train...I do and I still find it to be my favorite way to spend time with clients.

My personal journey changed in that I'm okay handing over some of the day-to-day reigns to my senior people which frees me up to do the larger projects. It is been a hard transition for me to delegate some of those responsibilities as I am a perfectionist.

But I really enjoy the opportunity to expand the audience who can hear my message.

I have other business interests that don't require as much of my time and they are fun. But for the next 20 years I think in some way shape or form I will still be communicating the message of self protection in some format as I really enjoy it and I enjoy the challenge of continuing to be relevant in the industry.

So the easiest way to hear more about how I look at the things would be via my recent TEDx talk which really covers how I look at the subject of violence. View it now at this link “Paradox Of Violence”.

To find out more about me or my system here is the link: Target Focus Training

Once again thanks to Richard for letting me speak to his audience and I hope he'll let me return the favor in the near future.

Int. #2: Inside the Heart of Hock Hochheim

Everybody just calls me Hock, even though some are still compelled to call me “sir.” And I feel uncomfortable with even that title, since I had to call numerous idiots “sir” in the military. I am a former military patrolman and investigator and a former Texas patrolman and investigator. After my retirement in 1997, I was a private investigator. I started Ed Parker Kenpo Karate in 1972 and since, I’ve done numerous martial arts and picked up a few black belts along the way. I currently teach about 40 hand, stick, knife and gun seminars in about 12 or 13 countries a year. I also write novels and non-fiction books.

Q 1. What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

Ten years went fast, but if I conjure up an image of myself teaching somewhere at that time, it seems like 25 years ago. Not being a very introspective person, I think, change-wise, I still hone away at material to its generic core, trying to see what and where that core could fit in the other subjects I try to pass on.

In these ten years I still try to get people to experiment through options and select their favorite 8 to 10, or 12 favorite ‘self defense” things for most of the problem-solving that fits their world. But as I age (in my 60s), I now tell people to review their list every 8 or so years to see of they can still do their favorites well enough and maybe consider some changes.

These last years though, I start all sessions off with a speech that includes, “nothing I, or we will do, will be perfect. Everything we do will have a counter.” Just to get the right mindset that we are going to exercise though a variety of options. This bit of truth gets a chuckle from some smart folks and shocks others because they think martial system “heads” and ringleaders are there to deliver “magic bullets” to all attack problems.

I started out in the 1970s just looking for a job that was exciting and didn’t bore me. The military and police work. There was a slow osmosis in police work, a whole collection of events from crime to car wrecks, that made me mature up and realize that police work was important. But it took awhile. And then, way too late in life, I realized how important militaries are and could be. It would be hard for me to pick one or two deep things, emotional things because so many bad things happened to me that if I try to pick one or two, my mind flips from one to the next, to the next. Ugly, ugly and more ugly. And I dislike visiting the memories, really. I don’t even want to visit the Army bases and cities I worked in, because there are so many bad memories at so many locations.

Q 3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

Weekly. I think about quitting weekly, but I can’t because it is my job. People will say to me:

“It must be great, traveling around the world and doing your passion. Where is your favorite place to go?” My quick answer is “home,”…and, this? This…ain’t my passion.

I do a fair number of interviews and many don’t get “published,” because my answers don’t fit their anticipated mold. One of the “moldy” questions recently was – “Martial arts. How did you first discover this passion?”

I said that that was hard for me to answer that question the way it was posed. It was hard for me to include the word “passion” in with a dead customer on the floor from a bank robbery. Or, a soldier gutted in some trench. Or a wife stabbed in the chest. Somebody’s jaw broken. It soon became apparent to the martial arts interviewer that I had a completely different view than what he perceived “passion and martial arts life” to be. So, another interview disappeared off the charts.

And I do grow impatient with people in the business. You know, now I am “60s-stupid.” I was REALLY stupid when I was in my 20s. I was still stupid, but less so in my 30s. In that progression I was 40s-stupid. Then 50s-stupid. Stupid about life and fighting. In my 60s, I am still stupid but not as stupid as I was. I know stupid and I can recognize it. I am constantly seeing and hearing stupid stuff from the various decades of ages in this business. Hearing the testosterone-driven, bad-mouthing criticisms about everyone and everything.

