TLM's Fighting Chance Combatives - HQ

Hello friends, family and students!

Healing is still a slow on going process but making positive steps daily.

Post op appointment is tomorrow, and I will know more about what's next.

Don't forget HKI Camp October 7th and 8th. I am planning on being there although I am unsure I can participate at this time.

Thank you all for the prayers, love and support!

- Chief

Chief Instructor Ray will be heading out to Vancover Washington to take part of the upcoming Friends in the Arts event hosted by Artisan Martial Arts
If you are in the area, this seminar will be filled with several high quality instructors you will want to see.

Rob Ray from Fighting Chance Combatives is coming all the way from Florida to teach at the Friends in the Arts Experience.

I have received a few emails and private messages regarding our website being down.
I am in the process of upgrading and transitioning the website away from WIX.
I hope to have it up and running again quickly through a different host.

- Chief

I like this one.

I was at a concert last night, a guy was ejected for slamming into people and causing problems through physical harm.

Some of you may think that's odd for a heavy metal show, but I promise you it isn't.

I was outside when the head of security brings him out.

This guy is livid. He is clearly not in his right mind, definitely drinking and now looking to start any sort of violence one minute, then hugging you and apologizing the next, only to repeat the cycle again and again.

At various points during the 45 minute back and forth, I have to give the head of security major props. He did his best to stay cool, calm and not rise up to violence.

In retrospect, and thanks to watching the De-escalation video seminar from Rich Dimitri's Self Defense Services , one small change could have prevented the continual bipolar exchange.

The head of security, unknowingly, aggravated the situation, as he continually told the guy that he knew he was 'lying', that he was going to make sure he doesn't come back in, the guy needed to get the f**k out of here before there is a problem, his night is done, etc

Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "Rob what the hell are you talking about? He was doing his job."

He was. He was also very calm while expressing the above. However, all of those are commands that exacerbated the situation.

Once they were outside, instead of being commanding, would things have been different if he said "Look, my job was to get you outside. Now that we are here, tell me what is going on. Then I will tell you the information I have."

Would it have been different if he said, "that's not my understanding " instead of calling the guy a liar?

End of the day, it is Florida so as we say, "M**h is a hell of a drug"

The kid got trespassed and went to jail thanks to striking multiple people, hitting cars in front of the cops, drunk and disorderly, oh and then attempting to flee from the police...granted his mad dash for freedom didn't get him far before he was snagged.

Justice will be served...karma is a bitch...but the point of all of this, is what could have happened with a few key word changes, a few mindset changes and the same professional attitude that was present by security?

Just a thought.

Proof that Action beats Reaction especially when the threat is in arms reach.

‘Pogue as F***’ Marine Vet Who Thwarted Robbery Speaks Out The Marine veteran who thwarted an Oct. 20 stick up in Arizona says he's “pogue as f***” and not some sort of “freakin’ Ricky Recon” hero.

Cult or Club – Students or Sychophants?

(Long blog post, so if you read the whole thing, please comment or click the reaction button with your reaction of choice. )

Recently there was a video that circulated the martial arts community highlighting some very concerning practices.
I know, I know… what else is new.
The video was a short segment of an instructor testing for a combatives based system, of which I will not name it nor the founder in this ‘blog’ simply because I do not want to give them any fuel for their fire. You’ll understand more shortly.
The video shows an individual, shirt torn, body exhausted, being beaten on by two quite refreshed instructors. After each shot you can see, and hear, the pain on the hopeful student’s body. This alone is concerning and should be the end of this. Obviously it is not.
The video came under severe scrutiny, as it should have, for the level of violence and what were very obvious, questionable training practices. What keyed off my concerns, aside from the video which could have been taken out of context ONLY because it was a part of a longer video, is that the system instructors responded to any and all criticism the same way. The general response, “If you don’t train this way, you’re system is bull$h!t and you are a coward” …which is the pg version of a lot of the responses.
They didn’t respond to any concerns, only celebrated people that sang their praises and name called others who were concerned.
Bullying 101. This bothered me a lot and, as someone who follows the founder, watches some of his videos and has some respect for the guy I wondered if he would jump in and address this. He did. I wish he didn’t but it shows where this mindset comes from, why it is perpetrated through the ranks and raises more concerns than it relieves.
The founder wrote a long blog, talking about a story from the past, why he trains the way he does and then addresses his detractors. He told a story of how many years ago, while training, a student challenged a technique and he agreed to demonstrate it. The student used his personal carry firearm and, in the process of the disarm the student was shot. He survived but did require medical attention.
We’re going to pause here.
First of all, ANY instructor that is working with fi****ms MUST adhere to the core rules of fi****ms.
For a refresher:
1. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FIREARM POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION.

