PeaceWalker Blog

  Remedy... Cure... Disease... Many "Cures" are worse than the disease.  Take prescription drugs for example.  You ever watch those TV commercials where they show you how great everything is after taking a super drug, only to hear hat creepy voice pop up at the end (at 10x normal speed, so they can fit everything in), rattling off a list of side effects that include everything from depression and suicidal thoughts to coma or death!? In our world... That of self defense, personal protection, conflict management and defensive tactics it's very much the same. If you're not careful, the ' Cure'  can end up turning you into part of the problem.  It's a subtle shift resulting from being unclear.  You come in to learn how to become a better protector and end up with an... OUT THUG the THUG MENTALITY! It's an easy trap to fall into! Many unwittingly fall into this trap of thinking they have to be meaner, tougher, more ruthless than the 'bad guys'! BUT ...

  Joe, one of our Private PeaceWalker Member's forwarded me this great tie in story I wanted to share with you. Check it out! Limitations & Opportunities A young man once wandered into a Judo school, because he wanted to learn how to throw people... you know... for self defense. However, he only had one arm. His Judo coach wouldn't let him jump into the normal classes... instead, he was forced to stay off on the side and practice a beginner throw. Every day, the other students were allowed to master super-sweet moves and sweeps, while our One-Armed judoka did the same. boring. throw... over and over. One day, the young man finally complained. "I want to do advanced class with all of the other students. Don't limit me because of my disability!"! The sensei stopped the class, and replied, "Well, NOW you're going to fight everyone in the gym. Let's see who throws who!" What a jerk... AM I RIGHT!? So he reluctantly stepped onto the mat with his f...

I got a text from one of our Private PeaceWalker Members a couple days ago.  He's a Court Officer who uses his PeaceWalker training quite frequently in his job. For privacy  (and my own amusement)   we'll call him Dog, as in Dog the bounty hunter  (I'm sure he'll love that!=).  Well, Dog got a call from  'the office'  that one of his  'clients'  had to either follow through getting his blood test or be arrested on a bench warrant.  The last thing Dog wanted to have to do is go to the hood and make an arrest. Fortunately, Dog is good at what he does, isn't a douche canoe, and he uses an ample amount of the PeaceWalker approach to make allies not enemies. So, even when he has to serve papers, or in this case leave a message that if this dude doesn't get his court ordered blood test, he'll have to come and arrest him, he is able to get things done in a more safe, respectable, even easier way. Here's the texts I got from Dog describing the p...

  Funny how you make plans and then they change... Life just seems to be that way.  Just like learning to defend yourself. You learn to make plans of action, only to have them fall apart in the moment of crisis, however, it's better to start with a plan and have to change it rather than not have a plan at all. Today I am reminded of a story about not letting failed attempts thwart your future efforts.  The Elephant & Rope  Never let one failure from the past hold you back in the future: A man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. ‘Well,’ trainer said, ‘when they are very young and much smaller we use the same si...

  I leaned against an oak at the side of the road, wishing I were invisible, keeping my distance from my parents on their lawn chairs and my younger siblings scampering about. I hoped none of my friends saw me there. God forbid they caught me waving one of the small American flags Mom bought at Ben Franklin for a dime. At 16, I was too old and definitely too cool for our small town's Memorial Day parade. I ought to be at the lake , I brooded. But, no, the all-day festivities were  mandatory  in my family. A high school band marched by, the girl in sequins missing her baton as it tumbled from the sky. Firemen blasted sirens in their polished red trucks. The uniforms on the troop of World War II veterans looked too snug on more than one member. "Here comes Mema," my father shouted. Five black convertibles lumbered down the boulevard. The mayor was in the first, handing out programs. I didn't need to look at one. I knew my uncle Bud's name was printed on it, as it ha...

  Itch... Itch... Itch... You ever find yourself complaining?  Sometimes you may not notice it really. It starts small and grows. Then it Grows, and GROWS! Suddenly, you realize you sound like one of "those" people. You know the one's I'm talking about?! Those negative ones that no one wants to be around. There are some days you start feeling this coming on and you choose to do something about it.  Sometimes, just realizing you're in 'that' spot, stopping for a moment, taking a couple deep breaths and recalibrating a second is all it takes.  Other times, you have to go to greater lengths to get out of this state. There are many methods you can employ. As a matter of fact, I go over several of them in the PeaceWalker Conflict Communication Course and other modules.( If you're a private member go check them out.) My first attempt at changing my state failed. No amount of breathing and trying to adjust my attitude was working, so I decided to go for a wal...

  “Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near the academy. There’s a pond located in one corner of the park. Each time I jog by this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a small metal cage sitting beside her. This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I stopped jogging and walked over to her. As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap. There were three turtles, unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush. . ‘Hello,’ I said. ‘I see you here every Sunday morning. If you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these turtles.’ . She smiled. ‘I’m cleaning off their shells,” she replied. “Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over time.’ . ‘Wow! That’s re...