In light of the current events and violent acts taking place all around us. I feel compelled to Write about realistic, and practical  self defense. We have all seen the news and the countless soicial posts. Many people are chiming in about gun rights, etc etc. So how do you know who to believe? How do you know who you should listen to and who you should just smile and nod to. The answer lies within your own individual beliefs. It is however, extremely important to consider the ramifications of becoming involved in a physical altercation. We all have the legal right to defend ourselves and our loved ones from violent crimes. Lets say you are in a parking lot and waiting to park in a space where another car is leaving from. You waited there while they loaded their car and strapped their children in and adjusted their mirror. You even calmly waited for them to apply their lipstick, or adjust their hair. Then as they pull out of the space, they block your access to it in the process, allowing another car to pull into "your" parking space. I'm pretty sure this has happened at least once to all of us. Most people Will lay on their horn, and become outraged at the fact that they just stole your parking space. Lets say for a moment that this happened to me. Now lets say that I waited for the individual to get out of his car so I could give him a piece of my mind, for stealing "my parking space." Not knowing anything about this individual, I hypothetically say to him "Hey Moron you didn't see me waiting there for that parking spot?" To which he replies with a swift kick to my front fender. Ok now I am really angry and I am getting out of my vehicle, just like most of us would do. But on this particular day, the other individual is having a worse day than I am, and feels threatened by my angry face, and aggressive demeanor. His reaction is to pull a knife out of his pocket or waistband, or maybe even a gun. This would force me into a position that could have and should have been avoided had I just chose to ignore his ignorance. Or maybe he seriously didn't see me. Whatever the actual facts may be I am now in a situation that forces me to fight, possibly to the death, or even risk being killed. But had I just ignored the situation and figured the guy must have had a good reason to "steal my spot" I would not have placed myself in this scenario in the first place. Of course this is an extreme example, and an example of an escalating nature. Under this scenario, we all have a choice to act out our frustrations, or just suppress them and go about our business. Lets assume for a moment that the altercation went in our favor, we honked at the individual, who possibly didn't see us waiting there. He kicked the front of the car and as the result you got out and a fight ensued. The end result was the other driver getting beaten badly and having to go to the hospital. Due to his injuries, he can no longer work. the end result is a judgement against you, where you will be paying this individual for the rest of his life. For what? A parking space that actually doesn't belong to either of you. Kind of silly huh?

On the other hand, there are scenarios like what just took place in Orlando, where a gunman enters into a business and just starts shooting random people. What can you do? Are you armed? if so you will need to make the split second decision to draw your weapon and dispatch the shooter. Are you trained? Do you have experience in this type of situation? If you decide to shoot the shooter, what is on the other side of the shooter in the event you miss? will it be your round that kills an innocent bystander? These are split second decisions, and thoughts that typically only come from tactically trained individuals. The shooter may see you and return fire. You may get shot as the result. What if the shooter is wearing a flak jacket? (aka bullet proof vest) As you can see by this blog this is something I am passionate about. While I would support a legally licensed, or otherwise skilled armed civillian dispatching the shooter, sometimes it may be the only option to end the crisis. But what if on the other hand you are not armed? What if there are women and children present? Is the shooter already shooting people or is he making threats and trying to take hostages? If you have a visual on the shooter, you must look for an opening and make every effort to end the situation. Most people would not know what to do. Although I have training in gun defense, as well as ample training in firearms, safety and tactics, I have never been face to face with a crazed shooter. I can only say that I would do what my training has taught me to do and trust that it will take over when needed. If you are in a public place and an active shooter starts shooting, get to cover ASAP, and take those around you with you. Don't panic, try to remoin calm. Make every effort to leave the area quickly, quietly and orderly, maybe consider barricading yourself in a secure area. (a bathroom stall is not considered a secure area, going into a bathroom to hide is not always the best choice.) I am currently working on a handbook for surviving an active shooter. The purpose of the handbook is to give readers an idea of things they could do in the event of an active shooter. Do not take on the mindset that "this would never happen to me." Truth is we never know whether or not it will happen to us until the time comes. There are simple things that you can do to safeguard your workplace. for example, there are pens that you can buy, that are quite stout, and in a pinch could be used as a weapon, Keeping a can of Wasp spray in your work area could also be a good choice as wasp spray can reach up to 70 feet in some cases. Wasp spray would blind a would be attacker. Avoid pepper spray as pepper spray would fill the room and cause others to be less capable of exiting as the result. There are several other things that can be done to better your chances of surviving an active shooter. I will cover some of them in a handbook that I hope to be finished within the next month or so. In closing this lengthy blog, it is important to point out the difference between having the option of defending your self, and having no other choice other than to defend yourself. Stay safe, be alert, Be vigilant!

