Ever wondered how much peace of mind is really worth?

You should be asking yourself how much NOT having it will cost you.

Introducing A Complete, Step-by-Step Blueprint to Simple, Effective & Practical SELF DEFENSE that can be utilized by ANYONE, regardless of age, strength, size or ability!

Do you ever find yourself wondering or worrying about whether or not you would be able to defend yourself or protect your family & friends should anything ever happen?

There’s no need to feel insecure or embarrassed about thinking such a thing.  That’s a damn good question, and the right one to ask because- and I know I’m not saying anything you don’t already know here- I’m gonna be honest and “bottom-line” it for you when I say this: We live in a world where bad things happen to good people…every single day.

Don’t believe me?  Fine.  Flip on a TV or through a newspaper.   Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded with stories of people being victims of violent crime.  Now some of you are reading this, I’m sure, thinking,“well my neighborhood is safe, what’s the point of these scare tactics?” or “he just wants us to buy his stuff so he’s hamming up the occasional bad news story.”

If this describes how you think, all I have to say is,

Wake Up or Good Luck!

Closest Weapon, Closest Target: seeking to do the greatest amount of damage in the shortest line and with as little effort as possible.  The effect?  PAIN. Instantly.

NO neighborhood is safe, NO ONE is exempt from falling victim to random acts of violence, and NOBODY is immune to becoming tomorrow’s news report!

The fact of the matter is this:

The ability to protect yourself is not a “luxury;” it is a responsibility.

Why is that?  Simple.

Self Defense and Personal Protection are not just about YOUR self or YOUR person.

What does that mean?  

Think about it for a second. 

It’s about your family.  It’s about your friends.  It’s about your loved ones.  It’s about EVERYONE you hold near & dear;  everyone who will be affected by some senseless act of violence done to you or to themselves for lack of the knowledge of how to protect oneself.  

Seeing the big picture now?  

Good, because the way I see it, you basically have two choices:

You can pretend this injustice does not exist, tell yourself that your neighborhood is safe and think to yourself “that kind of thing doesn’t happen around here…not where I live…” (not smart)

OR

you can be prepared to protect yourselves and those close to you by using simple, practical and effective self defense skills should the need ever arise.

Our little discussion here is entirely devoted to the latter (and on that note, If you refuse to accept the fact that personal protection in this day and age is a necessity and choose the first response to this issue, no problem.  Just hole yourself up in your house and watch the Beverly Hillbillies marathon.  For the rest of us who live in the real world that just isn’t possible).

The WALKING WEAPON Self Protection Skills System was developed with one goal in mind: to give ANYONE– man, woman, young, old, big, small and so on-simple, practical and effective tools necessary to survive a self defense encounter…but let me back up for a second and explain a bit about my background and how I came up with this System.

To put it as plain as plain can be, each and every self-defense encounter presents the same two options: 

you can either become an attacker’s worst nightmare…or you can experience your own.

Who Am I? (And Why Should You Listen To Me?)

Good question!  If you’re thinking this to yourself as you read this, it shows that you value your safety and that of your loved ones.

My name is Robert Bartkowski. I first became fascinated by the martial arts on TV as a small child after seeing my very first episode of the old Kung Fu program starring David Carradine.  I remember being completely entranced;  I didn’t know what the hell that bald guy in the robes was doing but I knew I wanted in on whatever it was!

The famous forearm branding scene from the old Kung Fu television show starring David Carradine.  After all these years, I still love this scene and always will.  Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Right about the time I can recall becoming entranced with the martial arts and already foreshadowing the future: Navy service and becoming a student of self-defense and the combative arts.

The problem was that growing up I was not coordinated or physically gifted- in fact I was downright portly.  Needless to say, I was not the most athletic kid in the neighborhood.  I can still remember one time in particular when my Little League coach told me in front of the rest of the team,

“Hey Bartkowski, you know how they say that somebody runs like they have a piano on their back?  Well in your case I think you stopped between second and third to play it.” 

Hmmm…that’s a Charlie Brown moment for sure.

