Rob was born in Columbia South Carolina. At school level Rob played basketball, baseball and football in which he excelled in basketball and football. Rob's small town high school did not have boxing or wrestling in the sporting curriculum so he played football and basketball right up to graduating from high school.
Rob had the talent to play small time college football but because of injuries chose another direction. After high school Rob attended college in South Carolina and in his last year of college he became involved in boxing training.
On graduation from college Rob began his working life and continued his boxing training at Myrtle Beach South Carolina at the community gym under trainer John "Olly" Pitts. Olly boxed in the army and when he got out he turned professional with a record of 18 and 1 before injury ended his career. Rob trained with the amateur team in the gym but could not fight amateur because he had fought in tough man competitions.
Rob had fought in several tough man competitions including the FX event that featured on cable TV at the time. He had victories and defeats and even broke an ankle in the process of destroying a ringer.
After tough man events Rob started training in kickboxing under Maurice Travis who was a Muay Thai World Champion. Rob also began training in BJJ at the same gym.
Rob achieved a college degree in physical education and worked as a real estate agent before moving to Korea some months later.
While in Korea Rob read an advertisement for BJJ training, which he replied to and this is where he met Kobus Huisamen. Kobus became Rob's trainer/manager preparing him to fight professionally. Rob fought a Korean champion in his first fight and was faring well until he received an injury to his eye and the fight was stopped.
In his next fight his Korean opponent pulled out on the night just before they were to fight. He is waiting to find out details about his next fight.
Rob has had his share of injuries as a fighter including a brain stem contusion, a broken ankle, a torn ligament in his thumb and nerve damage to his eye.
In early 2005 Rob began to train in the Todd System of CQB from Kobus in Korea. Rob had been looking for a more combat orientated system and the Todd System was it. Immediately Rob recognised this system was for the battlefield or street and it knew no rules. It was easy to learn, extremely effective and unlike anything he had seen in Korea or the USA.
Rob describes it as the best self-defence means he had ever seen. Rob has had many a street fight as a youngster in the US and has fought in the ring as well as trained in several codes of combat sports but has not seen anything like the Todd System.
He describes the Todd System as complete and truly practical and effective. It provides skills for all roles and all the skills are similar and based upon the same lines. Through being dirty and deadly in its practises, it gives you the best chance against trained combatants.
Rob made the decision to come to New Zealand and train and test. He knew it would not be easy as Kobus had filled him in on the testing phase and how seasoned fighters and black belts found it an extreme challenge and many had failed it or could not even finish it.
Kobus prepared Rob for the challenge military style. In June, Rob arrived in Dunedin at the Todd Group headquarters and began five days phase one exponent training. Tank trained Rob personally during the day and in the evening he would train with both the basic and advanced level phase one groups.
Rob's recollection of the week pre-phase test training follows; "I learnt so many useful tactics for the street and things that are not taught in other styles."
Rob endured the rigours of the training phase and Tank evaluated his performance the day before the test.
Says Rob, "The phase test is really tough, you will simply fail if you are not strong willed and ready for the reality of real combat testing. You must also be fully competent with your phase one skills and be able to use them under the stress of the testing phase. There are no gloves or protectors of any type and this changes things considerably.
The skills all have a purpose and that purpose is to win as quickly as possible. The only time we had any protective gear was during the 'sickener' or 'toughner' phase, where we were pugil stick fighting and the helmets weren't much protection against the heavy blows and head snapping thrusts.
The self-defence modules testing aspects were all undertaken with real weapons and no predetermined attack. You must use your skills to disarm whatever you face.
The combative testing phase was unbelievable with encounters ending in seconds with such proven options of dirty and deadly real combat and that made the end result black and white. You really had to be ready and determined and get it all over and done with fast."
Rob compares it to street fights that he has had and says how they tend to go until someone has hurt someone else. "They involve various ranges and often infighting and ground fighting. The CQB in comparison was over in seconds and often your opponent has no chance.
Rob feels a fair description is that in NBH you do have rules and the same in martial arts and combat sports. In street fights you take on anyone and fight to win. In CQB you take them out right away by calculated deadly and dirty battle proven means. This is fighting for real but using real combat over street fighting methods."
The conclusion of the phase test was that Rob and five other exponents passed. This is very unusual and testament to the calibre of exponents. Rob received jaw, leg and thumb injuries but that was never going to interfere with his commitment to his testing phase at the time. He was elated to pass and very relieved knowing he had achieved so much.
Rob then immediately began phase two training and on return to Korea will be phase two training with Kobus and will return next year to continue with his CQB training. Rob's description of phase two was that he could see why it is called ground combat and not ground fighting. "I could not use much of it in MMA for fear of imprisonment but for self-defence or combat it would be great", he enthuses.
Boot, blades and barrels were the first choice in ending close quarter encounters or ensuring escape. Rob, like Kobus, said that he has always been able to fight and confident to do so, but CQB has given him a new sense of security.
Fighters have the same fears as anyone when it comes to facing guns and knives and the Todd System combined with a fighter's determination and conditioning makes them combat smart and ready to deal with deadly life threatening situations.
"I have met over one hundred exponents over the past ten days at the Todd Group and these guys are really great. No egos and many of these top-level guys could take you out in an instant. But they are quietly confident and are there to help you without the ego problems. Its like a big family made up of great people and I can't emphasise this enough. The history of the Todd Group facility is great and the atmosphere of over 75 years of grit and determination was apparent everywhere. I met Tank's exponent of over twenty-five years and exponents whose father and grandfathers had trained there.
I met Mr Bill Hall who served in Bomber Command in WWII where he had learnt his close combat in Great Britain. Mr Hall has trained with Tank for over twenty years and is well respected by everyone. The Todd Group attracts experts and exponents from all around the world.
While many may train in combative methods the Todd Group has a history second to none and that makes them very special.
I am privileged to be part of this special family and am dedicated to completing phase two and learning the specialist subjects of phase three. I hope to in the future open a Todd Group depot in South Carolina. I recommend anyone looking for real European close combat travel to Down Under."
