They took up the challenge and so can you. Tank centre and the four phase test candidates.

 

Thailand 2012 and the Todd group breaks new ground with its provision of training in Southeast Asia.

1991 1 first trained in military hand-to-hand combat in Thailand and 21 years later my involvement and commitment continues.

I have instructed on civilian CQC courses in Thailand as well as trained police, close personal protection and military personnel. I have instructed in several other Southeast Asian countries including Brunei Singapore and Hong Kong for more than two decades and now have established a Todd group headquarters for Southeast Asia in Thailand.

I have met many good people and there are always of course those that would never make the cut with the Todd group training and testing requirements but have instructor aspirations.

I had the pleasure of training current and former military personnel like a great lad and a long serving combatant in Mack the Knife as I named him who is a top military hand to hand combat instructor.

He stood out amongst the rest in those early days and next to him were my Todd group exponents including Big Sister as we call her lass who performed better than many of her male counter parts completing all the physical and combative aspects and dominating in the CQC training phases.

Those that don’t have the intestinal fortitude or combative smarts of course soon fall victim to such shortages and often look for easy options credibility by association or set up their own training organisations including self-promotions.

However they are quickly found out and identified for their lack of expertise and experience and of course when asked for their military combative instructing proof of training qualification and instructing service records the excuses come thick and fast but not the requested records.

They never make it in a world where those that have the requirements are known and have the appropriate paper work to support it.

They tend to only attract those that are gullible or of a similar easy option disposition.

The Todd group is an organisation that always strives for combative excellence and there are no easy or political passes.

This is the requirement for establishing Todd group depots anywhere; all depot instructors must have passed the required testing phase and be approved.

I have always found that the Todd System have been rated highly by all the powers that be in South East Asia and it has been my pleasure to provide our training in this part of the world.

 

In a referral industry what matters is credentials expertise records of official instructing service and of course proof of the pervious.

This has meant the Todd group with its 85 year history and long instructing service to the military elite with a full training wing and instructing team have been in constant demand. 

The Todd group has very strict and to the point conditions in relation to instructor qualifying and our professional associations.

The Ranger training group and the Todd group provide joint-venture training opportunities for global exponents at military elite forces camps.

The Todd group provide all the CQC training and the Ranger training group provide survival training as well as confidence building by providing exponents with the opportunity to partake in such activities as a parachute jump tower repelling tower and confidence course.

The Todd group and Ranger training group have the credentials service and instructing records that have provided them with a standalone status in the military combative field in Thailand and the immediate future prospects are very encouraging.

What has been a major contributing factor to our association with the military is the respect given to retired General Chanit by the Royal Thai Armed Forces.

General Chanit along with Ken Richter are directors of the Ranger training group Limited and I am the director of CQC training for the Ranger training group Limited.

General Chanit has a long history of elite forces service including association with the Special Forces of Allied countries and his endorsement of the Todd Systems carries a lot of weight. His endorsment of the Todd group to the attending exponents and instructors was a very proud moment and made me more resolute to establish expansive Todd Systems training in Thailand and go back on the instructing circuit globally.

I receive constant requests for training from countries far away from New Zealand and establishing a Satellite HQ in Thailand to accommodate these exponents and official groups as well as to provide training in relation to requests received from Thailand and other South East Asian countries simply made sense.

To do this required a HQ depot with an instructor controlling it that had passed the required phase 1 test and could assist in Todd group exported courses in relation to course management.

April 2012 two Thai nationals passed the Todd Systems phase 1 testing at Kanchanaburi Thailand.

One a civilian Ekachai Songkeaw and the second a current serving member of the elite Thai Special Forces Rangers.

Ekachai tells me the phase test required a high level of focus and commitment for him and the no protective equipment meant he was constantly aware of the risks of injury and of causing injury to the enemy party.

He stated he had a lot to learn and retain in skills and then had to use them in immediate actions on battle handling exercises as well as be able to effectively demonstrate a lot of individual skills and this as very difficult for him not to mention the technique to command drills where he had to understand the English CQC commands by name and application.

His primary unarmed offensive assault skill is the leg stamp with an escape action which he employed in his final combative encounter with commitment and competency.

 

Ekachai has been training in the Todd Systems for three years now and has attended three consecutive intensive week-long courses of instruction, each course of over 60 hours.

He resides in Pattaya and is a chief executive officer of a solar energy technology Corporation.

He is a qualified chef and formerly owned a soft air gun business where he first met Ken Richter.

His interests include motorcycles especially his 1200 cc Ducati and his love of dogs.

He has had a Brazilian Fila an American Pit-bull and an English bullterrier.

As a youngster he played football and enjoys the last resort and terminal outcome objective achievement capabilities that the Todd Systems of military CQC provide.

Ekachai will establish a Todd group HQ depot for Southeast Asia in Pattaya Thailand.

This facility will enable the Todd group to have physical premises to provide training from and develop exponents to a level where they are best prepared to attend Todd group and Ranger training group courses.

Ekachai is going to establish a fulltime indoors and outdoors training facility at Marine Bay where he will deliver not only the phase 1 CQC Todd Systems course but also a range of the Todd Systems specialist short courses.

Ekachai has contacts with Thai law enforcement and military and intends to offer Todd Systems training to various services and departments.

He also wants the Todd group to conduct a specialist close personal protection course at his Pattaya facility and he intends to visit the Todd group HQ in New Zealand.

