Real Life Stories highlights the experiences of operators and civilians who have had to use the skills they've learnt in self defence or combat.
If you have had to defend yourself as a civilian or in the execution of your duties as a service person, then don't hesitate to forward your story. These stories will not include the identities of any of the subjects involved, but will detail the situation and means used to overcome it.
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In my retirement I found myself under threat from an unpredictable individual that was menacing and threatening.
He had weapons and guard dogs and after I had been subject to his violent behaviour I decided I needed to sharpen the unarmed combat skills I had been taught in WWII.
Initially I could not find any establishment that taught commando type unarmed combat, so I checked out local martial arts clubs.
I was dismayed at what I saw being taught as self defence and most of the teachings would require you to be an athlete just to perform the moves and even then much of what I saw was dangerous practise.
I asked one black belt instructor of what I should do if faced with particular weapons threats and attack dogs and he replied the only person that can assist you is Geoff Todd who is a military unarmed combat instructor and he gave me the Todd group address.
I went to the Todd Group on his advice and Geoff was very approachable.
He spent considerable time listening to my situation and explaining options.
He was just what I was looking for and had a pedigree in military unarmed combat that was first class.
He was not a yes man and gave careful and correct answers to difficult questions.
I found myself remembering things I had been taught some forty years before and that I had tried to forget on my return form WWII.
My requirements were addressed and the skills I had been taught for the war were honed back into shape again and I was taught some new skills as well.
The training made me ready for the situations I had to deal with and I have been a supporter of Geoff and his school ever since.
Some years back on a cold late night stop at a nite club I witnessed a racial attack on a middle aged brown skinned male for no reason by a group of white power thugs.
The security came to the man's aid but he said he was more than capable to deal with the racists if it came down to it.
One of them tried to attack him from behind and as the security yelled watch your back he turned and dropped the coward in a flash and a second attacker lept in and was just as quickly dispatched.
When all the attackers made a move on their victim the security stepped in and they backed off.
Then the leader decided he would take the man on himself.
The brown skinned determined fellow was not fazed and as his attacked came in swinging he ducked under and executed a classic wrestling leg shoot that put his aggressor on his back in an instant.
He immediately mounted him and dished out several good head butts that left the racist screaming for help and when his troops did not come to his aid for fear of the security giving them some of the same, he started to surrender.
It may have been very different if the security team had not been on hand to keep the cowards from kicking the fellow on the ground when he was beating their main man.
It turns out that he had picked on a former wrestler that also knew how to fight on the street.
I was attacked by a male armed with two sticks of timber by surprise.
I received blows to the head and face without warning.
I regained control of the situation by using what you had taught me and managed to put my attacker down and hold him there until the police arrested him.
I had trained extensively in Aikido and other martial arts prior to leaning your system but was never that confident with the self-defence aspects of the training.
The Charles Nelson self-defence training gave me the ability to take care of myself in a life or death armed attack and receive only minor injuries.
You not only taught me to deal with armed attackers and multiple attackers but also prepared me to deal with such violence confidently and aggressively an attitude I never had before.
What I was taught really worked and Charles Nelson gave me the knowledge required.
Recently while working security in a shopping precinct I was confronted by a very nasty thug who took exception to me simply because of my job.
He confronted me for no reason other than to intimidate me and I'm sure he wanted to assault me big time.
I am not an aggressive person and fortunately realised I needed good training if I was going to work in the security industry before this unfortunate situation presented itself.
I trained at the Todd Group and it was one of their tactics that enabled me to deal with this situation without having to physically defend myself.
I was taught sound preventative tactics at the Todd Group as well as methods to counter violence.
I employed the methods taught to control my reactions to being threatened and the tactic taught to break distance and remain ready in a self-defence stance that does not increase the chance of making the situation worse or give anything away.
I went through my mental list of what to do and my check list as taught to ensure I was not focusing on the what ifs or self doubt.
My entire focus was on the job and not giving anything away at all.
I was ready to defend myself if I had to but I was going through the preparation methods I had been taught to defuse the situation.
It was just like Tank had taught me and I was able to prevent the situation going physical by not showing anything to identify fear or ability.
I was the perfect grey man as taught and it worked as Tank taught me and as he told me he had been taught by Charles Nelson in New York many years ago.
Five years ago I was working security for a bar. My job was to be mobile throughout the bar area and monitor any issues. This was a roving position with two other team members who remained in positions that enabled a complete view of the bar and dance floor. The bar was always at capacity on a Friday /Saturday night. On my second night while moving pass the bar a patron bumped into me. This happened twice more but each time with more force. I had already noted him as potential for trouble. When I spoke to him it was apparent straight away that I was his target for the night and that his friends were ready to go. I managed to talk him out of the bar, but that's where I had my brain fart. I engaged him in discussion, my ego got the better of me and we ended up squaring up at the back of the bar in the alleyway. What happened next was that in my rush to sort this out, I went there by myself. I let him come to the location with a rtd (ready to drink) vodka bottle, which he then used in a lunging motion to try and smash me over the head. I have done a few years training with Ron Evans and have been on a couple of courses with Geoff Todd, luckily for me. When the guy lunged at me with the bottle I was already going side on and putting my helmet on (covering my head in a guard). This enabled me to then wrap up and control his weapon, but that was just this guys feint, as he then produced a knife from around the back of his jeans. It was live and he thrust it straight at my right side. My reflex was to grab the wrist, which I did in an overhand grip. The momentum of the thrust cut me on the right side just above the 2nd rib. I now had my hands full, bottle wrapped up in my left, knife lunging in the right. All I had was my head so I butted him a number of times and in doing so he exposed his leg which I attacked at the knee joint. From there I was able to make him lose the edged weapon and then with leg and head stomps make him let go of the bottle. I know what I did wrong, and this was told to me by Geoff in his usual style when I contacted him, but what didn't fail was the training when I needed it. I believe the drills and techniques taught by Geoff and his instructors will equalize any situation you are confronted with. If you are really interested in real self defence or wanting confidence in street situations you need to get your self along to one of the training depots; they are the real deal. This letter is completly unsolicited and my sincerest thanks must go to Geoff Todd and Ron Evans.