I had quite a lot for those moments growing up so you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that I was sensitive, shy and rather timid and thus became quite an easy target for others who liked to pick on someone who wouldn’t speak up.  After one particularly degrading time while playing basketball at a park where my friends and I were forced off by some loudmouthed older kids who ridiculed me for being very chubby (I believe the nickname they gave me was “Tits”) and smacked me around, I knew I needed something; I needed to change for the better-and I knew deep down that martial arts was the key for me.

Even way back then I knew that this stuff wasn’t just about some punk on a basketball court-it had to do with being prepared for any situation that may happen upon me.  

The problem was I didn’t know what to do or how to react; I doubted myself, and felt panic and fear mixed with shame and self-loathing for not knowing how to handle the situation-and I hated myself for it. There is no worse feeling in your gut than that of being unprepared because the way I see it, lack of preparation is the keymaster to helplessness.

And so there I sat, holed up in my room with tears streaming down my round face, my cheeks flush from both having been embarrassed in front of my friends as well as random people I didn’t even know and from quite frankly being scared shitless that if I were to have been seriously in danger of any real harm I wouldn’t have had the first clue as to what to do, crying into my pillow so my folks wouldn’t hear me and get worried (or worse, drive up to the park and confront those older guys which would have driven my self-esteem into the ground like a bucket down a well) when something inside of me clicked.

What happened next was a turning point so powerful I still remember what it felt like so vividly that if I close my eyes and think about it I can feel the fire burning right now. I told myself that day, “I don’t care what I have to do, I’m gonna learn how to stand up for myself no matter what-and no one will be able to take that away from me.   I will never feel helpless again. Ever.  EVER!”

From paper routes to pizza parlors, I worked jobs throughout high school and college to be able to afford lessons (since my folks didn’t have the means to do so).  I skipped many a night of drinking in the woods, my friends thought I was stupid and more than a little weird, my folks thought I was a bit too obsessed- and to be fair all of them were probably right- but frankly I didn’t give a shit. I have been training in various forms of combative arts since 1994, running the gamut from classical systems such as various styles of kung fu and taekwondo to grappling, weaponry, boxing and full-contact sparring.

As valuable as those experiences were for shaping who I am, deep down I came to realize that they weren’t touching the root of why I got started in the first place.  So I shifted gears in my training, and since 2002 I have trained almost exclusively in close-quarter personal protection and self defense.

I currently hold instructor ranking in 3 different systems of martial arts, all of which emphasize a no-frills approach to simple, effective and practical self defense strategies and principles.  Now let me just say straight-up that I don’t tell you all of this as some half-assed way to impress you with a list of accomplishments but rather to hammer home to you that I am not a newbie or some opportunist who is looking to sell you a re-hashed version of traditional, complicated moves that only a trained person can pull off.

I know firsthand what it feels like to fear for my safety and that of my loved ones and not have the knowledge, means or ability to do anything about it.  Let me tell you, that sucks…and it’s a dangerous spot to be in.

I am above all else just a regular guy.  Age has a way of forcing balance on you if you aren’t sharp enough to see that balance is the best- and only-way to live a healthy life on all fronts. I don’t eat, sleep and breathe martial arts, training or all things fighting-related the way I did when I was younger.  In fact, my take on my training now this: training in anything self defense, combat arts or fitness related forms the bedrock or foundation of a truly balanced life- but it should NOT be the end-all, be-all of one’s life.  True, the combative arts and self defense are a big part of who I am-but it’s not all that I am. That is important for you to know.  

I do have other interests outside of the fighting arts-be it reading, eating, trying to learn how to cook, watching old horror films or just going out for a walk. The point I’m getting at is that while training in martial arts truly is my passion in life, I have come to realize that training, in order for it to be of any real value for someone as a person, must be the foundation of something; not the end-all be all of anything.  As it relates to our little conversation here, martial arts training has to be rooted in the practicality of personal protection and self preservation-otherwise it is just another form of physical exercise.

The problem is, there is a definite gap between self defense and what is taught in so many schools of martial arts out there today.  In other words, so many styles of martial arts were born out of environments like this:

while not addressing the non-ideal reality of environments like this:

Now the value of martial arts is immense, and their teachings on self defense is a big part of that.  In fact, the arts have survived for thousands of years due to their benefits-from physical fitness and coordination to the ability to defend and protect oneself…but almost without exception such benefits require years of dedicated study to be able to reap, as well as a high degree of physical ability. 