Greetings all. I hope all is good for you! Just got over the flu and am looking forward to getting back to teaching . Today while I was out running errands, i came across a 5 year old child with his mom. He was wearing a GI, with a brown belt. He was quite boisterous about almost being a black belt. In addition, he was quite rude and disrespectful to his mother. I asked her if he is really a brown belt, to which she replied. Yes, he has been training since the age of 2. He had just turned 5. I was a bit dumbfounded for a moment. I thought about minding my own business, but then I thought Wait a minute, this is my business, and I am getting sick and tired of fraudulent "martial artists" fraudulently making their customers believe that they are black belts. So I told her. If you bring that behavior to the attention of his instructor, he will be bale to help you to correct it while it can still be corrected. I added, no disrespect intended, but the attitude in which your son is displaying is no where even close to the attitude of a perspective black belt. She replied "Oh so now you're gonna be one of those know it all about MMA?" I chuckled and said, no Ma'am, not MMA. But given the fact that I have owned and operated my martial arts school for more than 22 years, and have been training for more than 30 years, I would definitely say that qualifies me to make an obvious observation of an example of another person who has been lied to by their instructor. She became irritated, and before she could come back with a sarcastic reply. I told her "No offense to you, or your child is intended, but I see this all the time, and honestly it's getting old. Schools promote students to black belt because that is what the parent wants them to do, not because they have earned it." I went on, My youngest son also started training at the age of 2. although his classes were just 15 minutes at the time, because his attention span had not developed to the point where Karate training would be of benefit for him yet. He just tested for his black belt last June, at the age of 11 and a half. thats almost 10 years of training." My son has the utmost respect for his mother and those around him. Additionally, by your sons display of a serious lack of respect for you, it is also a display of the caliber of training he has received. She asked me for a card and said she would be interested in bringing her son in for an evaluation, "you know, like a second opinion." I chuckled and politely refused. I told her it would be best to find another alternative. We parted with no animosity, (which was my intent) but definitely made her mind start to think about it more in depth.      There are so many martial arts schools these days, but very few good ones. Most schools are concerned with teaching their students how to win at tournaments, or give them their black belt so that they can benefit from the financial aspect of the black belt test. which in some cases can run upward of $1,000.00. Enough is enough!  I am committing myself to set up and launch a how to site on finding the best martial arts school for yourself or your children PERIOD. The choice may not always be my Dojo, and thats ok, but these fraudulent people need to be stopped.  

Wow, it's been quite a while since I wrote in my Blog. Guess I'm not much of a Blogger, or is it Bloggist? Anyway, I am going to try to dedicate a little time each week to writing something in the blog. Hope you enjoy the insight, and my efforts. Please feel free to offer your feedback on my blog posts when you visit the Dojo. 

So as most of you know, when We moved the dojo to its current location in December of 2013, we had anticipated utilizing both suite D4, as well as Suite D3, (to the right) Apparently it was not meant to be for us to have both suites. The Botox center has opened and they seem to be doing very well. We wish them the best of luck and success. There is always an opportunity to learn from experiences in life that do not go the way we had hoped for. I have embraced the concept of a smaller facility, and am focusing on making some improvements in our current location. Though I am not quite at the point to make announcements, I offer this little insight to those who read my blog that I never post to LOL. We will be remodeling the lobby, and creating more seating opportunities as well as giving the whole appearance of the lobby a makeover. I have had plans drawn up and am in the planning stages. Most everything will be built off site, then once completed, we will close for a couple of days and complete the install. I am excited to get started on this project and am equally excited to be able to build this out the way I have it pictured in my mind. Of course I will post some before and after photos of this process. 

 

On another note, I am excited about the recent growth of the Dojo, and am feeling highly motivated again about everything. Be prepared for some amazing training in the coming weeks. I am also revamping our Kickboxfit program, and will be pushing everyone in that program to truly achieve greatness through an increased amount of effort. This will start Monday March 7th. If you are in the Kickboxfit program, get ready to look your best for the summer. That's all the time I have for now. Thanks for reading, and We will see you on the mat! 

