Below pics from the 1996 first open entry application Todd Group national and international exponent’s course at Todd Group HQ
The above pictures will bring back memories for those fortunate enough to be on the inaugural 1996 Todd Group HQ open application course of instruction.
The year was 1996 when the Todd Group, formerly the Baldock Institute established 1927 conducted our first open application intensive course of instruction.
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This course attracted a capacity muster in just days of accepting applications and as such, many interested in mil-CQC/MSD had to wait until 1997 or later courses to secure a position.
The reasoning is simple and remains the same, that being we are the only training providers of our European military elite close quarters combat and military self- defence packages.
Those serious enthusiasts that have been accepted through the annual courses at Camp Todd and Todd Group HQ are those that are predominantly looking for strictly European military armed and unarmed combat and European military self- defence tactics and skills training.
They want to be trained by or under the command of a military CQC/MSD elite Master–Chief instructor and they want to challenge themselves by completing mandatory training and volunteering for testing
Many of the successful candidates from the first open entry course in 1996 have gone on to be instructors and specialist proponents.
The late Dave Stevens was a former Australian Todd Group chief instructor, a position that is now held by Shane Gordon who also attended that first open entry course in 1996.
Edward Yee a Christchurch based instructor and senior Todd Group member along with Kowley “Cowboy” Mitchell, the current Todd group 2IC, completed the same course and passed the tough testing phase way back then.
Cowboy has gone on to be an instructor on regular and elite forces military courses of instruction and is a member of the International Close Combat Instructors Association, a leading organisation for the recognition of military qualified close combat instructors qualifications and records of instructing service.
Perth based instructor Scott Walkinshaw and HQ member Aaron Dale, a most formidable physically capable proponent, proved themselves on that inaugural open application entry course back in 1996.
Graeme Wilson, our Todd Group head of IT completed the same course and passed his phase test and has been a loyal member committed to our training provision and the promotion of courses and recruiting.
Graeme heads our IT team and has been responsible for our NZ and global online profile and IT management systems for over 25 years.
This course has evolved and expanded over the years and is now known as the Todd Group HQ conducted Annual Australasian course.
This courses attracts full musters of some top line exponents and proponents every year including mil CQC exponents proponents and instructors.
There are many reasons for this being such a special course of instruction, especially for visiting exponents.
Reasons include being able to visit and train at the oldest global private specialist training facility of European military elite armed and unarmed combat and military self-defence.
Having our own HQ facility and a hundred pers camp close to the Dunedin airport set in 90 hectares, including open canopy bushland and diverse training areas and facilities adds to the experience.
This is not for those that are not serious, committed and up for the challenges of training and testing in true military close combat, living CQC as close as civilians will get to military CQC as possible.
By majority those that have tested on these courses and passed have become lifers training at depots at HQ or on exported courses of instruction long term.
Those that can no longer train have remained loyal country/non-training members that are fully supportive of our training provision and wide ranging initiatives.
While we had conducted training/courses and testing over the decades leading up to the 1996 inaugural national/international course of instruction, it was this course in 1996 that provided a new level of exposure of what military close combat and military self defence was all about to those keen and willing candidates that successfully passed their grueling phase 1 basic testing on this course.
The same reasons for applying and volunteering for testing apply today to the fraction of 1%ers that prove themselves as candidates under phase 1 basic testing and go on to move up through the ranks achieving phase 2 advanced and phase 3 specialist ranks.
Looking at the list of successful candidates on that 1996 phase 1 basic testing identifies a high percentage that not only went on to achieve rank but also completed close personal protection specialist courses of instruction and became instructors working on the Todd Group military close combat training team.
The environment, the atmosphere, the camaraderie and no-nonsense approach and modus operandi to training, testing and proving individual exponents is the greatest attraction to those that are quietly confident committed individuals wanting to undertake true battle proven military close combat and military self- defence training under the command and control of a military Master-Chief instructor.
These serious types have always understood the commitment and sacrifices required to achieve in the military tradecrafts of European armed and unarmed combat and military self- defence.
They have joined our ranks through referrals and by doing their homework, checking out that the provided training has a long history in military combative training provision and instructors are in fact military CQC/MSD trained and qualified.
