
Overview
Season 4, Episode 48
On the brink of his podcast’s four‑year mark, host Jim O’Brien steps off his usual soapbox and into a rare moment of personal candor. He traces a winding path from childhood brushes with bullying and home burglaries, through formative years in the Scouts, to the fierce classrooms of Krav Maga that changed how he thinks about safety and survival.
Each chapter—motorcycles and merit badges, a grueling black‑belt test, an exhausting Krav seminar that hooked him, and the steady grind of firearms, medical, and emergency training—becomes a scene in a larger story about responsibility, grit, and the slow building of competence. Jim’s voice guides listeners through the doubts, the setbacks, and the small victories that turned curiosity into conviction.
This episode is an invitation: listen not just for techniques, but for the reasons behind them. It’s a portrait of one man’s journey to preparedness—practical, imperfect, and personal—and a call to take at least one step toward making yourself and your loved ones safer.
Transcript
View Podcast Transcript
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Hello and welcome to another episode of the self-initiative project podcast
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i’m your host jim o’brien hey hey and welcome back to another episode episode
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46 you know i’m going to do something I’m not usually very comfortable with doing.
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And for anyone that knows me personally, you know that I do better one-on-one
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and in small groups of people I know or that I can get to know in a small capacity in my own time.
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I’m a bit of an introvert, but a forced extrovert.
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So, you know, there’s certainly topics like self-defense and firearms and personal
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safety, which is why we’re all here, right?
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That I can get up on soapboxes on and be chatty about for some time and some
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hobbies of mine too, motorcycles and dogs and stuff.
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But in general, I don’t like talking about myself.
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But, you know, we’re coming up on the four-year mark of doing this podcast for everyone.
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And I thought it was only fair that I just try to take a few minutes to tell
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you a little bit about me and how I came to be on this path that I’m on.
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So I guess it was, as far as the podcast goes, I guess it was late 2017,
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I guess, when I decided that I wanted to do a podcast.
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I felt like at that point in time that I had all this knowledge floating around
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in my head, and I wanted to get it out and share it.
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And, you know, podcasts are becoming more and more popular, obviously.
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And I thought it would be a great way to share the knowledge that I had accumulated
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over the years that I had been getting it.
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So it was sometime, I guess, mid-late 2017 when I made the decision and then
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I went out and bought the equipment, you know, the mixing board and the digital recorder.
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And now episode 46, we’re almost to the four-year mark.
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So that’s kind of how the podcast came about. But my personal safety,
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self-defense journey starts much further back. I guess, you know,
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even as a kid, I had to be aware, situationally aware.
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And, you know, as I grew up and as my neighborhood grew and evolved and devolved
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over time, in fact, you know, those street smart skills, as they say,
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became more relevant, more important for me.
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And you know there was a few events that you know
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suffered I guess as a kid nothing catastrophic you
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know some gangs jumping on friends after school or
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before school people yelling at you going down the street while you’re riding
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your bicycle through town you know throwing stuff at you on your bike whatever
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and growing up I mentioned this in a previous podcast too it’ll never happen
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to me. Go back and listen to that if you’d like.
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We were burglarized. My parents’ home was burglarized where I grew up a couple of times in my youth. And.
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I remember the first time we were wiped out completely, pretty much,
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except for furniture, and they got everything else, it seemed.
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So that was traumatic for certain.
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And then, you know, in the spirit of transparency, I was bullied as a kid.
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You know, I wasn’t exactly, I was, I guess, socially awkward,
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you would say, at a point in my younger life, my youth.
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And I guess it made me a target of being bullied, you know, not standing up
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for myself the way I should have, the way, you know, I’ve come to learn in my adult life.
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So burglarized and bullied in my youth, you know, I’m sure that had an impact,
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seeing some fights and things that my friend went through.
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And then, you know, I was in the Scouts. I was in the Boy Scouts of America for a while.
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Started out in Cub Scouts, went through Weeblos, and wound up going all the way up through life.
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It was like 11 merit badges from Eagle.
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And by that time, I’d gotten distracted with motorcycles and girls.
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I had time to get it, but just decided to pursue other things.
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Motorcycle and girls. But, you know, even in the scouts, I can’t speak to it
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now, but for me going through it back then in my youth, it was fantastic.
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I learned so much, you know, building fires, camping skills,
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first aid, how to handle a knife, how to sharpen an axe, you know,
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whatever it is, tying all kinds of knots.
