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2012 Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp

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Spartan Training Gear Media Release

The Total Warrior: Tactical Training and Winning Mindset Camp

February 24th-26th, 2012

Vernon, New Jersey – Awareness Protective Consultants, in collaboration with Spartan Training Gear, is proud to invite you to this inaugural event geared towards Law Enforcement Officers, military/corporate/security trainers, educators, fitness trainers/enthusiasts, martial artists, businessmen & women and anyone looking to take themselves, and their training. This event will take place at the gorgeous Minerals Spas and Resorts in Vernon, NJ. on February 24th-26th, 2012 and proceeds will be donated to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. This event will bring together, for the first time, a group of the world’s elite trainers including:

“Life after Law Enforcement”: Karen Sullivan of Coaching for An Edge
Functional Edge System Vs Street Striking: Tony Torres of Functional Edge System 
TACFIT/DEFTAC: Miguel Rivera of TACFIT Police
Bulgarian Bag Fitness Training: Stephen Nave of The Int’l Bulgarian Bag Confederation
Active Shooter Instructor Updates and Concepts: Bryan Doel of Team APC
Advanced Weapons Instructor Training Updates: John Zamrok of Team APC
Tactical Team Training Updates and Technology: Arthur Randolph of Team APC
Fgrav 1 day Combative Training and Conditioning:  Patrick Devlin/Jose Medina of Team APC 
Striking Through Chaos: Hans E. Hageman of Hans Hageman & Associates, LLC
FUBAR: Mindset For Thriving, Not Just Surviving: Mike Panebianco of Able Coaching
Circular Strength Training: Connecting The Dots: Will Chung

This promises to be a family-oriented, fun-filled weekend of functional fitness, life-coaching & self-defense which will showcase new and improved ways of getting both your body and mind in peak condition. Also offered during the event will be training sessions aimed at providing self- improvement for individuals & teams, corporate fitness team workouts and tactical training & fitness specific to the law enforcement and military communities.

Book your spot now and come join the Total Warrior: Task Force 360 Team for this unprecedented training weekend and help support the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.

For more information on the camp email: totalwarrior@apc360zone.com or contact: 1-866-634-3373 and ask for Jose Medina.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE: JOIN THE CAMP! GET FOCUSED! GET FIT

The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp

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The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp is a go for February 24-26, 2012. The camp is being held at the luxurious Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, NJ. In conjunction with APC, Spartan Training Gear and Task Force 360, this event will offer an unprecedented training experience. Confirmed instructors include Mike Rivera of TACFIT Police, Stephen Nave of the International Bulgarian Bag Confederation and Antonio Torres of the Functional Edge System among others. Book your spot now by emailing info@apc360zone.com. For more info on this event: The Total Warrior: Tactical Training & Winning Mindset Camp.

Getting the Mind and Body Back in Focus by Jose Medina

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There are many programs out there that are designed for fitness purposes. After returning home from a long day at work I might find myself up until about 3 am watching a little Sports Center and every once in a while glancing at some of the infomercials that are out there showing a new training machine, or a new fitness training system. While on the social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, I will get many links of training fitness programs that are out there as well. From the kickboxing training home videos to the spinning classes in a fitness center near you there are a large menu of options to choose from. The question is: What or why do you want to get in shape. lose weight, get muscular or simply get healthier?

The amazing perception I have seen is how the pharmaceutical industry is plastered throughout the day with medicines that can help and cure everything from “restless leg syndrome” to simply breathing normal syndromes. Meanwhile health and wellness commercials sit on the back burner of late night television where limited viewers get to see what can really “help” you to become healthier.

It is no secret that your health and mission to be healthy starts with the mind. Without the mind acknowledging that a change for better health and wellness is needed, your body will just go through the motions of exercise and going to the store and buying some LOW fat food or magic diet pill that simply doesn’t work.

What we all need to understand is that stress is a major killer for anyone one of us. I am sure we have all heard the story of the most fit person you have ever met and suddenly they dropped dead of a heart attack. Many would scratch their heads and say “well I might as well not train then since they died and were in great shape, why bother?”