The internet has provided increased access to information for those looking for true military training provided by qualified military instructors in the most current battle proven tactics and skills.
This however does not change the fact that candidates are proven one by one and that the very nature of the course joining requirements and training regime combined with hard heavy and hostile testing eliminate those that are not there for the right reasons and are not made of the right stuff or do not want advancement enough.
When testing is brutally realistic, hard, heavy and hostile and based on our military candidate proving regime only those that surpass the required high standards will be promoted and this acts as an excellent means of maintaining the highest standards of exponents and proponents and eliminating those that are weak of mind and not of the required high level of skill competency.
This is very much in line with the old combative adage “from the rest come the best” and there should never be any second best in training decisions when ones safety is at stake.
From military personnel to law enforcement and every trade and profession imaginable, individuals with the required mental toughness and high level skills capability will be identified and proven.
You would be very surprised to see some of those with declared extensive expertise fail while others with little or no prior training, both male and female, pass.
The reasoning is simple what they have been involved with is not the same as European mil CQC/MSD and as such they have not trained and tested the Todd Group mil CQC/MSD way.
Phase 1 basic testing success provides entry into a close specialist mil combative training organisation and the many privileges that come with it.
If it was easy and didn’t require personal and financial sacrifices and of course risks everyone would be able to do it, and that simply is not the case. In recent years more female candidates have volunteered for testing and passed testing phases as a result of them understanding that this is not a sport contested in gender categories or weight divisions and as such being trained in the best of dirty tricks brigade armed and unarmed combat skills provides them with the best chance of defeating a formidable foe under assault.
There is no one template for a specific type of candidate that will pass phase 1 basic testing and move up through the ranks achieving phase 3 specialist rank and status.
The main reasoning for this is that mental toughness, inner resolve and intestinal fortitude are the most important required personal attributes which are more important than physical size/physical attributes or the gender of the individual.
The reality is in combat sports bigger, highly skilled competitors have advantages over smaller, lesser skilled competitors and females would be disadvantaged if pitted against bigger, more skilled males. Rules and fair play styles and codes are not the priority when you are the under-dog facing a formidable over-dog in combat.
This is not the same reality when there are no rules and the skills are specifically developed for threat neutralisation.
This being said should identify why those looking for primary proven personal self- protection capabilities are the types that attend our courses.
Our European military CQC/MSD training practices and testing regimes are very different to mainstream civi self-defence and those with such civilian prior training tell us they find our intensive courses of instruction are not what they are accustomed to or familiar with.
There are no protective suits or unrealistic kit or non-mil combative practices and outside tradecraft safety standards or SOPs. There are no rules and regulations on testing phases and as such nowhere to hide and all individual weaknesses are easily identified by not only enemy pers but also by the training team assessors.
Such realities can put off those that are not practical realists that are not up for the challenges and this is just another means of selection and elimination based on our recruiting, training, testing and proving practices.
Such course attendees receive the assistance of highly trained mil close combat instructors and get to associate with Todd Group training team members as well as visiting proponents and instructors. The courses of instruction include tradecraft skill sets not instructed on courses conducted by civilian trained instructors that teach civi techniques based styles.
Toughener and Sickener training tests exponents/candidates inner- resolve and requires the use of the Todd systems Brain to Boot mental toughness and psychological conditioning and enhancement tactics and procedures to enhance their capabilities of achieving the objectives.
Becoming proficient in military drills to command enhances the individual candidate’s knowledge of the individual skills by title and execution as well as enhancing skills retention.
Undertaking military pugil pole training not only increases tactics and skills competency but also inoculates the individual combatant against realities of heavy contact.
The course equates to a year of scheduled evening sessions training in just one week and this is what identifies, proves and provides high level capabilities for individuals that have what it takes from those that don’t or are not yet at a high enough level of competency.
These are long training days in Camp including all day evening and night training at both Camp Todd and Todd Group HQ.
The instructing cadre are there to assist, critique and make individual exponent skills adjustments but there is no favour or prejudice and every candidate on testing phases must prove themselves by surpassing the mandatory high level standards of skills competency and mental toughness requirements.
