AMOK!, Portofino Way, West Palm Beach, FL (2026)

10/13/2026

BECOME AN AMOK! TRAINER
If you're serious about developing your knife training capabilities and want to help others do the same, the AMOK! Trainer Program may be for you.

AMOK! offers three specialized Trainer pathways:
UNARMED KNIFE DEFENSE TRAINER
Learn to teach practical methods for defending against knife assaults when unarmed.

KNIFE FOR SELF-DEFENSE TRAINER
Learn to teach practical knife skills for personal protection.

TACTICAL KNIFE TRAINER
Develop the skills and teaching capabilities to instruct AMOK! Tactical Knifework.

All three pathways emphasize functional capability, sound training methodology, and the ability to develop those capabilities in others.

There are no ranks, belts, or certificates. Your progress is determined by demonstrated knowledge, skills, and teaching ability—not how long you've been enrolled.

The program provides structured training resources, curriculum guidance, and personal coaching to help you develop at your own pace.

Once qualified and licensed, you can establish your own AMOK! training group, offer private instruction, and charge for your services.

INTERESTED IN BECOMING AN AMOK! TRAINER?
Visit our AMOK! Skool community for information about the three Trainer pathways, licensing requirements, program costs, and how to get started.

Join us here: https://www.skool.com/amok-personal-safety-company-7255/about

REAL SKILLS. REAL TRAINING. REAL RESULTS.

10/11/2026

The Invisible Enemy

When we think about fighting, we naturally focus on the opponent. But there is another problem that deserves just as much attention: the instability of the conditions in which fighting takes place.

In stable training, conditions are generally predictable, controlled, and consistent. In unstable conditions, we encounter problems that may be absent or significantly reduced in training.

Consider these twelve elements of instability:
1. Uncertainty — You cannot reliably predict what your opponent will do, when he will do it, or how the situation will unfold.
2. Variability — Distances, timing, positions, conditions, and opportunities continually change.
3. Opposition — Someone is actively trying to prevent you from accomplishing your objectives.
4. Noncooperation — The other person isn't helping you succeed or behaving according to an agreed sequence.
5. Adaptation — Your opponent recognizes what you're doing, changes his behavior, and develops countermeasures.
6. Consequences — Mistakes and poor decisions can result in failure, injury, or lost opportunities.
7. Time Pressure — You may have to make decisions and act before you have time to fully evaluate the situation.
8. Incomplete Information — You may not know your opponent's intentions, capabilities, or what he is about to do.
9. Competing Demands — Several problems may require your attention at the same time.
10. Disruption — Your actions may be interrupted, your plans defeated, and your intended techniques rendered ineffective.
11. Emergence — New problems and opportunities develop as the interaction unfolds, creating situations neither participant anticipated.
12. Contested Initiative — Both participants may attempt to control when and how the interaction develops, forcing each to gain, maintain, or regain opportunities to act.

These elements don't have to be present in every training exercise, and stable training conditions certainly have their place. But when we're developing fighting capability, we must eventually learn to function under the conditions that fighting actually presents.

Being able to perform a technique under predictable, cooperative conditions is not the same as being able to accomplish an objective under unpredictable, noncooperative ones.

The opponent is only part of the problem. The instability of the interaction is another, and training that consistently removes it may leave practitioners poorly prepared to deal with it.

AMOK! Community of FREE to join: https://www.skool.com/amok-personal-safety-company-7255/about

10/05/2026

How Big or Small Should a Knife System Be?
Big enough to adequately address the range of problems it claims to solve—and no bigger.
Anything less leaves relevant problems unanswered. Anything more is unnecessary.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a small system. When the context and objective are narrow, the training can be narrow too.
If the objective is simply to teach someone how to seriously injure or kill another person, that's actually a relatively narrow training problem. This is precisely why I developed Quietus, AMOK!'s brother system for military applications. A narrowly defined mission permits narrowly focused training.

