PeaceWalker Blog

  Typically, people come to the academy, take a course or hire me to train their group to solve a problem.  They want a solution to a situation that has happened, or one that they're afraid of happening.  They want answers!  They want an effective  'technique'  to remedy what's ailing them.   They're hoping the course or training gives them the medicine.  And it might, however... Remember the old saying: "Give the man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." Well, the same holds true when I am teaching people how to protect themselves, manage conflict and become better leaders.  I can show them a technique a.k.a. the solution to the situation a.k.a. "Give them the Fish, so to speak. At one level that's ok... It's a good start, at least they may eat for the day. However, to really be effective, simply learning techniques isn't enough (especially when it comes to handling conflict and violence). You'

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

A while back, Tim, one of the instructors at our local Krav academy signed up for this week's Knife & Stick defense seminar, and he noticed that I had the wrong date on the paypal link.  He still registered for it (thx!) and then emailed me to let me know of the discrepancy (thx again!).  I got into my paypal account and couldn't find the right button to push to fix it... I'm still looking for it! I know I'm just overlooking a simple step. By the time I do find it'll be too late for this one, but the next one will read right!  Oh, man, I'd fire me if I could! It's hard to find good help now-a-days! Here's the Real Lesson... The real lesson of that Paypal conundrum isn't obvious to everyone.  It's a great analogy when dealing with conflict... Like the Paypal situation, the solution is really very simple, but not easy! You just have to know what's the right button to push!  The problem is that most people don't know what button to push,

Few years back, I went on a Rad Bradbury binge.  Who's that?!  You know the famous author of  Fahrenheit 451 ,  The October Country ,  The Martian Chronicles, Something Wicked this Way Comes, The Halloween Tree  and countless others.    And during that binge, I listened to a bunch of his interviews that I found on YouTube. In one of the videos, he talked a lot about his friendship with & respect for Walt Disney, and some stories about their conversations. There was one conversation that especially stood out. He was talking about how the city was courting Walt to run for mayor. When Ray asked Walt why he didn’t want to be mayor, Walt said: “Ray, why should I run for Mayor when I'm already King?” The man had a point. Why be a mere politician constantly having to smooch the gluteus assimus’s of the proletariat for votes & virtue signals… when you can simply reign over them, impose your will upon them, and bring peace & prosperity without the prattling-on of the peanut

  I hope that you had a good New Year Celebration regardless if it was quiet like mine or loud and proud... bold and crazy...  Regardless, I hope it was safe and something you enjoyed it w/the people you care about.  And now hopefully you're RARE'N to start your... New Year w/a BANG! Words of Advice on Resolutions I'm not a big fan really.  I am, however a big fan of looking back over the year to see what was working, and what wasn't. What I want more of and what I want less of.  It's not only about goal though... You should be dialing in what type of life you're creating...  What type of a person are you becoming?! Are you happy with where you're life is going? You May Think Me Strange... That at 52 I'd say what type of person I'm becoming... Many would believe that by that age we have already became the person who we are and in certain respects I'd agree, however in many other aspects I wouldn't... Make no mistake, we are always developing,