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These are skills that I actually still use today when there’s an opportunity,
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primarily when I’m out in the woods camping.
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But I think the point of that is, is that even the scouts kind of flip switches
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for me in my head about the need to be safe.
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You know, whether it was building a fire or handling sharp tools,
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right, and this sense of responsibility and ownership.
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You know, flash forward many, many, many years, I guess it was the mid-90s where
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I really developed an interest and wanted to find a way to take part in martial arts.
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There wasn’t a specific event that triggered that for me, other than I had always
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been curious about martial arts and thought one day that I would like to train
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in a martial art of some sort.
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And so I wound up getting associated, getting,
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starting to go to school and take training from a Korean based martial arts
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that was focused on strikes and kicks more equal, both of those than just kicks,
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for example, some other Korean arts might focus on.
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But the primary reason why I chose that particular art is because they did a
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great job selling it for, hey, we don’t do competitions and,
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you know, we don’t fight all out.
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You know, it’s it’s learning on it’s it’s working with your partner and training
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on blast shields and things like that.
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So I was like, hey, this might be for me. Right. Because at the time I wasn’t looking to get beat up.
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It just didn’t appeal to me and you know competition
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I had no interest in competition say what you will that was just my mindset
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at that time so I wound up doing this particular martial art for I guess a couple
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of years two two and a half years it seems like I remember and I got all the
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way up through purple belt purple belt red stripe whatever it was they had,
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and then life changed and I went a different direction and just kind of moved on with life and.
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While martial arts were still in the back of my head, I just,
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you know, it just wasn’t on the front forefront any longer.
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It was no longer a priority for me. I was still mountain biking and doing some other things anyway.
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Don’t want to bore you to death with that, but flash forward into the early
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mid two thousands, I decided to go back. The program was still around.
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Schools were different. I was living in a different place at the time and wound
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up hooking up with a school near me and spent another year and a half,
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two years, maybe three in total. I don’t remember offhand.
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And I basically went through to black belt and got my black belt.
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And I thought that was a major accomplishment. I really did.
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I was so proud to have gone back, you know, and I worked my way back through the ranks again.
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I was able to start back off at purple belt, but basically I had to learn everything from scratch.
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So I, while I didn’t go through the belts yet again, I, I’d started back at white belt.
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I had to, cause I had to know all that stuff to be able to test for black belt.
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So I completed that program, at least up to the point of getting my black belt.
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And of course, you know, what they say is, you know, when you get your black
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belt, that’s not the end of your training.
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That’s just the beginning. But for me, the black belt was a big achievement.
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I’d always wanted to earn one and when I tested for my black belt my test was
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three and a half hours and at the time where I was I thought that was a big
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to do and I remember it being you know strenuous to say the least but,
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Flash forward into the 2008, 9, 10 range, I took my first seminar in Krav,
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and I remember the first time I went.
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I had eaten a sandwich before I went, and I didn’t realize the rigor of the
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warm-up before I got in there.
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And at the time I hadn’t been working out seriously and I had not worked out much at all for years.
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And the warmup alone about broke me. I had to sit out.
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They were worried about me throwing up or passing out. And I didn’t, I did not.
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But I sat out for a few minutes and then jumped back in and picked back up and
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finished up and then, you know, went through the seminar. And that particular
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seminar was at a school that was about 45 minutes from me.
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So it wasn’t a convenient school to go through.
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But my buddy, it happened to be a coworker at the time.
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He’s the one that kind of introduced me and got me situated to attend that seminar with him.
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And so that’s what we did. And it was a carjacking seminar and,
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you know, the heavy rubber guns were involved and we got in different people’s
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vehicles and work different angles of gun control and things of that nature.
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And I was hooked. It was great. And I’m sure that’s why they run those seminars, right?
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That’s why a lot of those seminars happen is because they, they’re,
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they’re feeders for the school, right? And I get it.
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Before that, I sat on a plane going somewhere, either Ohio or Denver, Colorado,
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if memory serves, and a guy sat next to me that had a Krav Maga shirt on,
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and I asked him about it because,
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again, I’m always curious about martial arts, and I forget how I said it,
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but I clearly mispronounced it. You know, a lot of people say Krav Maga.
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It’s not. It’s Krav Maga, for those of you wanting to know. Anyway,
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he proceeded to tell me that he was going out to L.A.