Quitting or not, I have an odd and unexplainable interest in…for lack of a better word, “tactics.” I don’t know why. I am like a hoarder, obsessed, drawn to the ways of fighting big and small. It is not fun. It is not a hobby. It is not a passion. It is unhealthy and I recognize that. But I’ve seen stuff and I know stuff. Next, people asked me what stuff I’ve learned. Next thing, I am teaching the stuff. Next thing, I am making more money teaching that stuff than at police work. Crazy money compared to the low-paying police job. A fool would not and could not do both. Next thing, I am teaching stuff, 40 times a year all over. I don’t really know how this happened? I didn’t plan it. I didn’t want it. I just kept moving forward week to week. Now, 18 years have passed by. I am really too old to do much else at this stage of my life, except maybe write.

I am, I think, first and foremost a writer. Second, a detective. Third, maybe this fighting stuff? I was probably born to be a writer. It’s a music I get. I have an ear for it. And I can stand the painful labor of it all. Being a detective, not so much a patrolman but an investigator was a natural for me, both in the military and in Texas. But it was exhausting work, with a toll. Through time, I did grow very tired of people’s problems. Day after day, month and year after year, people’s problems. After 26 years I’d had enough of it. I never was a social worker type. I use to joke that victim’s were mere vessels for me to get my hands around the throats of criminals. But it was half a joke. Victims of various tragedies wore me to a frazzle.

I do wish I had just played baseball. I honestly did have potential in my teens. Imagine living your life going out on a green field everyday and playing a slow game of baseball. I really don’t like to watch baseball, but loved playing ball. Yeah. Baseball.

Q 5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

Being an obsessive hoarder, I know it has. But, when I was a Texas detective for 17 years, I fit the classic stereotype. Nothing personal stood in my way when working cases. Lots of things fell by the wayside. Here these last 18 years of my traveling and teaching, my kids are grown and busy, and my wife (now 3rd which tells you something right there) is in on this business too, so we are very close and she gets the time and the effort.

Q 6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

Loads. (I still have one unsolved homicide from the 1980s!) But, looking back on this particular path? I should have rejoined the Army in the Army Reserves, a few years after I got out, and had a few years in Texas policing, I should have joined the Reserves. The Army Reserves really bend over backward to get you in and keep you in and happy. It’s the Reserves! I could gotten Warrant Officer schools, CID/FBI schools, so much and in 25 plus years, jeez, Now? I would be “set” by now. Oh, I would have deployed overseas about 4 or 6 times, but at six months clips and that’s ok with me. People can retire from the Reserves. I have a retirement from the police department which is not much, and then that extra Army Reserves retirement on top to boot would have been great? Plus, I could have kept a hand in that military “game,” and contributed something to the cause.

Then of course, there are a long series of smaller regrets, -“WHY did I sell all my 1950s and 1960s comic books in the 70s? If I had simply saved them? I’d be rich!” -“WHY didn’t I train martial arts when I was in Korea?” -Baseball? Did someone mention baseball already? -on and on.

Q 7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

Solving some murder cases, getting convictions, are most satisfying, especially solving the “mystery” ones. So many murders are committed with easily identified, emotional suspects. But ones without this solution are way harder. A mystery. Solving these murders are the big leagues of policing. I have won those Superbowls. I have even caught a hit man, and seriously helped capture two serial killers.

Getting my second novel, My Gun is My Passport, published, and then getting an award for it was very cool. As far as the fighting business? A few small ones. I guess teaching in the one South African Police Academy was very unique. Kick boxing with, and then being able to beat one of my best, earliest and important instructors Ray Medina back in the 1980s was a personal landmark for me. I did raise two kids into functioning, adults with professional jobs. And that ain’t hay! My Knife/Counter-Knife book is a beauty, I think. The big, oversized hardcover, with over 1,000 how-to color photos. I still love the look and feel of it. Lots of work.