Ekachai has an uncle in the police serving with a close protection unit and he is going to get him to assist him with his Todd group depot development.

As we checked out Pattaya sites and venues one thing was very apparent and that was that Ekachai is well known around Pattaya and has very good contacts.

Having Ekachai operating a Todd group training facility will certainly be good for the Todd group and Ranger training group ltd expansion for CQC in Thailand.

We are currently also looking into an independent Todd group Bangkok facility.

The reality is the Todd group and Ranger training group with our contacts will be able to ensure potential exponents are aware of courses of instruction and as such identify combative realists providing them with the best training and they will be the future of the Todd group in Southeast Asia for CQB/CQC.

 

When applicants check out the history of the Todd group and the scope of our instructing research development and manufacture publishing and productions they soon see why we lead the way in our field down under.

The serious realists know who they want to be trained by and this has led to our expansion into South East Asia and other countries.

Train in the best or be less than ready willing and able at your combative best is the way it is seen by all our rank and file.

The April course was conducted to accommodate exponents that were not available for the November/ December course due to their close personal protection contract running annually during this period. The course was always going to be a small group course but believe me it did not disappoint in regards to the successful phase tested candidates.

Exponents arrived in Bangkok over several days and I showed them around prior to transport taking us to Kanchanaburi on the Burma border.

This was a change from our usual winter course at the Thai Special Forces camp A-03 at Lopburi.

The course exponents included individuals from the military police security and close protection industry as well as two gold miners a physical fitness specialist and a writer for Asian adventure magazines from Hong Kong. There was also four current serving Thai Special Forces pers that attended the entire phase 1 course of instruction.

On arrival in Kanchanaburi and after getting settled into the barracks the exponents were taken to   purchase personal requirements.

This was the hottest time of the year with temperatures in the 40s and long training days followed by evening training that took a lot out of the exponents.

The Ranger training group provided training included the parachute jump tower and repelling tower as well as the confidence course and an introduction to survival that included the handling of snakes and even killing a snake preparing cooking and eating it along with insect’s frog’s lizards and a wide range of jungle fruits and plants.

The exponents were shown various types of game and fish snares and plants water could be extracted from in survival situations.

The evening training included an introduction to the Todd Systems D-WAR anti-and counter rape program.

There was also a lecture on the medical indications in relation to close quarters combat and the history of the Todd group.

A highlight for me was the opportunity to attend the annual Burma versus Thailand Thai boxing competition with fighters wearing nothing but bandages on their hands and fighting for the pride of King/country and their combat sports fighting styles.

There were eight fights of which seven ended before the end of the second round by way of KO and I mean knocked unconscious or stopped to the point of not being able to get off the canvas in any way shape or form. The final fight ended when the Burmese fighter could not come out in the 5th and final round.

It only proves the difference between such competitions without gloves and those with gloves and more rules.

This was a spectacular event for the combat sports realist and all the exponents that were taken to the fights by the Thai Rangers thoroughly enjoyed it.

The barracks at Kanchanaburi were spacious and the traditional Thai meals were exceptional.

I conducted a phase 1 and 3 course of instruction simultaneously for the first several days and then the phase 3 attendees assisted with the instructing and testing of the phase 1 exponents.

We were honoured with the camp commander’s attendance during the course and at the post course presentation along with General Chanit.

Junior Thomson a Todd Group member performed a Maori haka (War Dance) for the camp commander.

There was a CNN item about the Ranger training group before the course commenced and Ken has been receiving enquiries ever since and we look forward to accommodating these new attendees on upcoming courses. This news story has also led to other media interest and a documentary is planned for an upcoming course in Thailand.

We also had a freelance writer participating on course who will publish a feature on the recent course in Southeast Asian action adventure magazines.

Before we knew it day six was upon us and the test phase.

There were four candidates that accepted the ultimate basic combative challenge to phase 1 test and of them two were successful both Thai nationals one a civilian and the other a current Special Forces serving soldier.

It again proves that size does not matter when it comes to take out CQC skills with the non-Thai candidates being considerably bigger than their Thai counter parts.

Congratulations to these four solid lads that had the intestinal fortitude to accept the ultimate basic combative challenge.

The language barrier was no real obstacle and was less of a problem having Ekachai able to speak English as well as Thai.

The Todd group has a wide range of courses planned throughout Thailand including in Bangkok and I have now the assistance of a Thai national PA and translator which will make things considerably easier and progression much faster.

The Thai military have an eye for battle proven skills and as such the Ranger training group and Todd group Association with the Royal Thai military is set to progress based on credibility expertise loyalty and commitment to excellence in the field of CQB and CQC.

 

The next course is set down for the CQC phase November 25^th until November 30^th and a proposed survival course subject to applicant numbers is set down for November 30^th until December 2^nd. We welcome realist civilians and service personnel to join the Todd group and Ranger training group specialist course of instruction and experience living CQC day and night for a week in a military camp.

Those with ambitions to move up through the ranks or establish a depot in their location globally are invited to attend our Thailand-based courses and accept the ultimate combative challenge to be the very best combatant they can be.

Remembering the Todd group does not franchise our Todd Systems and all depot instructors keep all revenue from their instructing efforts.

We set and maintain standards conduct testing phases and make sure depot instructors follow the required standard operation procedures and the rules and regulation requirements of being a responsible professional specialist training provider.