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To test for his black belt. So this guy was pretty accomplished because black belt and Krav,
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at least at that time, and black belt with Krav Maga Worldwide,
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which is one school of Krav located out in Los Angeles, California.
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It was no joke. So when he said that I
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didn’t realize the magnitude of what he was about to embark on
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But years later when I got involved in Krav I then realized
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that guy was serious So that was the first time I had ever heard of Krav Maga
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before and then flash forward a few years Like I said my my buddy Jesse and
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my co-worker at the time He got me involved with the seminar and then I was
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hooked and then for me It was just a matter of finding a school that was convenient and
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And sure enough, not that much longer, I found an ad on Facebook at the time
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of a school that had just opened.
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And believe it or not, I couldn’t at the time. It was literally five minutes
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door to door from my house. So I jumped on that opportunity.
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And that was the beginning of my embarking upon a personal safety self-defense
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journey that’s led me to this point in doing this podcast.
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So one of the things in the original martial art, the Korean-based martial art
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principles that they had, and, you know, it’s not the only martial art that
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has the same principle, but it’s in Korean, it’s pronounced Pilsung.
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And I think the literal translation is certain victory.
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And I’m pretty sure there’s some martial art schools out there that use it in
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that exact translation.
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For us at the time, it always meant do your best and never give up,
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right? It was a tenant that we live by and it resonated with me. It always has.
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And, you know, I, I, it, like I said, it resonated with me and I,
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I, it really meant something to me even in the Korean martial arts.
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But when I started taking Krav, the light bulbs went off for me.
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And I realized just how important that mindset of never quitting,
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never giving up, always doing your best.
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And then, you know, if something went wrong, fighting to go home.
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And I don’t want to get into cheesy slogans and taglines, but…
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It really meant something to me, more to me in Krav than it ever did previously.
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And when I took my first level test in Krav, it was six, six and a half hours.
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Well, from basically getting to level one was longer and harder than my black belt test was.
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And as it turns out, that school, that martial arts school and organization
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that I mentioned was really kind of typical in that there was a lot of politics,
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a lot of jockeying for favoritism and preference of schools, of individuals.
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And I think like a lot of schools out there, it was or became definitely a belt factory for sure.
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And look, that’s not to knock it right. I still think for children, it has its place.
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There’s a lot of benefits, self-confidence, discipline
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responsibility there’s definitely a place
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for those types of martial arts but I knew
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that I wanted something more serious and I
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knew I wanted something more specific to self defense and not so much the forms
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and katas and patterns and those sorts of things so I got into Krav and when
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I started Krav I my goal at the time was achieve level three now look there’s
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only five levels in Krav before you test for black belt.
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So I figured if I got to level three, I’d be in pretty good shape.
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And so I did. I worked for years in Krav up until the time that I got to my level three.
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I took some issues with the school that I was at at the time.
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A lot of things were going on. They were changing.
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They were making things easier. They were trying to move it more towards,
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you know, a typical martial arts school business model. And I didn’t think that was right.
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I appreciated the differentiation that Krav had over those other sorts of schools.
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I appreciated how hard we worked. when I tested for my level three,
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it was eight and a half hours nonstop and it was brutal.
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And that’s just the way it was. And things started to change after that. And I get it.
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You know, you got to balance money for your school versus the program that you’re offering.
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But at any rate, I stuck with it.
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I wound up starting to train at another school and went on to get my level A
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instructor certification.
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And so in my Krav time, I’ve spent time with a couple of different organizations
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within the Krav community. The first and foremost was Krav Maga Worldwide,
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which again is based out of L.A., California area, whatever you want to say.
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And then when I tested, by the time I tested for level three at my original
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school, they had changed to Krav Maga Alliance because I guess there was some
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sort of split headquarters with Worldwide.
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And Krav Maga Alliance wound up being formed.
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My original school that I’d trained at for a few years went away from worldwide
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to alliance, and there was some politics there for sure.
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There were some other people breaking away from worldwide at the time.
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There always seems to be some sort of drama or politics with any sort of martial
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arts school or organization. But anyway, tried to stay clear of that.
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When I started training at the new school and got my instructor certification,
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it was worldwide. So I’d gone full circle from worldwide to Alliance and back to worldwide.
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And so that was it. And did that for a while. I, you know, like I said,
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I trained and got my level three.