It is important not to let these things go to your head. Never take yourself too seriously. As Julius Caesar first said, then Patton said, “all glory is fleeting.” I believe that it’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you are about to do that makes you vital and important. Kevin Pollak, the actor, comedian, writer and director says, “if you’re waiting, you ain’t creating.” (And…all that kind of talk)

Q 8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

They think I am an oddity. I usually hide it for as long as I can. I am on a whole lot of plane flights and people, like at events and gatherings and parties and so forth, like to ask “what do you do?” If I tell people the truth? They act impressed, but like I am a freak, or super soldier, but I myself, can’t see how they could possibly believe me. I mean, if a stranger told me they did what I did, I wouldn’t believe them. So, I dodge it. I started telling people years ago I sold insurance, thinking that was boring enough, but it was a mistake. EVERYONE has insurance problems and this just lead to more and more conversation. Next, I told people that I traveled a lot, scouting locations for Long John Silver’s, for future, fast food locations. This is a going-nowhere conversation piece. A dead end. They look at you, sometimes with pity, and then change the subject.

I am not a rah-rah person about this fighting stuff, which is a huge detriment to my business, I know this. I do what I have to do to stay afloat. Now you want to talk about my books and writing? Watch out! Step back! Here it comes! I won’t shut up.

Low expectations! Seriously, I don’t preach much at all. I don’t expect much of myself or other people either. If I suddenly discover an hypocrisy in my doctrine, I fix it immediately.

One professional snafu I still get in is that I still teach Filipino martial arts when requested. I don’t push the subject, but I do have a ton of time and grade in it. Parts of arts can contradict my major battle plan that I preach and teach, creating a problem, but, if hired out for the event, I sing the golden-oldies. And I realize it really is just an interest and a hobby for so many people. It’s fun, addictive and its exercise and makes people happy. The real benefits are abstract. They are interested in the history, the look and feel of it, like some people like Corvettes or the Boston Red Sox. So, I am there with a big smile on.

Q 10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

Probably dead. What’s the average age of death? 75? I got about 12 years left. And the 70s are a rough decline, whew! I’ll fight it back, but man! I hope to be retired sooner than that, collecting all the money I sent in to Uncle Sam, and writing international, bestselling novels and non-fiction stories, made into movies, in which I will have brief cameos like Stan Lee.

But right now, I will continue to chug along. Make the gigs I promised to make. Chisel the material I am obsessed to chip away on, like the hoarder than I am. It seems like I live my life in 6 months chunks, 6 at a time. I see and worry about the next 6 month schedule more than the distant future. I worry about those 20 some-odd gigs I have to go in the next six months. What will I do? How will I get there? How will I advertise them best? What’s the best way to do all things?

Personally, in the coming years, I just want to hang out with my wife now and even more so in the future. Unless, you know, all those movie cameos keep me too, too busy.

Hock’s webpage is www.ForceNecessary.com. His email is Hock@HocksCQC.com. He currently teaches hand, stick, knife and gun tactics in about 40 seminars a year in 13 allied countries. His latest non-fiction book is “Don’t Even Think About It” Confessions and Memories of a Former Military and Texas Lawman, Private Investigator and Body Guard.

Int. #1: Inside the Heart of Mark Hatmaker

My first Interview is with Mark Hatmaker, he is the owner and operator of Extreme Self Protection a clearinghouse of old school Boxing, Wrestling, Combination Man (the original MMA athlete), conditioning, and pragmatic street-defense information.

He is the author of over 15 books and over 175 training videos and counting.

For more information visit his site at www.extremeselfprotection.com

Q1. What significant change(s) on a human level, have you gone through over the last decade in direct relation to your work and how has it, if any, changed the way in which you teach/instruct?

The single biggest change for me over the past decade in both my personal and professional life is giving up on the concept of certainty. What I mean by that is that the older I get (I’ll flatter myself and call it wisdom when it might be nothing more than early onset senility) the less I am impressed or enthused about set systems, fixed curriculums, dogmatic answers in all domains not just martial arts/self-defense. Canned philosophical answers, rote religious tropes, ready-made political wisdom and all the rest strike me as being as little behind the curve.

Not to say that each of these answers may (or may not) hold some aspect of truth to them, just that they often seem to be intellectual holding places, excuses to stop growth and to assume a mantle of comprehension where none may exist. Most things in life are far more chaotic or dependent on chance than I assumed in my younger years. The more and more I grasp/embrace the randomness of life and complex systems the more it seems that I can get a little better glimpse of what might be useful-or my best guess at useful.

For a lengthy digression on this topic see the works of Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Many ballpark his work as primarily belonging to the realm of financial observation, but I think he would disagree with that assertion. I myself find the philosophy of randomness is applicable to almost any and all areas of my life.