Maybe so, but in the end who do you owe it to when it comes to being healthier? Do you have loved ones who depend on you being there the best you can to keep the family network going strong? Or are you alone and have no responsibilities? Think again as you at least have a job to contend with and your own “self” that could always use a little tweaking and fine tuning. After all in any of your job fields, how bad do you get affected in performance when you do not exercise or release stress?

I have never been a fan of “diets” and eating low fat this or that. I look at it as “wellness eating”. Eat what I want but in moderation. Eat cleaner more than dirtier. I look back at the history of our world where warriors who fought in battles did not have the supermarkets that had low fat this and low fat that yet they maintained awesome physiques throughout their lives. Whether it was man or woman it was the active lifestyle, being that of war or simply the environment around them, they still had to cut wood for fires as they did not have Lowe’s stores with pre cut wood to service their needs and they certainly did not have Playstations to sit in front of a television to occupy their countless hours of days and nights to keep them from getting the proper exercises they needed. Now I am a big fan of many of those games as I find stimulus in many aspects of technology however it is like alcohol or meatball subs: take them all in with moderation.

Life itself must be absorbed in moderation and in training for fitness, you need to vary your training and keep the training interesting. Of course it may not always be exciting but for overall health and wellness, you will be surprised on how much better your mind will function after a good healthy walk, a good training circuit in the gym, some good self defense training especially with coaches using good solid impact reduction suits to really stimulate “reality training” along with awesome conditioning.

The mind needs to be fit. It needs good reading on a daily basis while at the same time to relieve the possible stresses in your life, the mind is craving change, stimulus to become healthier and stronger. Always know there is no magic pill that you can swallow that can change you into the person you want to be. It is the mind that is the magic pill that needs to be fueled to motivate you to take the next steps into changing your life, becoming healthier and being a happier person.

There are many trainers out there in the field of fitness training, self defense training and overall life coaching training. Do not be afraid of exploring new options and variations of training. Do not stick with just one format as your brain will figure it out most of the time and it will become bored. Change up work out routines, the days you train and the duration you train in. For good wellness and health a good trainer can get you into a work out that can last no more than 30 minutes with great results. If you are training for more intense competition, longer duration work outs are needed but never rule out replicating an upcoming competition such as an MMA fight or other special event with the limited time to complete fitness tasks.

Overall your mind and body need each other. Your CNS or Central Nervous System is the engine that helps make things happen. Try many programs and not just one. There has never been just ONE that can do it all. In the end, if you need that stress relief, if you are on the edge, it is your mind telling your body that you need to release it. Fitness and health and wellness is a great medicine and a pill I love to take on a daily basis. How about you?

A Testimonial from Peter Jensen

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“Spartan Training Gear has become a critical element for my personal martial arts training. The Hoplite Training Armour allows a greater use of force during combative drills and sparring. The protective qualities reduce the risk of injury, yet the impact of an opponent’s strike is still felt, so a student maintains respect and understanding of an opponent’s power. Wearing the equipment is comfortable and does little to encumber natural movement. I highly recommend Spartan Training Gear for anyone serious about realistic and safe training.

Thanks for creating such a quality product!”

Peter Jensen
Major US Army Special Forces Officer
Combat Systema Instructor

Seniors learn to stop being so nice with self-defence course

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By Susan Pigg of the Toronto Star

Pauline Shea grapples with self-defence instructor Chris Roberts at a course in “preventative skills” aimed at seniors.

It takes just a split second for 74-year-old Anne Lappin to kick into attack mode as the muscular man grabs her from behind.

Her teeth are bared and she’s flailing so forcefully that he soon backs away. Then she steps forward to whack him one more time.

“That was the surprise element,” Lappin says later with a laugh. “I think maybe my basic survival instinct was coming through.”

The outburst has left self-defence instructor Chris Roberts shaking his head in shock.

“You wouldn’t do that in real life, right, come back at an attacker like that?” he asks Lappin.

“No,” the elderly woman says. “I’d run.”

After teaching self-defence to more than 100,000 high-school students over the past 16 years, Roberts, 46, is now taking on a completely different crowd: seniors.

The instructor for SAFE International is offering what he calls the “preventative skills” of self-defence through a few community centres in Toronto.

Although Roberts comes well protected — the final two weeks of the four-week sessions include a little physical interaction — the program is really more about using your brains rather than your brawn.