00:16:26.828 –> 00:16:28.748
I’ve actually trained up through
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brown belt, but the last school I was at wasn’t really big in belts.
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They were more interested in making sure you were trained and ready to test
00:16:36.848 –> 00:16:38.548
for belting. And I appreciated that.
00:16:39.479 –> 00:16:43.599
So that’s kind of my Krav history, but all during my time with Krav,
00:16:43.759 –> 00:16:46.459
that’s really where the light bulbs were going off for me.
00:16:46.579 –> 00:16:49.359
And I had always taken personal safety serious.
00:16:49.559 –> 00:16:54.059
I always locked house doors and kept my windows shut and locked and locked my
00:16:54.059 –> 00:16:56.679
car and didn’t keep stuff out in plain view.
00:16:56.919 –> 00:17:01.439
And I had some sense of what personal safety was,
00:17:01.939 –> 00:17:08.239
but Krav, I guess I don’t know that I’d say that Krav sparked it for me,
00:17:08.239 –> 00:17:13.279
but it certainly amplified it, you know, and I started doing things more seriously
00:17:13.279 –> 00:17:14.799
and thinking through things.
00:17:14.979 –> 00:17:18.759
And, you know, there’s a lot more information around training than there is
00:17:18.759 –> 00:17:23.479
the actual physical parts. And, you know, I’m hoping more schools start to do more with that.
00:17:23.579 –> 00:17:27.559
And there are a lot of information to learn, a lot of information to learn to
00:17:27.559 –> 00:17:31.219
make you safer and not even have to deal with the physical stuff,
00:17:31.339 –> 00:17:32.839
but the physical is important too.
00:17:33.759 –> 00:17:39.739
So that’s kind of my martial art Krav Maga overview, you know,
00:17:39.899 –> 00:17:42.439
I’m not a big proponent of certificates.
00:17:42.799 –> 00:17:46.259
You know, to me, they’re kind of like resume fodder in a large sense.
00:17:46.399 –> 00:17:51.079
But in this space, you know, it’s representation of things that I’ve done,
00:17:51.379 –> 00:17:55.539
learning and training that I’ve participated in and the knowledge that I’ve gained.
00:17:55.739 –> 00:18:00.259
So I’m just going to rattle off some of the stuff I’ve done over the years in
00:18:00.259 –> 00:18:06.119
no particular order, but obviously black belt in a Korean martial art.
00:18:06.299 –> 00:18:09.879
And, you know, for me, that was an achievement, but I don’t give it as much
00:18:09.879 –> 00:18:16.159
credence as I did my experience and knowledge that I got in my time in Krav Maga.
00:18:17.619 –> 00:18:23.539
I’ve done a lot of firearms training. I started shooting when I was probably nine, eight or nine.
00:18:24.140 –> 00:18:29.940
I did NRA competition shooting as a kid. I think I went all the way up through
00:18:29.940 –> 00:18:33.400
sharpshooter, if memory serves. I’ve been shooting a while.
00:18:33.880 –> 00:18:39.460
I am a certified NRA basic pistol instructor and range safety officer.
00:18:39.920 –> 00:18:44.300
So I have that knowledge and I have experience in that realm.
00:18:45.000 –> 00:18:50.540
I have taken concealed carry courses. Not that we’re required to here in Georgia,
00:18:50.720 –> 00:18:54.600
but I’ve done it anyway. And I think some of that was preemptive striking in
00:18:54.600 –> 00:18:57.380
case something politically changed here in the state.
00:18:58.320 –> 00:19:02.500
Oh, and speaking of guns, you know, I mentioned that I’d been shooting since
00:19:02.500 –> 00:19:11.020
a very young age and had done some NRA target shooting when I was early a teenager. Right.
00:19:11.440 –> 00:19:14.840
And since that time, I’ve gotten more serious about firearms.
00:19:15.000 –> 00:19:17.540
Yeah, it’s an American right that we all have.
00:19:17.800 –> 00:19:20.980
The Second Amendment ensures us of that.
00:19:21.740 –> 00:19:25.040
But I look at it as a tool. It’s not a go-to tool.
00:19:25.240 –> 00:19:30.960
It’s a, oh crap, things have really gone sideways tool that I should not be
00:19:30.960 –> 00:19:34.360
looking ever to have to use. It’s last result.