As for how it directly affects my teaching, I don’t dig set curricula at all, particularly in self-defense work. Instead I see greater wisdom in providing loose-templates of response choices, putting the athlete through a variety of stress drills and observing what movement patterns manifest for them and then play to their idiosyncratic strength. I find far greater success with this stress-culling process than me arbitrarily trying to overlay skill-sets on another individual.

Q2. Is there a particular incident/occurrence/situation you recall having directly experienced/been involved in that has deeply & emotionally touched and/or altered you and your perceptions of the world in general?

In regard to the first question, there was no triggering event to spark an “Ah, so this is how things really are” but since assuming this “the world is primarily random” stance I’ve had more than a few experiences that seem to confirm that we/I/everyone don’t really at a serious level understand the world we live in.

A simple enough experiment is to record all of your own predictions, everything from how much you think you’ll enjoy a vacation, to if this season of Justified will be any good, really any and all predictions. A habit of doing this has led me to reveal that I really have no idea for the most part of what I will think or do in this world. Keep in mind this is me predicting myself, presumably a subject I should have expert knowledge of.

I carry this experiment over into my observations of friends and family (privately, of course, no sense in saying “Man, you sure are wrong a lot”) and have noticed how often what others say, do, predict about this or that other person or event turns out to be so far off base. Even in light of our personal horrible prediction records, we carry on making predictions and taking them seriously.

If I’m getting too far into the weeds with this conversation feel free to ask me to clarify or shut up.

Q3. Have you ever thought of quitting the game altogether? If yes, why? And if you were to at this stage in your life (today) do something entirely different, what would it be?

You know I’ve not thought about quitting. I’ve had more than a few injuries that gave me pause to wonder how long this feeble body can do what it does, but at the cognitive “want to” level, I haven’t considered quitting, not yet.

Q4. Do you feel you were proverbially ‘born’ to do what you do, that this was your calling? Is there perhaps another thing you wish you would have done instead, or believe you are just as good at and should have perhaps explored instead?

Keeping in my mind my “belief” in chance, I really see very little aspects of my life that were the result of a direct plan. On one hand I can look over my life and see a direct line that seems to say “Yeah, this was destined, this event led to this therefore this” but that is most likely narrative fallacy.

I didn’t’ choose my parents, the country I was born into, my native language, where my parents lived, the myriad random influences that went into roiling around in my noggin that stewed into making me what I am. I sincerely think that much of life is chance and we respond to it as it occurs and it is only in hindsight often that things look a bit more linear.

Q5. How has your work affected your personal life in regards to the relationships with those outside our field/profession? (Professional, personal, familial, romantic, etc.)

I really can’t say I’ve seen any negative impact at all. I’m really at net gain, I’ve met some exceptionally kind, generous, lovely human beings within this field that have gone on the become friends outside of training. No complaints at all.

Q6. Do you have any regrets at all? If yes, which is the one that haunts you the most?

Regrets. Absolutely. Everyday. Fortunately most of them are in the small “r” version of the word regret. Any day I do what might be a time-wasting activity, a space-filler as opposed to doing something real, not always necessarily productive, well, that would be a small “r” regret.

Taking things, and people for granted always looms large in my mind. I like to think I’ve got my head wrapped around the appreciation habit but back-sliding is easy.

I find what helps me to keep on track is not to ask myself what it is I would like to do tomorrow as we always get grandiose with future plans and forget that more than likely we will manufacture excuses, instead I ask myself “What do I wish I did yesterday?” That question is a tonic that reminds me to correct regrets before I regret them if that makes any sense.

Q7. What are your proudest moments/achievements in both your private and professional lives?

Professionally, I’ve been mighty fortunate. Whether it be projects in the works, or projects that come to fruition, or the friendships I’ve made, or the “Hey, this is fun” look on someone’s face as they are training-I really dig all of that. We’re all essentially grown-ups “playing karate” I fail to see why we should take any of it seriously. Don’t get me wrong, train hard, yes indeed. Make it a serious hard-assed affair with all the fun sucked out of it. Seems a big mistake to me.