He stresses avoidance strategies first to protect against potential attackers: walking with confidence, trusting your intuition, not being too polite and always being aware of what’s happening around you.

“Seniors are a vulnerable age group. They’re very limited in what they can do physically, but most attackers are cowards,” says Roberts. “Just by looking at them, making eye contact, you’ve made them know that you’ve seen them and you might start yelling and attracting attention.”

The biggest mistake many seniors make is being too nice, says Roberts. Even if they feel unsafe in an elevator or wary of someone edging in too close for comfort, they tend to be too polite to ask the person to back off or walk away.

In fact, seniors tend to downplay their own fears: One woman at a recent session in North Toronto confessed she knew she was taking a risk walking home through a back alley, but was more afraid of the alternative, the bustling crowds of Yonge St. who might knock her cane and throw her off her feet.

“The most important factor is intuition,” says Roberts. “When you get that gut feeling that something isn’t right or feels unsafe, find the quickest exit out of the scenario. Don’t question your intuition. It is your sixth sense.”

Body language is key, he says. “Attackers look for people who they perceive to be easy victims … so walking with purpose and keeping your head up is an easy way to display positive body language.”

Asking for directions or the time are popular ways to distract a senior because they tend to turn their back to show the way or put their head down to look at their watch, Roberts warns.

Bank machines can also leave seniors vulnerable, he says. He advises women to withdraw only small amounts of cash, always during daylight and, if possible, when a friend is along.

If the attack is simply about money or valuables, Roberts says it’s best just to hand them over rather than risk getting hurt.

But he arms seniors with a few self-defence tricks, such as grabbing at soft-tissue areas (the eyes and face), to throw the attacker off and give you time to break away.

Sherri Bulmer, coordinator of older adult programs at the Central Eglinton Community Centre on Eglinton Ave. E., asked Roberts to teach the program after seeing a senior seriously hurt by a purse snatcher outside an east-end centre where she used to work.

She was surprised to see the group actually grow over the four weeks as the women — the average age was 77 — raved to friends about the program.

“I wasn’t sure what the reaction would be,” says Bulmer. “But I can see now that this is about power and control.”

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To ensure the safety of both instructors and students, SAFE International, exclusively uses the Hoplite Training Armour by Spartan Training Gear in all its classes and personal protection programs.

You can learn more about Spartan on their site: http://www.spartantraininggear.com/

Follow Spartan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpartanTrainingGear

Stress Exposure Training – Part 3

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This is the final installment of a three-part series on Stress Exposure Training written by Ger O’Dea of Dynamis Training & Insight

Hoplite Training Armour allows us introduce contact in a gradual, sensible and realistic way so that people can conduct those ‘personal experiments’ which are referred to by the SIT methodology.  Incorporating equipment such as the Hoplite Training Armour allows us to drastically increase the intensity of our training sessions compared to what we could achieve without it.

We can gradually build up the intensity of the confrontation experience for our trainees, while maintaining a low-risk training environment. Using our Hoplite Training Armour let’s us take the theoretical guesswork out of the training, SAFELY.

Even where we work low-intensity training sessions, with for example trainees who will have only one day with us, we can begin to give them closer-to-real-life experience of what it feels like to make aggressive contact with another human being.  This is something that many people have never experienced and which is deeply challenging for them.   Phase One and Phase Two of the SIT approach provide excellent preparation for this phase, even given just a couple of hours with the trainees.

Incorporating contact during training, which the Hoplite Armour allows us to do, has significant benefits.  It allows trainees who have never struck another person in anger, to do so for the first time.   The trainee can then go on to experience that moment again, and again.   Each time, she will ‘groove’ her response a little deeper, re-inforcing the decision she made, the tactical needs in the situation, the physical sensation of initiating a strike and the results it produced.   She will also be ‘grooving over’ any residual doubt, hesitation, fear or panic which she may have brought to the situation.

Specific to the Hoplite Armour, we can say with some authority that it allows the average person to use most of their capacity in delivering a strike to another person with a very high degree of safety for the person inside the armour.  A full Hoplite suit covers the whole body and allows maximum movement potential in all three combative dimensions – standing, clinched or grounded.   