That right there excludes many people who need their benefits the most today- right now.

For the person who may not share my love of martial arts or combat sports-the person just looking for a means to protect themselves and their families-mainstream martial arts classes are not the best fit for what he/she needs.

How did I come to this conclusion?  I’ll get back to that…

What is this System all about, anyway?

Let’s first lay out what this system isn’t:

This is NOT just another hodge-podge collection of “techniques”  (in fact, one of my hard and fast rules of choosing a self defense class for the newbie is this: if you walk into a room and see someone teaching a “self-defense” class in a karate uniform, save yourself the time and $$$ and get the hell out of there ASAP), nor is it just a re-hash of traditional martial arts moves and drills that require years of dedicated practice in order to be used effectively.

Rather it is a System made up of nothing but the most SIMPLE, EFFECTIVE and PRACTICAL skills, strategies and tactics as well as a host of other non-physical aspects that, when presented in the specific way that this System does, gives ANYONE the tools they need to get home to their families safely.

True self defense practice involves both recognizing the reality of and neutralizing various factors such as size and strength. Let me show you how to tap into the power you already possess inside of you right now to turn you from a timid  soul into a fire-breathing “hell on wheels” WALKING WEAPON!

What’s In A Name?

The reason behind the name, WALKING WEAPON, is simply this:

No one is helpless.

NO ONE.

Be it a young person, teenager, middle aged office executive, soccer mom, or senior citizen – ALL are capable of inflicting damage on any attacker with the tools that God gave them.  My point is that every person on Earth is just as equally capable of being an attacker’s worst nightmare as they are of becoming his next victim.

What separates the “victim” from the “survivor” can be boiled down to one thing:

PROPER TRAINING (both physical and mental)

This System addresses both equally.

It breaks down like this: we live in an age where- for the most part- you and I do not need to kill our own food each day, nor do we need to defend our families, homes and possessions against roving bands of thieves, as was the case in the early days. However, it seems that as people become more and more “civilized,” they lose sight of the fact that in an emergency, it’s just YOU and what YOU CAN DO to save yourself and those close to you.

There may be a police station 2 blocks from your house but if someone busts open your door in the middle of the night, jumps you in a parking lot of the supermarket or tackles you on a bike path, the fact is that the cops might as well be on the moon!

Lesson #1: NEVER forget that in a life or death situation, it all boils down to YOU and what YOU can do to save yourself!

This reality requires a certain “warrior spirit” and personal belief that- while you wish to live your life, go about your day and tend to your own business- if the situation should ever arise, you would know- not hope, not guess, but KNOW-that you are the baddest thing in the land and God help anything or anyone that gets in your way…and that’s that. 

This mentality has been shown in the Shaolin warrior monks of China, the Samurai of Japan, explorers such as Lewis and Clark, as well as our colonial patriots and early pioneers in the days of the United States’ birth and growth.

I wish to impart to my students the ability to recognize and avoid potentially hostile situations, the ability to diffuse situations verbally and with body language and, as a last resort ONLY, the ability to physically remove themselves from a dangerous situation in the most simple, effective and practical way by targeting the vital areas of an attacker in an unrelenting yet precise manner.

Above all, we wish to give all those who train with me the greatest tool one can have –CONFIDENCE. If someone never has to use my system, I consider that a victory. However, if someone must utilize what I teach and gets home to his/her family that night, I cannot ask for anything better.

If you are reading this and thinking to yourself, “well, I don’t know if I have that in me…”  don’t worry.  We all have it in us. Let me show you how to tap into yours-and you will be amazed at what you’re capable of when the chips are down! 

A QUICK NOTE FROM A HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTIST AND FULL-CONTACT FIGHTER ON THIS BOOK...

“Robert Bartkowski has distilled his traditional martial arts training into the most simple, direct, efficient and above all effective self-protection program available on the market today.”

– Sifu Chris Childs

Sifu Chris Childs is an internationally recognized and certified instructor of Choy Lay Fut kung fu, prolific author for international martial arts publications and a Champion forms, weapons and full-contact kickboxing competitor.  

Self Protection Skills?