Personally, my wife, my daughter, life in general. I don’t like to use the word pride here as to me pride connotes that I had something to do with an effort, that I have earned a share in some success. I do like to use the word impress as it seems to get closer to how I feel when I look at the precious people in my life. I’m impressed with who they are and their accomplishments and reactions to the world and that in turn makes me mighty glad to have them in my life.

Q8. How do your friends and family outside the industry/self defense/martial arts world view what you do for a living? What are your thoughts and feelings about it?

It honestly rarely, if ever, comes up. I’m not a shop-talk guy. They know what I do for a living, I know what they do for a living and there it lies. I really don’t see what I do as being any different from a guy who works at a muffler shop, with the exception that that guy can fix a muffler and I can’t.

Q9. How often do you find yourself going against what you preach and teach, after all, we’re all human, we all have our ‘bad days’ and the like; and how often are you aware of it enough in the present moment to catch yourself do you think?

If we’re talking professionally-I’m pretty consistent. If we’re talking personally maybe 60/40 (that 60% being the bad side). I really do see life as pretty much a random process, one that can be responded to with grace, honor, appreciation, and humility, but despite how much I find predictions/assumptions/unwarranted judgements off-base more often than not I still can’t seem to completely give up making unfounded guesses.

In the areas of mundane things this doesn’t matter-for example, “I don’t’ think I like goat-cheese, oh, wait its pretty good.” Where it is a horrible habit is to see another human and judge a book by its cover, to make assumptions. Categorizing and labeling another human strikes me as devaluing and demeaning and I have to admit I don’t have this licked yet.

Q10. What now? Where do you go from here? Where do you see yourself in 10, 20 years both on a personal and professional level?

Prepare for a disappointing answer. I really have no idea. I no longer make long-term plans. Yes, I sock money away for “retirement” whatever that will mean in my case. I make grocery lists, I make monthly training schedules, I’ll outline a book or project I’m working on but I do zero “In 5 years I will have a pony-tail and have earned my helicopter license” plans.

I guess this makes me a short-term planner and a wait and see-er when it comes to the long-term. I’ll respond to what life throws at me as it really does all the throwing, and assume that I really don’t have too much of a say in the thing until life decides to ask.

Richard, I’ve got to say I really enjoyed this line of questioning. Whether my pseudo-philosophical maundering is of any interest to others I have no idea, but thanks for the opportunity to introspect all the same.

If anyone wants more info on our approach to conditioning, boxing, wrestling, MMA, and street defense go to our websitewww.extremeselfprotection.com and have a browse. If you do have a browse and have any questions about the material, or, hell questions about the above discussion drop me an email mark@extremeselfprotection.com always looking for the next friend.

Have a good one, one and all!

Mark Hatmaker

Truth: Strictly for those than can cope

One of the greatest things I've learned in the last few years, is that for one, the more scientifically literate I become, the more money I save. Direct result, cutting out such a monumental part of everyday bullshit that plagues so much of people's lives it is truly, utterly astounding. The second part is that it answered tons and tons of questions eliminating the constant nagging of cognitive dissonance and allowing for honesty to replace illusion.

And BRAVO!!!! by the way; a well deserved hats off to the charlatans and conmen out there that have been taking advantage of man's ignorance and pure unadulterated stupidity by making a fucking mint off it. I applaud you!!! I too was taken for many, many years, decades really, victim to the bullshit due to my very own weaknesses, ignorance and stupidity. I say 'stupidity' because I then chose to remain ignorant even when presented with evidence for a long time..... and it is when we are at our weakest that we are the most vulnerable to these snake oil salesmen but like I said, I admit and applaud them though I do not condone what they are doing one bit as they are as much a part of the perpetual bullshit, pseudo-science, hocus pocus, mumbo jumbo plaguing the vast majority of humanity still today.

I don't understand what scares people so much about facts and truth to the point that they have to create and hang onto illusions, myths and legends..... sure they're cool, uplifting etc. but why the need for blind faith? I don't get that. At all. Not only deny the truth, but also for some unfathomable reason, to be offended by it?!?! Wow. Just... wow. I for one was never offended by truth. Sure it created a massive amount of cognitive dissonance and I sure as hell wanted to believe in all those things, be it deities, astrology, sasquatch, spirits, angels, demons, extradimensional beings, magic cures and what not, but the only thing they have in common other than being 'paranormal' or 'miraculous' is that every single one of those things lack one major criteria: EVIDENCE. They got none. Outside of tradition, hearsay, personal anecdotes and interpretations of events, they got nothing.

