Howard assisting with promotional photography. Howard Bell was born at Brighton near Dunedin in New Zealand in 1952. He has two older brothers and a younger sister. Howard’s father served in World War II spending four years in the desert with the engineers maintaining and working on steam engines. He told Howard of how they […]
In 1996, the Todd Group, formerly the Baldock Institute, established 1927, opened its combative courses to include national and international exponents and instructors. The course has been conducted annually since then, late March, early April, always attracts full musters and has a reputation for being specialist and tough. It attracts military law enforcement close protection […]
Combative foot work along with stance or stance and guard stability and mobility are critical requirements of armed and unarmed combat employments. Footwork in CQC or CQB is a most important tactical component of combative skills executions. In this edition of the close combat files I will cover the following categories of combative foot work. […]
In 2002 I wrote an article about my friend Roland John Wilson, or John as he was better known. Sadly, I now find myself adding to that article more details of John’s long and distinguished military and medical service history after he died December 28th 2010 aged 62. Wednesday January 5th 2011 John’s funeral was […]
Blake began training in martial arts 15 years ago, and in 1998 started Thai Boxing under Rene DeJoux along with James Musen. While Blake has had many training and sparring partners who he has trained with over the years, he says he only considers to have trained under 5 or so teachers. He puts his success […]
Ken was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and was the oldest of four children having three sisters. He joined the Army’s 82nd airborne March 1956 and went through military police school with the 82nd MPs. Ken weighed barely 130 pounds just making the minimum required weight for jump school. Ken's active service with the […]
John Wilson was born in 1948 at New Plymouth and moved to Dunedin with his family when he was two years old. He attended Arthur Street School followed by Otago Boys High School during which he was a member of the army cadets where he had spent time at Burnham and moved through the cadet […]
The Todd group exported a full phase 1, 2 and 3 course of instruction to Thailand November/December 2010. Since training and testing in Thailand in 1991 I had always wanted to return and provide training there in my system giving something back to the country where I enjoyed my first visit as an exponent/candidate […]
If you're looking for the safest and considered most effective means of unarmed offensive assault you would select long range unarmed offensive assault, stamp kicks on or below the knee joint. Logic: employ your longest limb contact with the sole of your boot on the closest enemy target their front leg. Stamp kicks provide the […]
Fight Photos used with the permission of Dana Reid. Dunedin’s Blake ‘the Snake’ Tomlinson and Wellington’s Jordan Wehrman made history on Saturday, November 13th when they contested the first Thai boxing match with rope bound hands in New Zealand. In the 1920s and earlier in Thailand rope bound hands were the fighter’s only hand protection […]