Training according to this SIT model benefits when the role-player inside the Armour can closely replicate the behaviours that will be seen in reality (‘training fidelity’ which I will address in a following article), including the pre-assault behaviours and in responding with realism when impacted by the other role-players in the exercise.   

Hoplite Armour in particular allows the role player to broadcast pre-assault behaviours and impact behaviours extremely well because it is a lightweight, low-bulk suit which transmits small tell-tale body-language which are being broadcast.    This is highly important because our trainee needs to be able to react and respond to the earliest signs of confrontation (as shown by body language changes in the aggressive person) and also to the earliest cues of a physical assault when initiated. 

By experiencing the uncertain, spatially chaotic and rapidly-unfolding nature of high-speed scenario replication, the trainees become inoculated, to an appropriate degree relevant to the depth of their training, to it.  This is particularly successful if they are guided and mentored through the exercises by an experienced trainer who can use coaching methods to motivate them to persevere.

Want to know more?
All Dynamis Training Courses incorporate these advanced concepts in training for confrontation management.

They will be running the BTEC Level 3 Self-Defence Instructor Accreditation course on July 27th – 29th, 2011. The course will provide progressive self-defence, breakaway and officer safety instructors of all kinds with a framework for teaching self-defence which is legally sound, risk-aware and has a basis in the science and psychology of inter-personal conflict as discussed here on theDynamis Insight Blog.

Dynamis is the UK Authorised Dealer for Spartan Training Gear and the Hoplite Training Armour.

Stress Exposure Training – Part 2

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This is the second of a three-part series on Stress Exposure Training written by Ger O’Dea of Dynamis Training & Insight

Applying the SIT model to Self-Protection and Confrontation Management

Phase One of training has to do with having trainees confront their own understandings of the nature of conflict and how they deal with it. A trainer may provide some exercises for the trainees – ‘thought experiments’ – regarding some conflict scenarios and garner the trainee’s response to this. Commonly, for example, a trainer might ask the trainees how they would deal with a much stronger opponent, with tattoos and scars and who looks ‘hard’, in order to provoke a discussion about the nature of intimidation.

This phase encourages the visualisation of conflict scenarios and the development of mental models, decision-making strategies and personal internal commitments to the issue of conflict. In our experience at Dynamis, a discussion of the law in regard to reasonable force and the case-law from that field offers an excellent vehicle for this phase of training as it has much to do with how emotional-cognitive decisions are made.

Phase Two of training has to do with skill development, at an intensity which gradually builds competence with the skills required to persevere and successfully manage the confrontation. Trainees are provided with relevant and effective skills which are comparitively easy to acquire given the amount of time they can devote to the training. We have written at length about the issues with much self-defence and breakaway training and the over-complexity, under-relevance of it here on this blog previously.

During this phase the trainees have the opportunity to rehearse the coping/confronting skills, re-imagining the process of the confrontation from one with a negative outcome to one with a positive outcome – reversing the ‘prey’ role which can crystallise in high-stress moments.

Trainees re-structure they way in which they approach the confrontation, using their internal dialogue and their internal associations differently now. Trainees develop, with time and opportunity, new problem-solving abilities which give them more options and alternatives during a confrontation – they begin, in short, to think more tactically about situations, because their level of stress-arousal is reducing as the problem becomes clearer and more familiar.

Phase Three of training provides the trainees with the opportunity to now apply their new skills in (again, gradually) increasing levels of intensity, although at this time the trainer should be focussing on bringing not just intensity but reality into the training. The focus here is on providing a variety of opportunities for the trainee to experience the entirety of the preparation which has gone before.

For example, in our training at Dynamis, the trainee will be placed in situations where they must now make decisions and take action based on their own beliefs and in accordance with Use of Force law, personal Duty of Care or Task Role, Risk Assessment, their ability to verbally manage the confrontation and then finaly their physical capacity to protect themselves or another. Running these scenarios can take from 15 seconds to 90 seconds to complete, depending on the amount of pre-assault verbal dialogue and the motivation/aggression level of the role-players.

The use of training armour can significantly effect the fidelity of this Phase Three training. At Dynamis, we use Hoplite Training Armour. In our next article we will discuss how the Hoplite Armour assists us to provide Stress Inoculation and Stress Exposure to our trainees.

Part 3 to follow…