People often observe the ease with which I am able to apply techniques and think that I an individual who was born with a natural talent. What most people do not see however are all the years of practice that have gone into developing my skills. My philosophy is one of consistent never ending improvement. What has always excited me about training is that every moment there is a fresh new opportunity to learn something new. I apply this philosophy not only to martial arts but practically everything I endeavour. Just last weekend I completed the last of my Microsoft exams to become MCITP certified in Virtualization Administration.

I successfully achieve my goals not because I am gifted but rather because I focus on the outcome that I am looking for. I did not just walk into a martial arts studio and hope that everything will click into place. I made demands on myself, I trained regularly, ran daily, stretched; went over my moves at home physically and mentally. It is important to know the outcome that one seeks; to be wealthy one must study wealth, to be healthy one must study health; if you want martial art skills you must study self defence. This may mean testing your skills, using pad work to develop striking techniques; using aggression and full contact drills and training at home. If someone calls or emails me to enquire about classes I pull no punches when explaining what is required to be competent in Krav Maga.

“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

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.

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 have always found it amusing how many Polynesians would walk around Rotorua wearing a shirt that is unbuttoned at the bottom. Like Mexicans in East L.A so they could quickly draw a handgun without ripping the shirt open. It is unlikely that these ‘Mexicans’ have ever fired a handgun and most definitely never experienced US style racial profiling where you could get stopped and searched for a concealed weapon simply for looking like a Hispanic gang member. I find myself laughing when I recall how quickly the officer patting me down left once he discovered he was dealing with a foreign national.