I am very fortunate to have an acute perception of people and cultures having lived and worked in several different countries. I have taught martial arts to white, African American, Latino, Asian and Polynesian people. I have had kids with special needs; I have had people with brain injuries train under me. Whatever difficulties anybody had I was able to develop their potential and help them achieve their goals in martial arts. To develop the character and sensitivity to be able to work and adapt to different individuals is not an intrinsic skill, it is something that can only be developed through experience.

This week I have had students ask me to explain the blood choke or sleeper hold. The sleeper hold is something that we use in Krav Maga and it is a technique that has been used by many militaries and police departments. I remember as a teenager going to a Billy Bragg concert and a  support band, I think they were The Beatniks, talk about an African American graffiti artist who was choked to death by the NYPD. They performed a song about it; I think it was called “Blind Eyes of Justice”. In retrospect I personally think that the incident was probably a result of incompetence rather than racism or police brutality.

Many suspects would go limp when the officers would apply the hold only to escape as soon as the hold was released; it was a trick which was common knowledge on the streets. I think the cops held the sleeper hold too long to make sure that the suspect was not faking which resulted in his death. This is the reason why police departments in the US no longer use the sleeper hold. However I still think the sleeper hold is one of the most effective ways of stopping someone particularly if the individual is on drugs and immune to pain and other locks.

It has been a dynamic year for Indomitable Mind Body Combat Academy with seminars, gradings, media exposure, blogging, organizing course and seminar content and the general running of the school has presented plenty of challenges and growth for me as an instructor. I have had some students make good progress and advancement. Consistency is the key as mentioned previously. The mental aspects of combat need to be practiced as well as the techniques to ingrain the indomitable spirit in the subconscious.

Listening to Eminem’s “Recovery” CD it dawned on me that the main appeal of Eminem and to a certain extent hip-hop in general is that people from disadvantaged backgrounds, without emotional or family support are able to achieve magnificent things. With people with superior education, talent and ability failing to reach their goals it makes me wonder what does the achieving underdog have which puts him so far ahead. The answer is the will; this is what gives such individuals their personal power.

Success and failure are not overnight phenomena, it about action, it’s about following through and giving 100%. It’s about successfully following through and training at home, making that professional contact and breaking personal limits. Only this afternoon I was on the phone with the operations manager of Armourguard and the ambulance service explaining about Krav Maga and how Indomitable Mind Body Combat Academy is working to create safer community in Rotorua.

People making a decision to train in Krav Maga have already won their first victory by making the decision to take control. They have defeated their inner opponent in deciding to invest time and effort in building a more powerful self. This is analogous to the seed that starts to breathe under the soil, expanding and forming roots. The seed pushes through the soil with some struggle as shoots begin to form. In time the stem forms and then the branches and then new buds form.

The young sapling begins to stand stronger as its roots grow deeper. With each season the sapling grows bigger. It changes in girth and height, the roots go deeper, foliage and flowers appear which in turn attracts birds and insects. The buds form into fruit and slowly ripen. It sheds its foliage in the fall and hibernates during winter, then turns green again as the seasons cycle and repeat.