2. TREAT ALL FI****MS AS IF THEY WERE LOADED.

3. KEEP YOUR TRIGGER FINGER OUTSIDE THE GUARD AND OFF OF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO FIRE.

4. BE CERTAIN OF YOUR TARGET, YOUR LINE OF FIRE, AND WHAT LIES BEYOND YOUR TARGET.

5. ALWAYS WEAR APPROPRIATE EYE AND EAR PROTECTION WHEN SHOOTING AND MAINTAINING YOUR FIREARM.

So he violated several of these rules of safety for fi****ms. While I have worked with real fi****ms, versus rubber guns/training CO2 weapons, I ALWAYS check to confirm that the weapon is unloaded by unloading it. I then ask another person, or the student to confirm it after I have done this. Nothing wrong with taking a minute or less to make sure everyone is safe.
Back to the rant.
The founder continued to explain that this student, who was shot during this demonstration, had the AUDACITY to get the police involved and ask for his medical expenses to be paid for.
That alone destroyed a lot of the respect I have for this individual. You, as an instructor, whether intentionally or unintentionally injured a student and did not offer to assist in medical bills (especially because you don’t have insurance or something) then don’t get mad because he sought legal action.
You may not be 100% at fault, but you damn sure are majority at fault. This is clear Victim Shaming, in my opinion.
His post continues to address their training methodology and it echoed a lot of the same statements from the past, and recent ones he has been making in videos. Everyone else’s systems are s**t, his is the only real system. Everyone else do not train they way they do because they are cowards, thieves and liars.
That’s the general version, not verbatim.
The comments section of the post are, as you can imagine filled with “We stand behind you” , “No one gets us”, “Eff anyone who stands against us” kind of non-sense. Anyone that brings up a concern about the post, ie victim shaming, not clearing the weapon, etc is immediately jumped on for a variety of reasons, regardless of that individuals training, background, etc.
So, why write about this and not name them? Why write about this and not bully them back?
Simple. The concern is a general one. What’s the point? I have enjoyed watching friends of mine jump in and show how sharp their wit is against these guys but it created a question in me that I wanted to address.
Is your system filled with Students of Sycophants? Are you a Cult or a Club?
All of my instructors, since childhood, have always encouraged questions. I tend to ask a lot of them. They always seem ready to teach, learn, listen and share. Maybe I just got lucky. Many of my friends in the martial arts and self defense/combatives community do the same. I hear a lot “I don’t have all the answers, but this is what I think”. I have also had many say “Hey, can we talk about X technique? I want to see that again.” Because they are either curious, concerned or confused.
I have had people question techniques that I do, and I break it down for them the best I can, explain why I feel it works, how we created it, how we tested it, how we tested it then under pressure, then finalized it by having someone else pressure test it.
My students do the same. The listen, the share and admit if they don’t have an answer, that they will either consult with me or they are willing to take a look and see if they can work through one.
This isn’t blind loyalty, but earned respect.
Many people that I know have and give earned respect to their students, teachers and others in the industry. Blind Loyalty is where I get concerned. If a woman accuses an instructor of inappropriate relations, unwanted advances, or worse, would this same group go after her? Would they victim shame her to a fearful response? I believe they would.
So the point of this is to leave you with a series of questions.
Do you encourage your students to have Blind Loyalty, or Earned Respect?
Do you welcome feedback, questions and address concerns OR do you shut them down and rely on those other students to beat them up?
Are you presented as knowledgeable instructor or infallible god?
Do your students represent your school/system through caring, respectful qualities or do they have unchecked egos that you couldn’t care less about?
Are you a Cult or a Club?
Do you have Students or Sycophants?

Our deepest condolences to the friends and family of this amazing man. He accepted me as a friend in the early days of my training in HKI. He shared with me much, taught me, laughed with me and grieved with me.
I will miss you, George Von Waldner . I know we will see each other again. Give Mike and Jack a hug for me.

We at Arnis International are deeply saddened to hear about the loss of one of dearest friends and brothers,
Grandmaster George Van Waldner.
A man who was among the most talented martial artists we’ve ever had the honor of knowing and training with. But, as GM Bruce often reminds us all, skill is always second to the person.
And Grandmaster Van Waldner was an even better person. Loyalty wasn’t just a word for him. It was who he was in his inner most being. Loyalty was who he was down to the core.
Simply put, if he liked you, he loved you.
Grandmaster Van Waldner, we will never forget you and we will continue to keep your memory alive.
Rest In Peace Grandmaster.

Don't forget TOMORROW two nerds, both passionate about martial arts and Sci Fi sit down to talk about ...well I'm not going to spoil that because you need to tune in!

So tune in, participate in the live chat, like, subscribe and, if all else fails, check the replay on YouTube.

DojoChat #27 - Rob Ray I sit down with Rob Ray of Fighting Chance Combatives, based out of Sanford, Florida*** You can contact Rob via email, or check out his website ***→ ✉️ r.ray...