00:19:34.800 –> 00:19:39.880
But I wanted to talk about firearms. You know, I carry, I have a concealed permit,
00:19:39.880 –> 00:19:44.260
and it’s very important that you get training when you elect,
00:19:44.540 –> 00:19:48.300
especially when you elect to have a firearm, whether you keep it in the house
00:19:48.300 –> 00:19:52.580
for self-defense or you elect to carry concealed, such as myself.
00:19:53.180 –> 00:20:00.220
You are regularly shooting, ideally at least once a month, if not twice a month.
00:20:00.320 –> 00:20:03.400
And if you have the money and ammo, I recommend once a week.
00:20:03.580 –> 00:20:08.020
It is a depreciating skill. It is not like riding a bike.
00:20:08.360 –> 00:20:11.600
If you stop, your skills will deplete over time.
00:20:12.437 –> 00:20:16.817
I recommend getting training. I know I mentioned that I’m certified this and
00:20:16.817 –> 00:20:20.237
that through NRA, but I do take shooting very seriously.
00:20:20.537 –> 00:20:24.697
I shoot regularly, sometimes as often as every other week.
00:20:24.817 –> 00:20:29.217
And I’ve been known to be at the range every week, sometimes just once a month.
00:20:29.657 –> 00:20:34.557
But I’ve made the decision for myself to have that tool on board, so to speak.
00:20:34.777 –> 00:20:39.577
And therefore, I have a responsibility of myself and others around me to stay
00:20:39.577 –> 00:20:41.697
sharp with that tool and get training.
00:20:42.437 –> 00:20:48.617
I’ve been through multiple handgun pistol courses, not as many as some,
00:20:48.757 –> 00:20:52.437
and I hope to be able to take more as time goes on.
00:20:52.557 –> 00:20:58.517
But I’ve been through basic, intermediate, and advanced with a former Marine
00:20:58.517 –> 00:21:02.717
that I know locally who’s fantastic. He’s actually been on the podcast with
00:21:02.717 –> 00:21:07.377
us a time or two before, done his courses a couple of times. It’s fantastic.
00:21:07.397 –> 00:21:13.097
It’ll keep you sharp. It’ll cover the basics, but you’ll also be doing things
00:21:13.097 –> 00:21:17.137
like low light and moving targets and shooting from, you know,
00:21:17.577 –> 00:21:20.457
cover and all of those good things.
00:21:22.132 –> 00:21:25.912
Don’t spend all your money on gear. Spend it on some training.
00:21:26.132 –> 00:21:30.212
And even if you don’t get formal training, at least go shoot regularly.
00:21:30.252 –> 00:21:34.172
If you can’t afford or don’t have access to the ammo that you need,
00:21:34.312 –> 00:21:35.972
then dry firing is always an option.
00:21:36.212 –> 00:21:39.052
So I wanted to throw that out there as well.
00:21:39.612 –> 00:21:44.472
As I mentioned, I’ve been certified CROV instructor, level A CROV instructor.
00:21:45.252 –> 00:21:52.012
I have my training in first aid, AED, and CPR.
00:21:52.552 –> 00:21:58.192
You can do that either with the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.
00:21:58.452 –> 00:22:02.532
I think both programs are great, and they’re basically the same these days for
00:22:02.532 –> 00:22:04.872
all intent and purposes, a little different spin on each.
00:22:04.952 –> 00:22:07.652
I highly recommend that. That’s something that anyone can do.
00:22:08.312 –> 00:22:12.512
I also have gone through the Stop the Bleed program. You can learn more about
00:22:12.512 –> 00:22:14.712
that at StopTheBleed.org.
00:22:14.992 –> 00:22:18.792
It’s basically how to deal with severe bleeding, severe trauma.
00:22:19.512 –> 00:22:24.732
Bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death in trauma cases.
00:22:24.732 –> 00:22:29.092
I highly recommend Stop the Bleed or at least learning how to use a tourniquet
00:22:29.092 –> 00:22:33.472
and other things that deal with stopping hemorrhaging, severe bleeding.
00:22:34.432 –> 00:22:37.772
I’ve been through Ryan Hoover’s Fit to Fight,
00:22:38.427 –> 00:22:42.087
In Charlotte, North Carolina, I’ve been through his, well, first of all,
00:22:42.187 –> 00:22:45.307
I’ve been through a number of his seminars over the years, but I’ve been through
00:22:45.307 –> 00:22:47.227
his active killer defense twice.