Those that pass have earned the right to advancement that comes with increased training requirements including more training hours and increased physicality requirements along with learning considerably more skill sets.
The reality is that the easiest thing a new entry applicant will ever undertake is their phase 1 basic training.
Phase 1 basic testing requires increased commitment and resolve and phase 2 advanced training requires four times the mandatory training hours to be completed before volunteering for Phase 2 testing that is considerably more physically demanding than Phase 1 Basic testing.
Phase 3 specialist skills training includes full close personal protection course completion, specialist elite armed and unarmed combat and military self -defence training and many specialist tradecraft package training.
Applicants must meet our joining requirements and candidates must surpass high testing level requirements.
Members must maintain a quietly confident, committed and dedicated status.
Loyalty with honour and integrity are most important required attitudes to ensure rank, status and membership is maintained.
Members must be responsible and reliable and of high integrity to maintain their membership and this is most important as civilian exponents and proponents are being instructed in our elite military trade-craft skills.
While we conduct courses full-time year-round and have done for over 90 years the annual Todd Group HQ and Camp Todd annual Australasian course of instruction is a most important course on our annual training calendar that attracts many attendees that go on to achieve high rank and status.
We are most fortunate to have a headquarters here in New Zealand and be tradecraft leaders in our field. This has put us in a position where national and international exponents, proponents and instructors receive their training from the source and do not have to look to overseas for expertise.
Our HQ is not only a training provision facility but is also where we develop tactics and skills and design training weapons and equipment.
We are not only the caretakers and developers of the doctrine and training packages but are also the writers of the training manuals and designers of tradecraft specific CQB/CQC/MSD training equipment and weapons.
This is testament to our dedication and commitment to our tradecraft which is very different to a hobby enthusiast training provider.
Many of the attendees on the annual Australasian course and exported courses of instruction are very interested in our instructor qualification lineage achieved from some of the leading military Master-Chief instructors that were pioneer experts of yesteryear.
They understand the importance of military close combat and military self- defence being as titled a military tradecraft instructed by military instructor qualified instructors that have long records of military instructing service and have achieved their qualifications through official military promotion/certification.
Attendees on the annual Australasian courses receive not only the training and testing opportunity but are also privy to the history and lineage record of instructing provision service and the opportunity to visit the Todd Group HQ history room and ask and have questions answered by highly qualified military close combat instructors in attendance.
The benefits of undertaking our military self-defence and military close combat training for civilian enthusiasts are extensive and none more importantly is the fact that the skills they are being instructed in are our most current and proven threat neutralisation primary practices.
This being the 25th year of our annual HQ course being conducted in our home city of Dunedin, we look forward to identifying more lifers on course and proving more candidates under testing by proving them one candidate at a time.
Over the past 94 years we have achieved a world leading European military armed and unarmed combat/military self-defence training provision organisation status and ensured our ranks contain high numbers of specialist proponents and instructors of which the annual Australasian course of instruction has contributed to over the past 25 years.
Those that want to undergo our most proven primary tradecraft training practices and are up for the challenge of proving themselves in military CQC/MSD as a civilian exponent simply need to course apply for the upcoming annual Australasian intensive course of instruction.
Dunedin/Otago residents have the opportunity to apply for joining Todd Group HQ facility training by applying for either our February or August in- take inductions.
The 25th year of the annual course conducting is yet another milestone of the many achieved over the past 94 years and we look forward to our 100 years celebrations in 2027.
There have been many advances, changes and improvements made to the conducting and training provision on our annual courses over the past 25 years with mil CQC/MSD being a living, evolving tradecraft.
Some of the old irregular training provision ways like uniforms not being worn prior to passing test phases have been replaced for uniformity reasons and we now have an international hub country for training provision in Thailand that begun with my mil instructor training/ testing there in 1991.
We export courses for wide ranging agencies and services globally as well as have national and international training depots.
Tradecraft training has been instructed in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australasia and other locations.
All these exported courses and depots owe their establishment to the Baldock Institute, now the Todd Group.
Importantly, all instructors have completed the same training, undergone the same high standards testing and deliver the same most current primary proven skills sets training.
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Pictures below from Camp Todd, Todd Group HQ and exported courses of instruction