“Why do you call it “self-protection” and not just self-defense? Isn’t that really just a matter of semantics or a play on words to try to be clever?”

To that I reply with another question…

Let’s say you are minding your own business one day, going about your daily humdrum routine when BAMMM!  All of a sudden you are attacked without warning – it could be in your home at night, in your car at a stoplight or coming out of a movie, restaurant or grocery store-anywhere, really.

Let me ask you this: which mentality do you think would serve you better?

“Oh No! why did they attack me??  What did I ever do to them??  I just want to do whatever I need to do to get them to stop attacking me for no reason..”

OR

“How f*****g DARE you?! You have no idea the hell you just unleashed on yourself! You are going to wish your Mom never met your Dad in about 5 seconds!” 

See my point?

The wording of our name is a reflection of a mindset; a mentality.  Now while the term “self defense” is used as a catch-all by many including myself when speaking in generalities, this System is based on a PROACTIVE mindset and mentality, not a reactive one.  The fact of the matter is this, even if you are defending yourself in an encounter, you are not really “defending” anything.

You are PROTECTING your body, mind, sanity, family and right to life against some sick thug who wants to take it from you.

Defending is reactive.

PROTECTING is proactive.

Now I’m not in the habit of telling anyone what they should do but personally, I’m going with Option B: aggressively and proactively asserting my right to life, liberty and everything else that comes along with it.

“Defense?”

That will be the other guy’s main concern once I tee-off on his ass, tear through his vital targets like a hobo through a ham sandwich and leave him in the fetal position on the ground.

While surviving any encounter is never only about learning physical techniques, as knowledge in all of the aforementioned areas is the only way to honestly approach proper self defense training, the techniques learned must be simple, practical and effective in order to be successful. This philosophy of personal protection can best be summed up in our motto,

“The LESS you have to remember, the MORE you have to work with.”

After training a group of women to channel their “inner badass” which resulted in a very sore day or two afterwards, but worth it ten times over.

What was the motivation to create this System?

As I told you earlier that while training in martial arts truly is my passion in life (I owe who I am as a person today, in all areas, to my years of martial arts study), I have come to realize that for the average person-man or woman-just looking for a means to protect themselves and their families, mainstream martial arts are not optimal.

Even worse, so many people out there teaching “self defense” to the masses look to impress you with their resume or fight record.

So you have 100 trophies from tournaments?  Good for you.

You have a dozen black belts, do you?   Awesome.

You’re an undefeated cage fighter?  Wow. That’s EPIC, brah.  Nice tattoo sleeves by the way.

That’s all great stuff, but when it comes to learning how to protect my family, all that and $1.49 will get you a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts.  A tad blunt, perhaps, but 100% spot-on.  I want to pull these folks aside and tell them, “Let me clue you in on something, pal”…

All the average person wants to know is if what you’re teaching them WORKS, if it can be LEARNED QUICKLY and if it can be APPLIED EFFECTIVELY.  

That’s it!

Funny thing is, that is precisely where most “self-defense” classes, books and courses come up short-and it is exactly where this System rises above the rest.

Anyway, back to my story.

One day, I get a phone call from my mother.  Concerned about the steadily rising crime rate in her area, she asked if I could demonstrate a few quick and easy moves she and her friends could learn to put their minds at ease while coming back from work on the train and being in the city late at night.  Bear in mind, she’s all of 5’2” and around 110lbs. 

Of course I agree to, happily…I mean, what am I going to do, say “No” to my own mother, right? (rule of thumb-never say “no” to an Italian mother).

This soon prompted my two sisters, also slender in build, to ask if I could show them some self-defense moves as well, as they had moved into an “up and coming” area of the city (which really means that it was a really crappy neighborhood that some hotshot real estate moguls had obviously tried to flip by throwing up a few new condos here and there and spritzing a yuppie latte coffee shop on every other block).  

One of them was a teacher whose school was located in a notoriously rough section of Chicago and whose schedule had her frequently leaving at or around dusk.  After a string of burglaries, robberies and assaults occurred in their general area, they expressed how concerned they were about being down there and wanted to learn some easy moves and things to remember to keep them safe.  

Again, I more than readily agreed, my ego stroked.  No problem, right?

