Posts

Is It Over?!

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  Is summer done!?  No, I don't think so. I think we'll get some more nice warm days still! But, autumn is on its way!  That sentiment is on all of our minds with other things as well... Is IT over?!  You know...  Covid, lockdowns, masks, people getting sick, political and social unrest and conflict... No, my friend, it's not over... Now don't take that in a negative, doom and gloom, or prepper way. Just matter of fact... And if it wasn't one of those things, it would be something else... There's ALWAYS something going on... The good, the bad and the ugly. Often our perception decides which we experience. Regardless, being prepared for the changes in Life all begins with having the right mindset. One of the foundational principles of being a PeaceWalker is to... See Conflict as an Opportunity!  This reminds me of an old story: Potatoes, Eggs & Coffee One day a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she...

Wranglers & Stranglers

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  I'm still getting in the groove of things after the long weekend. Feels like we are in the eye of the storm so to speak with everything going on. All the while the local academy is ramping up for a test. Kinda feels like we're trying to out run the storm.  That reminds me of my ride home this weekend. A storm hit up North where we were staying. We got out just in time... Riding through the leading edge of a thunder storm, hail and tornado warning. Nowhere to go except forward. No solid shelter to be found.  Fortunately, we made it out of the storm. It followed just behind us the entire ride down. However, it kept pace and threatened to over run us with more heavy weather... This seems to be a metaphor of Life right now with everything that's going on in our world today, locally, nationally and globally. This is yet another reason why you have to keep people around you who encourage you and lift you up. A community that is the silver lining to Life's storm clouds. A tr...

9/11 Twenty Years Later...

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Today I am in a bit of a reflective mood about the shock and tragedy that happened 20 years ago. It could just as well have been yesterday for me... It's still that clear in my memory... Where I was... What I was doing... How I was feeling... The phone calls... Watching events unfold... I was one of the billions of people who weren't actually there... But I have friends who were... Police, firefighters, friends. Not everyone made it... But, we all remember... I remember... That also reminds me of Israel and what an Israeli friend of mine said about the attitude of many in his culture... I Wish I Was There?!? WHAT?! When a terrorist attack occurs many people think  "I'm so lucky I  wasn't  there." And don't get me wrong I would say that would be a pretty rational and intuitive thing to think... However... Some of my friends and colleagues from Israel have a different perspective... When something happens, when a tragedy occurs these people think... If only ...

Unknown History of Krav Maga

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  Early training, Kapap in the Israeli Defense Forces Krav Maga literally m eans "Combat - Contact, or touch" or "Close Quarter Combat".  Krav Maga has no single "founder" and no official beginning. It is the product of the needs of the times and the efforts of many instructors over the years, each adding and modifying based on his own skills, understanding and experience. The roots of modern Krav Maga began with the need of self-defense in the land of Israel. One must first understand a little bit of Jewish history. The Jewish people, a great fighting nation, was defeated (like most of the world) by the Romans in three successive wars in the first and second centuries.  Jews against all odds, have always maintained a presence in the Land of Israel (called "Palestine "and other names by the various occupation forces over the years, but only and always "The Land of Israel" by the Jewish people. Jews are indigenous to this land). Around t...

The Making of a Hero

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  A Hero's Story... Maybe your hero is Bruce Lee, General Patten or Albert Einstein. Those might be worthwhile heroes. However, it would be even better to become your own hero. Your life is your story, and every story needs a hero. My definition of a hero is someone who raises to the occasion to help someone one in a moment of need.  I'll be honest, I don't hold up sports figures, performers, or the like to be heroes. That's not to say that I don't appreciate what they do. However, by my definition, in order to be a hero you have to help someone in need... Typically at the risk of  yourself in some way.    This could be something big or small.   This weekend was Father's Day. In my eyes most fathers are heroes on more than one occasion while rearing their kids. (Mom's too!) Teachers, police officers, soldiers, medical professionals and many other 'everyday heroes' are just that!  However, they are often overlooked.  It is important to remind ...

Have You Been Lied To?!

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  Have you been lied to?! Well, yes and no... About what you ask? Yesterday, I said that the email from one of our community members would be the last one, because I was moving on to other pastures... Well, we ARE moving on to another subject, HOWEVER, I DO have an email to share with you that one of our Private PeaceWalker Members just forwarded me yesterday.  It was an incident that went down on his trip to the Secretary of State (SOS).  I'd go into more detail, but I might as well just share his correspondence with you. So, here you go! Active Shooter?! Hello Craig,  I hope you are doing well. I decided to build a boat with my boys and Father in Law. It has been a blast and we are almost finished.  . Since I am going to be testing the boat on public water I figured I had better get it registered and all above board in case the sheriff decides to pay me a visit. As you can imagine the SOS office which can be a frustrating experience in the best of times, has o...

Lessons from Inside 'the Cage'!

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  So, here's another email that I got from one of our PeaceWalker Community Members in response to that cluster of emails I sent out last week.  If you haven't read them, go back and check your inbox (or spam folder if you must) for these emails and re-read them.  ~ This Joke's On the Complainers  ~ You've Heard to Train Smarter Not Harder Right?! ~ Here's the 'Real Secret' of Sparring... It's NOT What You Think! After you refresh your memory, then come back and read the rest of this email. Last email I'm Going to Share... This will be the final email I'll share that I got from our community. It's NOT due to lack of correspondence. Oh no! I just figured we'd move on to other things after this. So far I've shared an experience from a cop, a traditional martial artist and now, from a MMA coach.  We'll call him "M". That sounds rather James Bond-ish, I think he'd like that! =) Anyway M is a very talented martial artist....