PeaceWalker Blog

We're in the throes of the holi-daze wrap up! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas!! . What We Can Learn From that Old Grinch . 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 These Out: 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." 2. Leadership Abilities Even from an isolated position on top of his mountain headquarters, he was able to motivate a small team to carry out a covert night mission against a force much greater in numbers and resources. 3. Ability to Act While it's true the Grinch is being a jerk when he cleans out Whoville, it's hard not to admire his ability to pull off his plan (in one night!). (We have to give some

  The Nightmare Before Xmas?!? .Let’s talk about Krampus, the original nightmare before Christmas! . Krampus is the evil version of Santa Claus. . He is a half goat/half demon looking thing in chains, with a long pointed tongue and razor sharp fangs. Instead of bringing good kids presents, his job is to punish naughty children with everything from swatting them with birch branches to drowning, eating, and dragging them down to the pit of hell. . The Krampus legend originated in the Germanic regions of the Alps as a tale to encourage children to behave. According to Christian lore, Krampus was conquered by St. Nicholas, he demanded their obedience (apparently there was more than one!?) making them part of his legion. . Whatever they are, trust me when we tell you, only the mind of Stephen King or Clive Barker could conjure creatures more nightmarish. . Anyway, ‘ol Krampy also visits PeaceWalkers too! . And, he (figuratively) dispenses the same punishment on the naughty ones. . What kind

  A Word From Our Community... In response to one of my emails, 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 the reform documents if you have blood pressure issues lol =) it may cause your blood pressure to rise.  In a meeting with Grand Traverse County Undersheriff 2 weeks ago we were speaking on this topic. He indicated he was

 Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want" Slow moving today... Adjusting from the holiday weekend.  Speaking of, I hope you and yours had a very nice holiday!?  I sure did! It turned out to be a distinct contrast from last year's, which was non-existent for my side of the family.  This year's Thanksgiving was what I'd call a "Norman Rockwell's" Holiday...  It was perfect, picturesque.  I couldn't really ask for anything more... Wow! I hope yours was the same! Norman Rockwell's Secret... Well, to be honest, it wasn't really a secret, it was at one time quite public. Now it's simply not known to most.  The Rockwell picture at the top of this email called  "Freedom From Want."   The painting shows an aproned matriarch presenting a roasted turkey to a family of several generations, in Rockwell's idealistic presentation of family values.  is the third in a series of four oil paintings entitled Four Freedoms. They were inspir

  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.             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Happy  Thanksgiving! My favorite family Holiday! First, I want to Thank You for sharing some of this journey together. No matter if we just correspond here on-line, we've only first met or we've been walking this path together for some time... Thanks! . I hope I've added something to your Life. . The support of you and our entire community both locally at the Krav academy and here on-line, all of you folks have me grateful beyond words. . In times where I feel the darkness of uncertainty creep in; you're support has helped anchor and inspire me to Keep Going. And that's powerful in a time when there is a lot of division rather than solidarity. . Remember, you can be the person who changes that darkness to light... . Being the person that others look to in the thick of it all can be difficult. It can be challenging to rally at times. But know that you are held by many hands that can't always be seen. They cheer you on in good times and holding you up in bad. Th

  The Parrot Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts they were able to give their elderly Mother. . The first said,  "I built a big house for our Mother." . The second said, " I sent her a Mercedes with a driver." . The third smiled and said,  "I've got you, both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a Monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $5,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it." . Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks: "Dearest First Son,"  she wrote the first son,  "the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but have to clean the whole house." . " Dearest Second Son,"  she wrote to another,  "I am t

  The other night I was driving home after a great day of training at the academy. It's dark and I'm chatting w/Jenn as I made my way down a side street. I was on my hands free Bluetooth in my car, so I could respond better to the road (love that thing!).  It's getting darker earlier, so the streetlights are on down the side street I was taking to the expressway. Suddenly my headlight shine on a furry critter slowly running right in front of me. It's a rabbit. It freezes for a moment as it stared at me, then bolts in one direction. I see this and steering my car slightly to the other side of it trying not to hit it (or a parked car that lined the street too!). But at the last second, it abruptly changes its mind and direction, veering the other way. The way I veered in avoidance. I didn't have time to redirect my vehicle again to compensate for the rabbits indecision.   THUD... "Sh*t..." I say, knowing all to well what that sound means. "What?" J

  Happy Halloween!! . 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 all that l

A man walked into a local business with an oddly shaped trash bag. Even though he's wasn't an employee, he slipped through the entrance and past the receptionist with ease.   No one really noticed or took the initiative to question him about the contents of that oddly shaped bag. No one even knew that concealed inside that thin black trash bag was a Glock 17 and an AR-15! What Happened Next Won't Shock You... But It Should! Who was the man?  Me. What about the guns in the bag?  Training weapons. Regardless...  They could very well have been real! No one ever stopped to question me. I would have been inside of this facility unchallenged with at least two weapons. No one would have been the wiser until the carnage, the tragedy.  The shocking part is that so few companies offer training, fewer yet have much of any effective parameter security.  Ounce of Prevention vs. a  Pound of Cure... This week and last I have been teaching several short workshops for Padnos Industries. Ass

  Masters of Indirect Pressure . Kids know how to use “indirect pressure.” Indirect pressure is a way to follow up with authority, instead of apologetically. Here’s an example of kids applying indirect pressure: . “Daddy, remember when you said the next time we go to the store, I can definitely get a toy? You said that right? You remember you said it, right?” . Before Daddy has time to remember if he actually said that, he’s in the car, on the way to the store. . In a sales environment, this looks a little different, but the concept is the same. In this example, notice the difference between the novice salesperson and the expert salesperson. . If a prospect says they’ll be more available to talk next week, when you call them back don’t say,  “I just wanted to call you back,” or “I’m just checking in.” An expert salesman may say something like,  “Hey, John. You told me to follow up with you this week, so I’m calling to follow up. I’m excited to share with you what I have.” . The novice’

This story goes back to 1974. I was 3 or 4 years old. My mom took me shopping with her. (As strange as it may seem...) A bozo the clown doll caught my attention...  For some reason my four year old self NEEDED IT! “Mom! Can I get this?” “Not today, sweetie. Let’s put it back.” “I’ve been good all week, and you told me if I’m good all week, I can get a prize.” “It’s Tuesday.” “Can I just keep it while we’re in the store?” “Sure.” I never once gave up on getting that toy. I just switch tactics.  Just goes to show that kids make excellent teachers on how to persuade. They show us that influence is the foundation of relationships, especially when it comes to conflict. In conflict communications, we heavily rely on our ability to influence to avoid the situation from ramping up to an argument or physical encounter. . It seems like we are always getting others to buy into something, share something, give something, or experience something with us. When you start to see how often you naturall