How crucial, critical is evidence? Well, critical enough that in most first world countries anyway, we cannot convict a man, especially to a death sentence without evidence and facts. Critical enough that I don't care who you are reading this, I can only imagine that if you were wrongly convicted for a multiple murder in a city that sustains capital punishment, you would be hard pressed to have all the solid facts and evidence revealing your innocence via the use of forensic science over eyewitness testimony and hearsay.

It requires outside the box thinking to evolve I agree, but it takes evidence based thinking to progress throughout our evolution. Scientific literacy is and should be one of the top priority lessons in raising our children today. In my opinion, this will insure 2 things: 1. They won't be conned out of hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout their lives by every charlatan and snake oil salesman out there and 2. They will help undo the dark ages of religion past and present, and eradicate a good percentage of 'deaths by belief' be it through anti-vaxxers, religious fundamentalists and/or medicine/science deniers.

Sincerely,

Rich

Damned if you do or don’t.

I don't know about other self defense instructors out there but for me, this has been and is one hell of a tough job. Maybe I'm sensitive, I don't know, but dealing with the violence and its trail of victims, dealing with the politics of the industries and topping it off with the feeling that nothing you do or have ever done has even made a dent in the world, regardless of the testimonials or the number of friends and peers who tell you what a great and fantastic job you are doing; it still manages to leave this dense heaviness in the middle of my chest enough for me to battle the daily decision of leaving it altogether once and for all.

I wrestled with the idea of quitting for nearly 5 years. I tried leaving it all back in early 2012 when my son was born. Though he was one of the main reasons factoring into several others at the time, that anvil in the middle of my chest was most certainly a decisive factor. I managed to somewhat stay away for 3 years while dabbling mainly in the sport side of the martial arts which was truly a breathe of fresh air to deal with people who simply wanted to get healthier and stronger in their lifestyles.

During those 3 years I decided to try various jobs and since I've never really had a real job by societies standards since I worked at a paint store in my late teens, I had no idea how to do a job interview, so needless to say, I was too "intense" for the first few and didn't get the job. Once I learned the game some, I started getting work and I went from delivering pizza to working at a video shop to working for Parks Canada at a summer camp ground.

Finding it difficult to navigate from unfulfilling job to unfulfilling job as much as I enjoyed them during the short terms and worked with great people all around, I literally began hitting a state of depression and losing a monumental part of who I was and am, I had to go back to do what I do best, what I was and am literally born to do; and in October of 2014 I made the decision to return to teaching.

The job isn't 9 to 5 either, for me anyway, it's 24/7. I can't just 'shut it off', it's much to much a part of who I am and so that heaviness returned with it. I have since dealt with and plunged right back into the world of violence, a dark world, one that left me cynical and unfortunately somewhat jaded, I can't deny that.

That sense of no matter what you do, no matter who or how many you help or have helped to date, no matter how hard you work, or try, or stay up at night, no matter how hard you push, it hasn't changed a thing. The violence is still out there, people are still raping, assaulting, murdering each other just as much if not more than when you began your quest.

Now I don't know if you believe in coincidence or that shit happens for a reason, but every single time I've come so really close to the decision of leaving it all behind for good, I receive an email or a phone call from someone who's life I have changed. Not saved; but changed and inspired.

Today was no different. I received a message from a Facebook friend I haven't directly really communicated with in years. He asked me to call him as what he had to say he felt he needed to say in person. I called him up and he confided in me that he is unfortunately and sadly, in his final days as cancer has taken its toll after a long and hard battle. He is at peace and had wanted to just thank me for both my work and sharing my personal experiences with you good folk out there over the years, as I have been an inspiration and he felt I should know that I, amongst many others of course, were one of those who touched his life.

Needless to say, I am not quitting today and probably never will though it will be a daily battle with me, I know this. And to everyone out there I say, you never know whose lives you touch with yours, simply by the sharing of your own experiences.

DO SOME SHIT.

Sincerely,

Rich

What if?

Imagine what if.....