Wrong.

If it ain’t simple, direct and efficient – DON’T DO IT.

I found out P.D.Q that the intricate moves practiced in the various schools of traditional martial arts I had been training in had little practical value for those smaller in size, with less physical strength and with no training when applied in an uncooperative setting against an untrained, unfamiliar and resisting “opponent,”  as well as being very hard to teach because the basic foundation of the martial art system from where these techniques came from, they did not have.

To be honest I felt completely inadequate; I felt like a fake and a fraud-and decided then and there that I could not show my sisters and my mother these techniques, because it would be about as productive as bringing a paintball gun to the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral!

They needed something different, something simple, something that didn’t rely on size or strength and most importantly, something that could be easily learned and practiced.

As is the case with so many things, the wheel of life keeps on rolling…

Now right about at this point, many of my friends began getting married and having children.  Men are conditioned by society and culture (and rightly so, in this guy’s opinion) to be the protectors and defenders of their families.  A lot of my buddies don’t know the first think about “all that chop-chop sh*t”  as they like to joke with me about, but I am of the opinion that protecting oneself and one’s family is a skill EVERY man should have under his belt.  Sorry to all the guys out there, but most of us dudes think that all you need is the big right hand against an attacker.  That line of thinking is just plain wrong and quite stupid too, for several reasons.  Don’t worry though-I address all of them in this System.

In my case while continuing to train and teach and fiddle around with seeing what techniques would work for them I met, fell in love with and married my loving wife, who also happens to be much smaller in stature. When we discussed what she would do in case anyone ever attacked her, it was the damnedest thing: that same old feeling came creeping back in, only in a much more deep and urgent sense.  All of the motivators that had spurred me to action now took a backseat to this one:   

I now have a wife to protect and to keep safe.   

Enough said.

At this point the motivation became undeniable and I thought to myself-

“If you can’t teach all of them how to defend and protect themselves should anything happen when you’re not there, why the hell are you doing all this?

Isn’t this why you started training?  To help people and protect them?

If you can’t help them out with this and share some things you’ve spent all this time doing, then what the hell good is it gonna do you?

All your time training is for NOTHING.”

The reality of any situation is that if something happens, it’s going to happen quickly, forcefully and without warning and while all of their techniques are valid (let me be crystal clear, I am NOT knocking any martial art), the mode of training of classical martial arts has little value in spur-of-the-moment application for the person who is unwilling or unable to invest the time necessary to use them effectively.

Thankful that these scenarios had played out in the safety a basement and not in a situation where anyone’s well-being was truly in danger, I went to work…

Proper training must address all possible scenarios and has to be able to be used effectively on the ground or standing up!

Having been fortunate enough to cross train in several styles all while having an underlying emphasis on the self-protection aspect of training deep down in the back of my mind, I was able to pull from my background a core curriculum of common techniques for them that fit all of the necessary criteria I listed above.

I have been fortunate to train with some of the greatest martial artists out there and still do (I assure you, taking your lumps and getting knocked around regularly keeps your ego in check and your mind constantly learning-something that most martial arts instructors and so-called “experts” never do anymore!) and most of all, being able to teach students from a variety of backgrounds-schoolteachers, construction workers, office executives and bouncers-gives you a variety of bodies and experiences to draw from. In other words, the techniques had to be able to work on a 6’5” 300 pound construction worker when applied by a 5’3” 110 pound housewife, 8 year old kid or 70 year old senior citizen.

My “Back Pocket” Secret Weapon!

In fact, I think of this System as my own personal “back pocket” secret weapon, because I know I can continue to train in any art I choose- or I can choose to not train and go on about my daily routine, watch TV or take a vacation- and in either case never have to worry about sacrificing my safety or that of my loved ones.  Once you learn and practice these moves just a few times they never go away. They are tucked away in your mental “back pocket.”

These techniques are SIMPLE, they are PRACTICAL and most importantly, they are EFFECTIVE!

Ed Parker, one of the founding fathers of martial arts in America and personal instructor & bodyguard to “The King” Elvis Presley himself, once said,

“I’d rather have ten techniques I can fight with than a hundred techniques that fight me.”

Well put, and right on point.