So I thought about taking this section of the web site down. I started to read about my accident, and the progress of my recovery, and all it involved, Then I decided to leave it up because although this was an extremely difficult time in my life of which I am STILL feeling, it can serve as an example that no matter how tuff things get, you can get through it! We recently expanded, adding an additional 1700 square feet of training floor. We will be hosting new programs like Zumba, Yoga, and a crazy Cardio/conditioning class that comes from the concept of the insanity, and p90x workouts in a group environment. The buildout is pretty much done except for some final touches. Now comes the Marketing, and promotions. If you have been thinking about Zumba, Yoga, or insane cardio training, now is the time to get started with our programs being super inexpensive during the early enrollment process. Although classes have already begun, we are offering huge discounts to get some volume coming in. Beat the rush of the New Year Resolutioners. Once our volume reaches the Zero line, we will be adjusting our prices upward for new members coming in. wanna see a sample marketing video? Do a Google search for Zumba Rancho Cucamonga, as of yesterday we are on Page 2 of Google, soon we will be in the number one position. :+)

Adult Martial Arts program is growing as well. Come in and Take advantage of our endo of theyear specials.

That's all I got for now. Will Blog again in another year or so hahaha. As I mentioned before, I am not much of a Blogger LOL

Ok So by now it must be pretty obvious that I am not much of a blogger, I mean who has time for that? But since I am here blogging, We are winding down on the city programs. Our Kids self defense program is turning out to be very popular, we will be restructuring the program a little bit in the fall. Our Kickboxfit program continues to be one of the city of Rancho Cucamonga's most popular classes. (Rancho Cucamongan's like to sweat.) 

 

We have had a couple of minor set backs on our Black belt Academy Elite program, but are still moving forward. So far we have established the curriculum, set the logo and made final proofs on the Uniforms and silk screening for the t shirts, now we are waiting on the design people to finalize the application of the logo for the back of the uniforms. We will officially kick off the BBA Elite program on 6/15/09. We will also have some inception enrollment specials so if you are considering becoming involved in our BBA Elite program, contact Sensei Duffy and ask how you can be a part of the Elite BBA.

Today is Sunday and I have been building a BBQ in my back yard, so I am chomping to get out there and work on it some more, Maybe I can BBQ on it tonight. You're all invited to come over to my house for the BBQ tonight. Be here at 5:00. We'll have some social time and then some training, followed by great food and fun. See you then.

Happy New Year

As 2009 takes hold, focus on the positive things in life, Your family, Training, and your personal goals. This is the time of year when everyone likes to jump on the band wagon of making new year resolutions. Forget about all the hype. Set yourself some realistic goals and make up your mind to conquer them. I have set some business goals as well as personal goals this year, along with deadlines and commitments. I have also set some rewards for accomplishing those goals as you should too. This year in the dojo from a training standpoint, we will take a more physical approach. There will be more conditioning, more sparring, and other things along the way. I will also try to post something to my blog every week or two as well. This is the part where I say I have been so busy with everything leading up to the holidays. But at the risk of sounding like all th others who simply just dropped the ball, I will just say it I dropped the ball. LOL So now I will pick it up and move forward. Thanks for reading.                                      

 

Sensei Duffy

I guess it has been quite some time since I have posted anything on my blog. Sorry? I have been extremely busy working on quite a few new projects. Thanks giving was nice. had some down time and spent some time with the family which is always good. I hope you and your family had a great holiday as well.

It's hard to believe it is already December. This is the time to focus on new goals for the upcoming year. As for my goals, I am focussing on the growth and development of the dojo as well as a few other areas of interest.

 We will be having a Goal setting seminar on Saturday January 10th @ 1:00. You won't want to miss it. The fee is $10.00 and inludes a binder to assit you in reaching your goals. Sign up at the front desk. We will also be making this available through our web site for the same fee. Watch for the button on the home page.                                                                                                          Today is Sunday, and it's all about football and decorating the ouse for Christmas. Ihope you all have a great Christmas, and a safe New year!

Summer is right around the corner. Now is a good time to start training extra hard to prepare yourself for the summer months, Shorts and tank tops require just a bit of extra training to make those legs and arms look their best. Start each day with a few push ups, followed by crunches to target those abs. If you want your legs to look their best try sitting down a little lower in your stances, maybe throw in a few squats every couple of days, squats will pump up your quads (thighs) in a muscular way. Try to do 50 squats per day. It's gonna hurt at first, but the payoff will be worth it in the end. The beach trip is right around the corner. start now to look your best by July
19th. be sure to drink plenty of water. if you are at the dojo and have forgotten your water, we have water available for $1.00 per bottle. just see the front desk.