00:22:47.907 –> 00:22:52.207
It’s fantastic because it covers, you know, physical aspects.
00:22:52.447 –> 00:22:57.807
It covers basically being prepared to fight back and fighting back within the perpetrator.
00:22:57.967 –> 00:23:01.587
But the nice thing about that program too, is it incorporates the trauma care
00:23:01.587 –> 00:23:06.027
dealing with the severe bleeding and tourniquet use. That’s a great program.
00:23:07.147 –> 00:23:12.567
I also went through my county’s community emergency response team program.
00:23:13.107 –> 00:23:17.867
It was eight weeks, I believe, and then a final checkout test exam,
00:23:18.187 –> 00:23:21.707
physical activity, physical course that you had to go through.
00:23:22.007 –> 00:23:26.587
It’s fantastic. I highly recommend that. You can learn more about CERT,
00:23:26.727 –> 00:23:30.487
as they refer to it as, again, community emergency response team.
00:23:31.387 –> 00:23:37.727
That is generally at the county level. It’s free. You can learn more about it at ready.gov.
00:23:38.467 –> 00:23:43.387
I’ve also been through search and rescue and community disasters that’s put on.
00:23:43.627 –> 00:23:51.307
At the time that I went through it, it was with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service and FEMA.
00:23:51.687 –> 00:23:56.907
They have a light search and rescue. It’s not heavy duty, but it’s more informational
00:23:56.907 –> 00:24:02.687
for, you know, you dealing with your house and or your neighborhood. I recommend that.
00:24:03.498 –> 00:24:09.618
I’ve also been through my county’s Citizens Police Academy, and I was fortunate
00:24:09.618 –> 00:24:15.118
to be allowed to do not just one, but two 12-hour shift ride-alongs,
00:24:15.238 –> 00:24:18.158
which was fantastic. I highly recommend you doing that.
00:24:18.838 –> 00:24:24.318
The county also offers a Citizens Fire Academy program. I have not done that,
00:24:24.438 –> 00:24:27.398
but either one of those are open to the public and free.
00:24:27.678 –> 00:24:32.198
If you haven’t considered it, I highly recommend it. You’ll take away a lot
00:24:32.198 –> 00:24:35.078
from the police, the Citizens Police Academy.
00:24:35.518 –> 00:24:39.478
And on top of that, you’ll get to see more of what those guys have to contend
00:24:39.478 –> 00:24:43.238
with and what they go through on a day-to-day basis. And God bless them. Thanks.
00:24:43.478 –> 00:24:48.778
Thanks for all the police officers and fire out there and general emergency
00:24:48.778 –> 00:24:49.898
workers for that matter.
00:24:50.898 –> 00:24:55.598
And I haven’t used it the way I had planned, but I’ve also been at a point in
00:24:55.598 –> 00:25:02.618
time, a NASM certified personal trainer and group personal training specialist, both through NASM.
00:25:03.218 –> 00:25:06.738
And again, I haven’t done a tremendous amount of that. Let’s see what else.
00:25:06.918 –> 00:25:12.138
More recently, I’ve been through Randy King’s realities of violence,
00:25:12.318 –> 00:25:15.598
which is an excellent program. And I think he’s got some new things out now.
00:25:16.018 –> 00:25:20.558
I’ve also been through Byron Rogers Protector Symposium, which,
00:25:20.878 –> 00:25:24.818
you know, I don’t know that it’s best for the common public necessarily,
00:25:24.818 –> 00:25:29.158
the general public, but there’s a lot of good information with a lot of outstanding
00:25:29.158 –> 00:25:33.058
guests in that, in those symposiums.
00:25:33.738 –> 00:25:40.858
And I’ve also taken Emory University has a Coursera course online called Understanding
00:25:40.858 –> 00:25:45.298
Violence, And you can pay for it and get a certification out the other side,
00:25:45.298 –> 00:25:48.278
or you can actually audit the class and just learn the information.
00:25:48.278 –> 00:25:51.118
And that’s something you can do as well for yourself.
00:25:51.318 –> 00:25:56.998
So, you know, I’m rattling all this off just to kind of give you an understanding of.
00:25:57.593 –> 00:26:02.613
Of what initiatives I’ve taken to learn more for myself, right?