Here’s just a “big toe in the water” sample of what's in store for you...

• Knowing the 3 components of any confrontation, and how to train yourself to react accordingly!

• A sure-fire method to assess a situation while removing yourself from harm!

• The 4 main targets on an attacker’s body that will inflict INSTANTANEOUS PAIN and allow you to get away!

• The proper posture to face an attacker in, and how this can be integrated into everyday activities!

• How NOT to respond to a potential encounter (this one is worth getting the course for alone!)

• Key upper and lower body techniques that can be EASILY learned and QUICKLY applied!

• The truth about the use of weapons and the only concept you need to learn to deal with any weapon attack!

• How to turn any area-a spare bedroom, a hotel room, a garage, a backyard-into your own personal training area!

• How to build your own personalized training routine, fit for YOUR specific needs!

• How to ALWAYS have an attacker’s most vital areas at your disposal, no matter where they may try to attack you!

• ONE simple concept that works just as well standing up as it does on the ground (note: this one is a “gold mine” for women)!

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg…

Who can benefit from this?

Let's see. Do any of these sound like someone you may know...maybe, personally?

• The busy soccer mom or stay-at-home dad with a non-stop “on the go” schedule

• The office worker, busy professional or business executive with little or no time to devote to martial arts training

• Students

• Babysitters

• Senior citizens

• Realtors

• Delivery drivers

• Law Enforcement/Security/Corrections Personnel

• Military personnel

• Hikers and campers

• Trail walkers/runners/bicyclists

• Community organizations

• Church groups, Boy/Girl Scouts, etc.

• Martial Artists of ANY style or background (any good one will tell you the greatest mistake one can make is to stop learning and think that you have “arrived”…remember, running water never goes stale.)

What Others Are Saying

You get the idea – EVERYONE can benefit from this information…but as much as I can go on as to how valuable this information is, as the saying goes, the “proof is in the pudding.”

There is no better reference to the effectiveness of a system such as this than the testimonials of those who have ordered this book, taken my classes and Workshops or trained with me. From housewives to students, doctors to law enforcement officers, personal recommendations are the highest honor one can bestow upon me. 

Have a look-see:

I have found that the techniques taught are easy to learn and can be mastered by any person regardless of size and/or physical ability. Robert is very knowledgeable on the topic and breaks down the techniques to a very basic level for complete understanding. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to learn and apply simple yet very effective self defense techniques and strategies. Thank you!

– Melissa Wilder, 3rd degree black belt, Combat Hand Integration (CHI) Systems, 2nd degree black belt, Shidokan (full contact) karate

Bob’s unique and pragmatic approach to self-defense training is an invaluable asset to both the experienced martial artist as well as the general public with little or no martial arts experience. There is an emphasis on practical reactions and self protection skills which can benefit people without much experience and which is often not taught in more traditional martial art schools. These skills do not involve complex multiple step sequences which are usually impossible to remember under the stress of a real attack. These skills are also more universal as opposed to more traditional training of multiple different responses for the same attack in different parts of the body.  

The traditional methods may work after multiple years of repetition and practice, but will probably not work for the average person. The skills taught here concentrate on developing the more universal gross motor skills which can be applied under stressful conditions. There is also discussion about awareness of surroundings and ways to prevent potential confrontations which is also frequently absent from most traditional training curriculum. I am both a traditional martial artist as well as a professional with very little free time and highly recommend this approach for everyone who wishes to really understand how to make self-defense work for you.

Bob Bartkowski is an extremely knowledgeable instructor and takes the time to correct each person. He teaches each class personally and takes the time to work with each person individually during the class. Bob’s Wing classes are high energy sessions teaching simple and effective trapping, striking, and low-line kicking techniques in a reality based scenario. They take into account real-life situations and teach direct and efficient responses. Situational sparring and testing your techniques are emphasized so that you can evaluate and improve your training. He is right in there with us for every drill – bumps, bruises and all!

Robert’s philosophy is to share all knowledge with the students to improve their techniques, and he feels the only way to do so is to continually improve himself and his skills.  I would highly recommend this site and Bob’s approach to training to anyone.