Wow Time is flying by fast here it is already March 2nd. Sorry it has taken me so long to update the site, I have been crazy busy with the move. In case you havn't heard, We have relocated to 9879 Foothill Blvd Suite E at the South west corner of Ramona and Foothill, just 1 block East of Archibald. The new dojo is awesome and you will love the entire atmosphere, stop in and check it out. The winter Kickboxfit session is winding down and the numbers are still great. Lots of people have seen tremendous results. To those of you who are registered and planning on re-registering for the Spring session, Please do not stop attending class on the 14th. When the session ends. As a courtesy to you we allow you to continue your training in between sessions at no charge. Please remember to turn in your membership cards on your last visit between sessions so we are able to update them for your renewal. Thank you for your continued support Rancho Cucamonga, and we will see you in class!!

With the New Year upon us, this is a good time to recognise your true potential. Are you living up to your true potential? I challenge each of you who may read my blog to challenge yourself to be your best. do the things you love. Be passionate about what you do. Strive to do your very best every time. Set some some goals and chase your dreams! You can do anything when you set your mind to it!

Merry Christmas!
From our family to yours. We wish you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Safe New Year celebration. The Dojo will re-open on Wednesday January 2nd, 2008

Well here we are winding down toward the end of the year. I am improving, all though it is a slow process, I am listening to the Doctors and following their advice. Those of you who really know me, know that this is a hard thing for me to do. I do not do well with just sitting around. However, in this case, it is required that I listen to the Doctor's advice so I am able to make a full recovery. I anxiously await a full recovery so I will be able to get back to my regular routine. I am looking forward to our Christmas gathering this year as well I will make some announcements, along with some reflections and closure on my accident. Thank you all for your support during this time and I look forward to returning the favor in the near future.

Last night was my first night back to class. although I really didn't do too much, it felt good to be back in the dojo and on the floor. Sensei Connie, and the other junior sensei's did a great job running the show. I will slowly begin to get re-acclimated to my normal routine. I have seen a great deal of growth lately in the interest of the dojo. This is a refreshing occurrence. Especially coming back after such a lengthy absence. Kickboxing class yesterday was fun too. It was great to see everyone and the morning class offered a lot of energy. Although I was only able to teach 25 minutes of the class before sitting down, it was great to be back on the floor. I probably should have sat down after the first 10 to 15 minutes. But now that I have realized this, I will pace myself better in the near future. We will be taking measurements this week, and I will make it a point to update the "Sensei's project" page this weekend. I apologize for not posting the recent updates I received. I have been a bit preoccupied, and unable to focus until recently. Keep up the good work and I will see you in class.

Hey Blog readers.
Sorry I haven't posted in a while i have been a little preoccupied trying to get better. I had a nice Thanksgiving with lots to be thankful for!!!! I hope yo did as well!! I have been trying to rebuild the cardio. It's a lot of work. I am planing on coming into class this Monday I will be teaching the AM kickboxing class (or trying to anyway, we'll see how it goes) then I will be in the dojo Monday night and suited up ready to go. I've got a lot of work to do to get back in the shape I was in before the crash. Gonna take my time at first and then when the time is right I will kick it into high gear. I look forward to seeing you all at the dojo. Have a great weekend and I will see you in class.

Greetings to all, and thank  for taking the time to read my blog. Not much to blog about these days other than the recovery, and those things associated with it. Not to mention the great support that I am receiving from my Black Belts and Kickboxing staff. As well s all the others who have stepped up and offered to help during this challenging time.

Good news to report. I went to the Dr. on Monday in Palm Springs. First I went to the ER room at the hospital for a trauma check up. The Doctor said i am healing "remarkably well" The bones are mending, the pneumonia is almost gone, and the lungs are getting stronger. As for me, I never realised it took so long to heal soft tissue. I know how to totally destroy soft tissue real fast, but never thought much about how long it takes to recover. My doctor was mostly concerned about my spline, and stressed the importance of avoiding contact and assertive activity until it is fully recovered. Otherwise I chance rupturing my spline which would be catastrophic. So  I will follow the Docs advice to a T. Still moving pretty slow and starting to work on regaining my cardio. Started riding the stationary bike today. (Thanks Doc for bringing that by) am able to move around a bit better. But still dealing with the pain. I am learning that my experience has helped a lot of people look at things in their life a little closer and make some improvements, and adjustments. I am a strong believer in leading by example but geeeeshI am sure there are easier ways to lead than going through all of this. If there is one thing I would like people to learn from my misfortune, it would be the importance of keeping your mind, body, and spirit strong. Scientifically they say the human body can sustain an impact up to 35 MPH. Anything over that will kill you you. It was determined that after I became dismounted from my bike, I slammed into a huge boulder at approximately 50 MPH. Which would explain the severity of my injuries, and the numerous fractures in my ribs. Thank God I am still alive. It is my intention to return to the dojo on 11-26-07 I am unsure of my abilities at that point so I there will still be plenty of help on hand. Keep training hard and I will see you soon.