00:26:02.773 –> 00:26:07.553
Because the self-initiative project was founded on the premise that we’re all
00:26:07.553 –> 00:26:10.453
responsible for our personal safety and preparedness.
00:26:10.613 –> 00:26:12.713
And I believe that to my core.
00:26:12.993 –> 00:26:16.573
So I’ve spent a lot of my effort over the years.
00:26:17.553 –> 00:26:21.693
Yeah, sure. Okay. I accumulated some certifications and some,
00:26:21.693 –> 00:26:25.153
you know, some paperwork saying I’ve completed a course.
00:26:25.353 –> 00:26:32.033
But again, it goes to show that I have gotten the training, I have sought out
00:26:32.033 –> 00:26:35.813
the training, and I have that knowledge that I’ve accumulated that just keeps adding.
00:26:35.953 –> 00:26:40.293
And of course, you know, if you’re smart, you realize the more you learn, the more you don’t know.
00:26:40.573 –> 00:26:42.593
But this is all a good start, right?
00:26:42.873 –> 00:26:46.113
So I wanted, when I started this podcast,
00:26:46.393 –> 00:26:49.793
I wanted to create something where hopefully I could help someone out there
00:26:49.793 –> 00:26:53.033
in the world by sharing the knowledge that I had accrued or,
00:26:53.053 –> 00:26:58.213
you know, my views of things that I’ve adopted for myself over the years.
00:26:58.553 –> 00:27:01.833
And I’m hoping that if you haven’t listened to us until now,
00:27:01.973 –> 00:27:05.933
you’ll go back and listen to our content. We have a lot of great stuff out there.
00:27:06.373 –> 00:27:13.793
Firearms, training, Krav, making a get home bag, stop the bleed, active killer.
00:27:14.113 –> 00:27:18.213
We’ve got a lot of topics covered, I invite you to go back and listen to the
00:27:18.213 –> 00:27:20.593
45 podcasts preceding this one.
00:27:20.953 –> 00:27:27.173
And let me know what you think. You know, DM me. We’re pretty active on Instagram. DM me there.
00:27:27.493 –> 00:27:30.453
Email me through the website. Reach out. Let me know.
00:27:30.593 –> 00:27:32.473
Let me know what topics to cover
00:27:32.473 –> 00:27:36.353
next. I’m always looking for guests or ideas of things to talk about.
00:27:37.419 –> 00:27:41.379
This one I wasn’t really looking forward to. I’m very uncomfortable right now,
00:27:41.399 –> 00:27:45.239
but I thought that at this point I should give you some idea.
00:27:45.759 –> 00:27:52.379
And again, you know, I’m not a first responder. I’m not a former LEO or military.
00:27:52.959 –> 00:27:57.059
I’m not any of those things. I’m just an average guy that’s taken an interest
00:27:57.059 –> 00:27:58.559
in my own personal safety.
00:27:59.099 –> 00:28:03.679
So with that, I’ll close out. I think I spoke longer than I really wanted to.
00:28:04.219 –> 00:28:08.139
Hopefully that gives you a better idea. and look again
00:28:08.139 –> 00:28:11.459
I invite you to go back and listen to my previous podcast and
00:28:11.459 –> 00:28:14.199
I hope that you’re able to take away and I’ve said it
00:28:14.199 –> 00:28:17.159
before on other my podcast I hope that you
00:28:17.159 –> 00:28:20.079
or someone maybe you know can take away at
00:28:20.079 –> 00:28:24.499
least one nugget of information something that you hadn’t thought of before
00:28:24.499 –> 00:28:29.279
something you hadn’t been doing for yourself or your loved ones and you’re able
00:28:29.279 –> 00:28:32.819
to gain something you know I can’t change your thinking I can’t make you do
00:28:32.819 –> 00:28:37.219
anything but I’m hoping that with the information that I put out there for you
00:28:37.219 –> 00:28:38.799
that I’m able to make you think.
00:28:38.979 –> 00:28:43.939
And if I can do that and maybe you change something you’re doing to make yourself
00:28:43.939 –> 00:28:47.679
and your loved ones safer, then I’ve done my job and that’s all we wanted to do.
00:28:47.899 –> 00:28:52.299
So with that, I’ll close out. Thanks for listening and I’ll look forward to
00:28:52.299 –> 00:28:55.019
having you back the next time. Thanks so much.
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