Multi-Dimensional Training Partners

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 31st Dec 2018

Violence in self-defense, is often sanitized and/or romanticized; with the attacker being presented as a neutral player, who is simply going through the motions of an assault. Leaving out the “why” of violence and failing to consider the potential complexity of motive has significant consequences for self-defense and scenario-based training. A mugger doesn’t simply want your wallet/money, they want it for a reason e.g. to support a drug habit, to support themselves and/or their family, etc. Whilst we will not necessarily be able to determine the “backstory” (or involvement decisions) of every aggressor, we have to acknowledge that they have...Click To Read More

Developing A Survival Personality

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 24th Dec 2018

Whilst we may be born with an innate will to survive and character traits that help us develop resiliency etc., it is up to us to develop a survival personality, that will help us deal with difficult and potentially dangerous incidents and situations. When tough times visit us, we don’t want to be the caricature that stands there looking up to the sky, shaking our fist, and shouting, “Why God, me?”, but rather the person who can handle what is facing us, and deal with it, in a manner that leaves us with little consequence or trauma. Whilst we may...Click To Read More

Self-Talk & Inner Speech

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 17th Dec 2018

I hate golf. Mainly due the fact that I lack even a trace amount of natural ability when it comes to playing it. There was a time when I did try to get into it, but there just wasn’t a fit. One of the things that stays with me from my experience(s), was putting. I’d be going to take – what should have been the final shot – with the ball 2-yards from the hole, and all that would be going through my mind were all the reasons why I should miss. Admittedly, I wasn’t very good at golf, and...Click To Read More

Living With Fear

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 10th Dec 2018

As a kid, I experienced fear on a daily basis. I was bullied, and my life for a long time, was one of jumping at shadows, imagining scenarios – that often didn’t occur – and spending a lot of mental bandwidth planning my life, so as to avoid potential confrontations. It’s not a healthy way to live. Unfortunately, violence isn’t something that really gets talked about in families, and when it does, it’s often sterilized, sanitized, or presented in an unrealistic manner; oftentimes parents don’t have accurate points of reference, and defer to personal safety myths, created by those who...Click To Read More

The Tools For The Job

Gershon Ben Keren

Mon 3rd Dec 2018

Last winter, my right front tire came off – I was driving in a snowstorm, against my better judgment. I managed to find what seemed to be a good spot to do the change. However, I was hit with two problems: my jack couldn’t get and real purchase on the snow/ice, despite clearing a spot, and the lug nuts were too tight for my wrench to loosen them – likely because the last time I’d had my tires changed/rotated at the garage they’d over-tightened them. This meant waiting for AAA to come and change it for me – a task...Click To Read More