Civilian self-defense is different because the variables multiply rapidly. People vary tremendously in size, strength, age, athleticism, experience, and mentality toward violence. They may face someone larger or stronger, an experienced fighter, multiple attackers, or various weapons. They may see the problem developing or be completely surprised, have an opportunity to escape or nowhere to go, be alone or protecting someone else. They also have to consider whether force is necessary, how much is appropriate, and when it must stop.

And simply prevailing physically isn't necessarily success. Survival comes first, but civilian solutions should also be tactically sound and legally defensible.

AMOK! isn't broad because we're trying to teach more things. It's broad because we're preparing people to solve more kinds of problems. But there's an important distinction:
AMOK! as a whole is broad. Individual AMOK! courses don't have to be.

Knife for Self-Defense, for example, deliberately uses a relatively narrow set of actions. It addresses accessing during an in-fight, countering incoming strikes through a simple cutting action, and straightforward follow-ups, controls, disarms, and takedowns. There is much more knifework someone could learn, but they don't need all of AMOK! to begin developing defensive capability.

AMOK! Combatives addresses a different context and therefore emphasizes different capabilities.

Full Spectrum is much broader because it serves a different purpose. Someone preparing to become an AMOK! instructor needs a larger body of material because they must be prepared to teach different people with different needs, abilities, and objectives.

So the practitioner and the instructor don't necessarily need the same amount of material.
The practitioner needs enough to solve the problems they're preparing to face. The instructor needs enough to prepare different people to solve different problems.

This is where simplicity can be misunderstood.
Reduction is valuable until removing something reduces the capability the training is supposed to produce.
Likewise, adding material is useful only when it contributes meaningfully to solving relevant problems.

So the question shouldn't be:
How much material does the system contain?
It should be:
Does the amount of training correspond to the range of problems it claims to solve?
A narrow problem may require a small system. A broader problem may require a larger one. Neither is inherently better.

The goal isn't a big system or a small system. The goal is an appropriately sized system.

Context defines the problem.
The problem defines the objective.
The objective guides the training.

09/26/2026

It’s always interesting to watch people mock the drills of other systems while remaining completely blind to the fact that they use the very same reasoning to justify activities in their own training.

Apparently, questionable training logic is much easier to recognize when someone else is doing it.

When their own drill is challenged, the defense is usually to identify some benefit it supposedly provides—as though demonstrating any possible benefit validates the activity.

But that isn’t the question.

Almost any drill can be said to develop something. The question is whether what it develops is sufficiently relevant, probable, and transferable to justify the training time devoted to it.

If a drill develops a skill that has a 15% chance of being useful in a situation that occurs in only 1% of actual self-defense encounters, pointing out that the skill could be useful doesn’t establish its training value.

Possibility is not probability.

And probability matters because training time is finite.

The proper question isn’t:
“Can this drill ever be useful?”
It is:
“Compared with everything else I could be training, how much does this drill contribute to the capability I’m actually trying to develop?”

It’s easy to apply that standard to someone else’s training.

The real test is whether you’re willing to apply it just as critically to your own.

09/24/2026

Of course, you love your chosen martial art—that is why you chose it. And almost every instructor looks for ways to make what they already do even better.

For many, that means improving their system’s ability to develop reliable performance under realistic conditions. That is the practical benefit of studying Functionalism.

These four books approach that challenge from different directions, providing a philosophy, framework, methodology, and practical guide for improving functional capability.

Keep your art. Learn how to improve its functionality.

TomSotisBooks.com/functionalism

09/21/2026

I just got an order from Nok & Randy in Thailand - New Trainer models and Picks while they last. These are hard to get and supplies don't last long - especially the Picks. Get 'em while you can.

The models all cast the same:
$40 FOR ONE + shipping
$75 FOR TWO + shipping
$110 FOR THREE + shipping
$140 FOR FOUR + shipping
Shipping included within the contiguous United States.

Email me with what you want and I'll send you a payment link
[email protected]

09/11/2026

The AMOK! Florida Training Camp is happening February 27–28, 2027 in West Palm Beach, Florida, with an optional Friday evening training session on February 26.