OS!

GGGGRRRRRR
I'm going crazy just sitting around trying to breathe. But I am following the Drs. order to a T this time. I have a tendency to follow the Drs. orders until I start to feel better, then jump back in the game too soon only to be set back further. So given the nature of this incident and the severity of it, I would be a fool to not follow the Drs. advice. Just know that I miss all of you and can't wait until I can come back. I have received a few E mails on the status of the classes since I have been out. I am not surprised, but am happy to say that there has not been one complaint about anything since I have been out. If you have any needs or requests while I am away, please address them with either Sensei Connie, or Miss Holly. I anxiously look forward to returning. I see the Dr. on Monday the 5th. If he gives me clearance, I will make an effort to stop by the dojo Tuesday night to say how do to everyone. I hope you are all training hard! Remember, the Dr. said that if my body was not conditioned the way it was, my injuries would have been much more substantial if I would have even survived. Turns out after talking to others that were there at the accident, that after I hit the ground, I slid into a huge boulder, this would explain the amount of damage i received. I learned that slamming into a boulder at 50 to 60 MPH body first hurts worse than any round house or spinning back kick. Bye for now Train hard!!
OS!

WHEW! THAT WAS CLOSE!
Thank you for all of your support and help during my time of need. For those who don't already know, I was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident on 9/30/2007. Not sure exactly what happened as I was in and out of consciousness as I lay on the side of the road. One minute I am riding with a bunch of my friends, then next minute I am laying on the side of the road trying to breath and coughing up blood. I was air lifted to Palm Springs trauma center, where I was placed on life support for 9 days. In the hospital for 3 weeks. I am home now on home confinement with a home nurse. Each day a nurse comes over and administers an IV to chase away the Pneumonia. The whole experience has been life altering to say the least. Thank God for my wife who has been incredibly strong through this whole ordeal and been there for me every step of the way. The end result is I will be fine. I will  make a full recovery, but need time to heal so I will be back as soon as possible. I miss all of you and I miss doing one of the things I do best, Teaching. Look for me to be a bit more active when I return. The final score on my injuries was 6 broken ribs on my left side with fragments, a broken left scapula (shoulder blade) in 3 places, A punctured and collapsed left lung, severe contusions on the right lung, a lacerated spline, and 1 dead Kawasaki zx9R. Thank God for good leathers, those were cut off of me at road side. That hurt, they were good quality leathers, and those aint cheap, but the best way to look at that is they did their job. I hit the ground at just over 50 MPH no road rash just broken body parts. I have lost nearly 30 pounds. I'll get that back though. A special thank you to Sensei Connie Decker, Sensei Andrew Wildasinn, All the senseis who have stepped it up and helped out while I have been out. Taz for taking control of the kickboxfit classes, Melinda for stepping up and handling the morning Kickboxfit program, Sempai Rene for being there and helping out wherever he can. Big thanks to Holly for running the show and holding down the front desk. You've done a great job all of you, And an extra special thank you to my beautiful wife Katrina for stepping up and handling everything while I was down. If I missed any one I apologise, just know that I am very thankful for your help and greatly appreciate all that you have done. In addition I would like to thank the group I ride with Turn2sportbikes. These guys were great they comforted me as I lay on the side of the road, they comforted my wife and offered assistance to her and my family in my time of need. Thank you to the Doctors who put me back together again, Thank you Jesse One of my nurses who believed in me and helped me avoid having to have a tracheostomy. I am slowly on the mend and will return soon so train hard and look at the positive attributes of this situation. As for myself, looking at the positive things has helped me to recover as quickly as I am. The Doctors say they are very surprised at my progress and impressed with my improvement. Thank you again for all of your support and I will see you soon.    OS!

Sensei Duffy

Kickboxfit is alive and on fire! we are starting a new program called "Sensei's project." This program is designed to push you to your limits as well as give you proper nutrition guidance. If you wouldlike more info on this program, cantact Sensei Duffy Either through this site or directly at the dojo. Sensei Duffy is also working on some other pretty exciting things, including a new clothing line. Watch for fliers posted in the dojo and on this blog. Almost everything upcoming and new will be posted here first. So check back often. This blog will refresh every 7 days