Sometimes people tell me that I am a person of contradiction being a martial artist and self defence instructor as well as an IT professional. I don’t see the big contrast as to me both martial arts and IT are two areas which reward individual drive, learning and commitment and both provide abstract concepts as solutions to real-life problems. Just as I challenge myself and grow as a martial artist I am also constantly updating my IT professional certifications and knowledge as new products and operating systems are released. This is what excites me about both martial arts and the IT field; the fact that to succeed you have to be committed to being a life-time learner.

Working with schools whilst running my self-defence programme I was looking at the Maori weaving patterns adorning the reception walls. Noho Taniwha, the teeth of Taniwha; to the European perception they look a bit like the teeth of a dragon. Taniwha have been sighted by some Maori and even some pakeha; it seems that the metaphysical nature of the Maori culture is able to awaken the spirituality that the European has conditioned to ignore over the ages.

This week I have been on TVNZ breakfast as well as interviewed on national radio with regards to an incident last year whilst working as an IT analyst at Rotorua Hospital where I was fired for taking one blank DVD to record some martial arts footage which I was using to facilitate the training of the hospital security staff in self defence. I am glad that the case has generated national attention as I think it sets a scary precedence where employers can fire someone for taking a low value item like stationery.

I am once again running Krav Maga classes. I currently have two students both of whom are security professionals; one works in a casino, the other at an airport. Being a former doorman I find that I have a lot in common when discussing ways to restrain and remove someone off the premises with my students. It reminds me of the days on the doors when we would practice restraining and removing each other from the club. A lot of people’s reasons for getting into reality based martial arts, myself included, are to be able to apply martial arts skills to security work and I am lucky to have had experience of a real-life approach to defence situations.

“Don't think. FEEL. It's like a finger pointing at the moon.
Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!” – Bruce Lee