Come to Florida. Escape the winter. Train with me and a group of AMOK Trainers, Instructors, and practitioners who take functional fighting capability seriously.

We'll train, spar, experiment, solve problems—and have plenty of time to enjoy South Florida and each other's company.

General Registration: $399
AMOK! Premium Members: $349
Active AMOK Trainers & Trainer Program Members: Camp tuition included

Space will be limited.

Full schedule, camp details, extended training opportunities, travel information, and registration are available on the Event page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Hurat2Xp4/

09/09/2026

AMOK! Florida Training Camp — Coming February 2027

I’m giving everyone early notice about the AMOK! Florida Training Camp so those interested in attending have plenty of time to plan ahead, arrange travel, budget for the trip, and set aside the dates.

The Florida Training Camp will be an intensive weekend of AMOK! training, giving us time to train, practice, fight, evaluate, make adjustments, and continue developing throughout the camp.

Attendance will be limited so we can keep the training personal, productive, and hands-on.

No membership required. Anyone can attend. No previous experience necessary.

AMOK! Community Premium Members
Premium Members of the AMOK! Community will receive a reduced camp tuition rate.
It’s another benefit of Premium membership and my way of giving something back to the people who actively support and participate in the AMOK! Community.

AMOK! Trainers & Trainer Program Members
There is no training fee for you to attend the Florida Camp.

More Information Coming Soon
Dates, location, daily schedule, tuition, and registration details will be posted as they are finalized.

08/28/2026

AMOK! THAILAND CAMP — AUGUST 2027
We had very successful AMOK! Thailand Camps for 18 years before COVID, and I've been getting inquiries about holding another camp next year.

The Thailand Camp has always been more than seven days of training. I lead the training every day. You’ll spend a week immersed in AMOK! with practitioners from around the world, while still having time to enjoy Pattaya, experience Thailand, and make a great trip out of it.

I'm beginning the planning now so everyone has nearly a full year to arrange their schedules, plan financially, and prepare for the trip without having to make last-minute decisions. The camp is tentatively scheduled during the last two weeks of August 2027.

The training fee will be $700. Everyone is responsible for their own airfare, lodging, meals, transportation, and other expenses.

In January thru March 2027, I'll begin accepting a $350 deposit from those committed to attending. Once I have enough deposits to make the camp financially viable, I'll confirm the trip and let everyone know it is safe to purchase airfare and make their travel arrangements. The remaining $350 balance will be due by August 1, 2027.

If we don't receive enough commitments to hold the camp, all deposits will be refunded 100%.

Anyone registering June 1 or later will pay $800, provided space is still available.

If you have questions about the proposed camp, please post them in the comments below so everyone can see the answers.

This poll is simply to give me an idea of how many people are seriously considering attending. Please choose the option that most accurately reflects where you stand right now.
If you're seriously considering attending, send me a PM and tell me:
1 — I intend to attend and can make the $350 deposit by March 31.
2 — I want to attend, but I'm not ready to commit yet.
3 — I'm interested, but it's too early for me to know.
And if you've attended one of our previous Thailand Camps, please share your experience in the comments for those considering attending for the first time.

08/28/2026

AMOK! Independent Training Is Now Live

For years, people have asked how they can train in AMOK! without access to a trainer or seminars.

Now you can.

AMOK! Independent Training gives you on-demand access to four comprehensive programs:

Knife Defense · Core Skills · Full Spectrum · Tactical Footwork

Together, they provide 190 lessons covering knife defense, knifework, attacking and countering tactics, tactical movement, and the training methods we use to develop functional capability.

You'll also have access to 12 webinar presentations covering specialized training and tactical topics.

No scheduled classes. No keeping pace with anyone else. Train when you want, at your own pace, and revisit the material as often as necessary.

This isn't a watered-down introduction to AMOK! It's an extensive training library developed over decades of teaching.

$19.99/month. Cancel anytime.

If you've wanted to explore AMOK! knifework but haven't had access to training, you do now.

AMOK! Independent Training is open.

AMOK!

10/13/2026

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