– Robert June, MD – Emergency Room Physician, 3rd degree black belt, Combat Hand Integration (CHI) Systems, 3rd degree black belt, Hapkido

Bob,

Fantastic! You will be glad to know that this stuff (concept and theory) is EXACTLY what I was taught in the academy. The concept of jamming the attack and closing the space on someone throwing a haymaker was very familiar. The ready stance is also exactly the same, if our instructor caught us on the mat with our hands down, or in a fist, he would slap us one in the chest. We also spent a lot of time learning how to fall down, recover, keep our legs towards the attack and protect our heads… practicing falling down sucks, especially for big guys. The bigger they are the harder they fall. Man, was I sore!

-Kevin Keenan, Correctional Officer

Hi Bob,

I want you to know that I like your approach to training a lot. It is simple and easy to understand. Being a law enforcement officer, Self-Defense is major part of my everyday job, being ready for any type of situation, physical or otherwise. The points you make about the non-aggressive stance are right on, you can react to any aggressor from this stance-it’s a stance I’m in on a daily basis being on calls. My wife also read your book, she surely enjoyed it. For someone who has never had any self-defense instruction, she picked it up very quickly. It also changed her mindset on how much self-defense is a really important aspect of life, because you just never know!!!!

-Michael Lynch Jr., Police Officer

I have been a police officer for fifteen years and a student of Bob for 3 years.  Let me just say that what is taught in Bob’s method really works! I have used quite a number of these techniques and concepts on the streets. These concepts have certainly helped me come home unharmed to my family at the end of the day. These concepts and techniques are the foundation for my own personal self defense. This stuff could help save your life one day!

-James Holt, Police Officer

Bob’s method of teaching and applying self-defense is simple in its’ technique base, practical in its’ application and the techniques are effective for people of all ages and are not dependent on size or strength. I can speak from a uniquely qualified vantage point, having been a soldier in the elite 82nd Airborne Division as well as suffering an injury in the line of duty which necessitated my medical retirement from the U.S. Army.

The soldier in me appreciates the no-B.S, get in and get-out nature of the way Bob teaches and trains, while having to deal with certain medical limitations makes me appreciate its’ non-focus on attributes such as size or physical strength to incapacitate an assailant. Always remember that every one of us have limitations; injuries, lack of size or strength, age, and so on but limitations are not limits. There are no limits – if you refuse to limit yourself.                            

– SPC John Fagan, U.S. Army (Ret),82nd Airborne Division, Graduate of United States Army Ranger School

On behalf of the Lovely and Noble Sisters of Gamma Phi Omega from Loyola University Chicago, I would like to say Thank- You to Bobby for teaching terrific, simple, useful, realistic, effective and very much needed self defense tactics to the college students. Bobby was fun, engaging and informative. He kept the crowd interested with his clever mixture of humor and sincerity. Everyone in the crowd had a chance to practice their new self defense techniques on the very well padded and protected “perpetrator” Bobby. He was very supportive, encouraging and tolerant of our “attacks.” Great Job Bobby, we learned a lot!

-Marlisa Quetell, Gamma Phi Omega Sorority, Loyola University Chicago

I am a 31 year old teacher, licensed realtor and mother. For the first five years of my career I worked in the Englewood area of Chicago. Our parking lot was in an alley, and I would come and go when it was dark. Needless to say safety was a concern of mine. To be honest, though, I have always been concerned about my safety regardless of where I was at. Being a petite woman I feel like I am a target for any lurking predator. I felt the need to learn how to defend myself, so I decided to attend Bob’s self defense class designed for women. Walking into the class I felt weak and helpless. However, as the class progressed, I became more empowered.

Bob did not fill our heads with misconceptions nor show us fancy, unrealistic flips that we would probably forget how to do in a time of panic. The message was to be practical, fierce, and mean! Bob taught us the idea is to GET AWAY in the event of an attack, not to restrain your attacker. Therefore, us women must do anything possible like claw with our nails, kick the shins, or, of course, go for the groin! Once you break free, just run away.

I highly recommend any woman, mother, sister, or friend attend one of Bob’s self-defense classes. 

-Mary Ellen Derman, Schoolteacher & Licensed Realtor

The following is a very touching testimonial written by the mother of a young man with Down’s syndrome who took one of my private Wing Chun-based self defense sessions in order to gain basic self defense skills and improve cognitive motor function. It was an absolute pleasure to teach this young man and seeing him improve himself was more rewarding than can be put into words…

Dear Bob,

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter.

