There are many ways to eat sushi. At one end, you find the right restaurant. You make the reservation. You sit at the counter and watch a chef who has spent decades learning how to source, cut, season, and present. You wait. The fish was selected that morning by someone whose name is on the…
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There’s a quiet admission happening right now—and it’s showing up in Google searches. People are typing in words they didn’t used to say out loud. Burnout. Overwhelmed. Stressed. Cortisol. Not as abstract ideas, but as lived conditions. Something has crossed a threshold for those living in Western culture. The internal pressure has become undeniable. And…
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Early in my Krav Maga journey I did something that confused a lot of people around me. I tore up my certifications. Yellow belt. Orange belt. Green belt. Blue belt. Brown belt. Every one of them. I didn’t do it out of disrespect. Those ranks represent real work and real progress for thousands of students.…
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Recognition-Primed Decision Making emerged from a problem that contradicted much of traditional decision theory. In real-world, high-stakes environments, experienced professionals were not comparing options, weighing probabilities, or calculating optimal outcomes. They were acting decisively—often correctly—with little conscious deliberation. The question was not how they chose between options, but how they knew what to do at all. This model…
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After completing the Sheepdog Training evolution in San Diego on February 15th, I decided to email the cohort. That email became this article. Read it. It’s of the utmost importance. Your future just may depend on it. Airport Theory begins with a simple observation that most people never stop to make. Airports are not neutral…
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Endsley’s model of Situational Awareness did not emerge from combat maneuver or competitive decision-making. It emerged from a different problem set entirely: why highly trained professionals in high-risk, technology-dense environments were still making catastrophic errors despite having access to abundant information. The framework was developed by Mica Endsley, a cognitive psychologist and human factors scientist whose…
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The OODA Loop is often taught as a situational awareness model. It is not. It did not originate as a theory of awareness, nor was it designed for civilian protection. The OODA Loop emerged as an attempt to explain why some decision-makers consistently outperformed others under extreme pressure, even when training, information, and equipment appeared…
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Situational awareness is often spoken about as if it were a personality trait. Some people are described as naturally observant, others as oblivious. This framing is convenient—but it is wrong, and dangerously so. Traits cannot be trained, evaluated, or relied upon under pressure. Disciplines can. Within the Krav Maga Worldwide framework, situational awareness is treated as a…
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Here in Texas, the COVID-19 restrictions are being lifted this week. As martial artists and instructors, specifically in states currently lifting mandates, we must thoughtfully consider our response. No matter how you respond, there are large segments of your student base that will be upset. That’s what leadership is…making difficult decisions based…
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Every year, around the holiday season, student attendance can become sporadic for obvious reasons. If you teach any of your programs in a manner that requires the class to move (more or less) as one unit, you might consider implementing some “holiday fun training” into your curriculum to ensure those that attend…
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Kids Grow When Encouraged to Apply Effort to Any Problem, Reenforcing That It’s Effort That Gets Results. In the United States, it is common to hear the well-intentioned phrase, “Oh, you’re so smart,” or some variation of this statement, reinforcing in our children what Stanford University Psychologist, Carol Dweck, considers to be a…
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Lead Tracking, Management, and Conversion is Critical Part of Developing Your Business. We’ve recently begun tracking our promotional efforts by getting more serious about how we measure and manage our lead stream. While this process directly applies to managing a self-defense school, the process can be adapted to almost any business paradigm.…
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There Seems to Be No End to the Innovation Being Poured Into Weaponry. Over the next decade, advancements in modern warfare will look as if they belong in a science fiction film. Expect to see some dramatic technological changes emerging in our mission to protect our soldiers, the homeland, U.S. citizens and…
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Kelly Campbell Shares More Insight About Women and Krav Maga This week we continue our interview with Kelly Campbell, third degree black belt and Director of Instructor Development at Krav Maga Worldwide… KK: The response from part one of your interview has been tremendous. I want to thank you again for taking…
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Krav Maga has Changed the way I Approach Life for the Better I have trained in Krav Maga for two and a half years, and in that time, my life has changed drastically. Simply put; Krav saved me. Unless you knew me before I began Krav, you would not understand that statement. If…
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People are often surprised when I introduce our basic joint lock flow drill. The surprise comes from a lack of consideration (or knowledge in the case of relatively new students) around our weapons take-away techniques. In their purest format, Krav Maga weapons take-aways are joint locks that have been repurposed. The basic joint lock…
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