What if instead of bombarding people with ads on TV of countless pharmaceuticals, fast and processed foods, they bombarded us with ads on the health benefits of free range, organic meats and produce as well as how a healthy lifestyle avoids the need for such medicines in the first place?

What if the media were to promote reading, learning, growing and evolving instead of telling us what to wear, what to drive, what to think, what's successful, what's 'in'?

What if people were as interested in their neighbor's lives as they were on the Royal's or some movie star couple?

What if we acknowledged and greeted, even if just with a nod or smile, everyone we encountered?

What if we took the time, every single time (unless it was detrimental to our own lives) to lend a helping hand every time we saw someone in any kind of general daily struggle from holding a door to helping with groceries to picking up something they dropped to letting them have your seat on a bus regardless of their age or gender, etc.)?

What if every single time every single person saw litter anyhwere, they simply took the time to pick it up and toss it in the nearest garbage or keep it until one was found?

What if instead of soda, candy bar and chips; vending machines in the majority of hospitals, schools, gyms and arenas were filled with organic fruit and vegetable juices, nuts, seeds and health bars?

What if the hemp plant was legalized world wide and education was provided on how to industrialize it allowing third world countries & giving the poor the means to make their own food, clothes, fuel, over 2000 textiles, etc.?

What if by legalizing it, we could now make paper from it therefore saving the rainforests and chopping of trees? What about the fact that fuel can be made from it? What if we indeed made eco friendly and inexpensive fuel from hemp instead of using oil?

What if every single person on earth holding any kind of grudge against anyone at all from minor to major regardless, forgave and move on?

What if every human being on earth could see themselves in another and could actually grasp beyond mere comprehension; but actually doing some shit about the fact that we are all connected whether we like it or not, we are all interconnected regardless of religion, gender or nationality, sexual orientation etc. would violence still be as prevalent within our species?

What if instead of making cars most people can't afford; and even those that can, can rarely ever use at their peak due to traffic laws and the like -what if they only made cars that were safe, secure, reliable and didn't go beyond the highest of allowed speed limits? (faster cars can be purchased or leased and only driven at tracks or certain allocated areas in order to be able to "kick it" and enjoy them as they were meant to without risk - as it were.)

What if the tobacco and alcohol industries weren't 2 of the biggest sponsors on the "WAR ON DRUGS?"

What if humanity ceased to make, distribute, market and sell cigarettes and people had to grow their own tobacco to make and roll their own if they wanted to smoke?

What if more money was spent on education instead of privately owned prison systems?

What if all drugs were legalized and regulated and the 5+ million per year spent on the war on drugs was allocated to murder/rape/pedophilia crimes, would it reduce the 800,000+ incarcerated per year for marijuana and increase the incarcerations of rapists, murderers and pedophiles? Would there not be more money for investigating much harder felonies? Or instead, what if the 5 million a year was used for education and schools?

What if more was spent on health and fitness education, would obesity and malnutrition be as high?

What if law enforcement financially grossed what athletes, movie and music stars make, would corruption greatly reduce?

What if children of the future were raised free of separate religions but instead raised to view all of humanity as equal, all of humanity as a brother-sisterhood without factions or differences?

What if God weren't looked upon by most as judge, jury and executioner and instead, nothing more or less than the energy of pure and simple unconditional Love - without judgement, without guilt, without oppression, without character or personality or gender?

What if humanity collectively accepted a worldwide human law passed that no one on earth can have more than 1 child for a determined number of years in order to greatly reduce the growing and threatening 8+ billion population mark while maintaining our species for the greater good of our species and the world we live on and in?

What if a breathalyzer were to be installed in all cars as a means of starting the ignition/engine instead of a key or remote and if the breath is over the legal limit of driving, the car simply doesn't start? Same thing with the seat belt.... no seat belt, car don't start. How many lives would that potentially save from drinking and driving?

What if every single human being on earth who owns a home worth 1 million $ or more were to sell their home, move to a different neighborhood, purchased a 400 thousand $ home instead and used the balance to help all the tsunami/earthquake/flood victims worldwide?

What if every single person in the world who owns a watch that is worth over $1000 sold their watches, purchased a $100 watch instead and used the balance to make sure that a child somewhere doesn't starve to death?

What if we only did half of even one third of all of that?

What if....?

Sincerely,

Rich