I wish to thank you for teaching my son Russ in your Self Protection Skills class. My son has Down’s syndrome. He is 18 years old. This class was perfect for teaching Russ how to protect himself. Thank you for arranging a private class. Russ can process information easier if there is less noise and commotion. The class was for Russ only but I came along to learn so that I could help Russ practice all the moves at home.

Thank you for your easy to understand instructions. Thank you for taking the time to demonstrate each move and then let Russ repeat the move. You gave Russ time to repeat each step over and over. He learns best this way! You talked to Russ and made him pretend to be in a place of danger. You told him to imagine himself walking down the street, entering his home, shopping at the store, etc. You played the “attacker” and let Russ respond. Russ is a visual learner and this “play acting” helped him. You put special leg, arm, face and chest pads on and let Russ practice all the moves-right on you! This was so realistic and helped Russ understand. You gave him an easy to read list of self defense moves. Russ was able to read this list and use it to practice.

I recommend your class to anyone & any age. Parents of children with special needs should definitely consider your class. I am planning on having Russ take periodic refresher classes from you.

Thank you! You are an excellent Self-Defense Instructor.

 Sincerely, 

-Janet Rickert (Russ’ mom)

No, Janet, THANK YOU.

In terms of comparing price to HONEST, AUTHENTIC and USABLE material I know you will not find a better value for your dollar anywhere else. This System is simple, it is effective and it is above all else practical for men, women, children, young, old and everyone in between. But don’t take my word for it-PROVE it to yourself.

Zig Ziglar, world-renowned sales guru and motivational speaker, said it best when he stated,

“You can have anything you want in life…just as long as you help as many people as you can get what they want in life.”

I want everyone to be able to make use of this, and while people only value what they pay for,

Don’t dare…NOT FOR ONE MINUTE… think that this information is of little value.

The information I will show you in this book has gone for much more than what I’m asking for, but many people have not been able to make use of it precisely for that reason.

I simply want to share this with as many people as possible because it makes me sad and angry every time I read about someone getting murdered, raped, kidnapped, beaten, carjacked, etc. I don’t know about you but I’m just fed up with constantly hearing about that shit. It just boils my blood.

Where the “unwilling” and the “unprepared” get to chill and hang out. I don’t know about you but I tend to enjoy stuff a lot more and learn new things much quicker when I’m, you know, ALIVE.  Sound like a better option?  Thought so.

I always hear the phrase “Knowledge is Power.”  WRONG!  Knowledge is something that helps you win on Jeopardy!  Remember that.  Knowledge alone is not power… Applied knowledge is.  Bruce Lee (the father of reality-based training and greatest advocate of returning to simplicity and effectiveness in martial arts) said,

“knowing is not enough, we must apply;
 willing is not enough-we must do.”

If you’re still having doubts about investing in this course of study (I honest to God have no idea why), ask yourself this:

Would you let your children go without?  Would you forget to tell your husband or wife how much you love him/her?

Of course not.

Then why would you not give them the greatest gift of all:  the gift of security and peace of mind?

I may piss some folks off by when I say this, but this is a serious subject we are addressing and it needs to be said: if you are not willing to invest in learning self-protection skills to ensure that both you and your loved ones have both the means to protect themselves and be protected should such an encounter occur, you do not have their best interests at heart.  Period.  

Flip on the flat-screen, buy your kids a Happy Meal and pray nothing bad happens.

I hope you choose wisely, and remember that for bad people to keep making headlines all that is necessary is for good people to do nothing or pretend that the problems don’t exist.

Forewarned is forearmed-keep your family safe, because as I stated earlier:

SELF DEFENSE and PERSONAL PROTECTION  ARE NOT JUST ABOUT YOURSELF OR YOUR PERSON.  

God Bless you and your families.  Be aware, be safe and  always remember that you are not a victim; you possess power beyond measure.  You are not helpless.  You are never helpless, so strike that thinking from your noggin right now.

YOU ARE A WALKING WEAPON.

Your journey to empowerment begins now.