From Finland...

From Tuipe Suhonen

July 23 at 2:17pm from a Facebook message:

I work at the Niuvanniemi mental hospital in Kuopio Finland. Today we had training in how to protect ourselves against violent patients. Your name was mentioned in the class and Senshido was part of what we covered and learned today. Interesting, simple and very powerful tactics for our own protection. I was like 'Wow, I know this guy. He is my Facebook buddy ' :-). Just wanted to tell you, that you and your work is known and taught in such a far away place like Finland :-).

Have a relaxin' weekend Richard

>>Hugs>>>

Hey guys and gals,

I'll be interviewed next Saturday (August 1st) by a journalist from Time Out Beirut (www.timeoutbeirut.com). Topics covered will be Senshido's methodology and Combat Shooting Essentials.

Be on the lookout for it. I'll upload the scanned article as soon as they become available :D

Take care, stay safe, and God bless.

Georges Z. Fahmy

Senshido International Team
Greater Middle East Area

Community Meeting in MD

Hello all. I just wanted to let everyone know that my new website"www.senshido.us" will be up soon. It's a revamped site that one of my students is getting together for me. So be on the lookout soon for it and I will log in up here and let you know when it's completed.

In the great metropolis that is the DC area there are bound to be some unsavory characters wishing to do citizens harm. It’s in that vein that I have been asked to speak this Wednesday July 22^th on Personal Safety Training at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Hyattsville, MD. This local community neighborhood meeting will focus on how to stay safe and also will provide a forum for the Hyattsville Police Department to update the citizens regard some recent crimes that have taken place in the neighborhood.

If you're in the area, please come out and support the good citizens in Hyattsville.


Glenn Wilson

Senshido International Team
Washington, DC Metro Area

Back in the Saddle Again!

Well, I just started teaching again at the school I train BJJ. We had a nice turn out for the first couple of classes and it was nice to see old faces. What is nice about teaching again is that if forces me to review material that I have not studied intently in awhile. I am enjoying refreshing my memory and learning new things that I missed from before. I will post my class sessions later to get feedback on how to make it better and streamlined.

Class is only an hour long but I may make it 20 min longer so that we can have more time doing drills. It is nice to be back teaching groups I did not realize that I enjoyed it so much. Like I said before I am just getting back into the swing of things and I will keep you updated as I go on.

Dominic Alexander
Senshido International Team
Tucson, AZ

Law Enforcement Officers Speak out on Senshido

From Connecticut USA:

I have been a police officer for the past eight years, and trained in various martial arts since 1988. I have never found any material to be as efficient, easily learned and retained or flat out effective on the street as Mr. Dimitri’s concepts.

I’ve used his Shredder / R.E.A.C.T. concept twice during the course of my duties, and both times it performed flawlessly. I am also impressed with Mr. Dimitri’s counter-knife material. It is by far the most simple and effective means of protecting oneself from an edged weapon attack I’ve ever been exposed too. It requires no memorized moves, and most importantly, it’s intuitive. I can not give Mr. Dimitri or his material a higher endorsement, I trust my life to the concepts I’ve learned from him.

Sincerely,
Officer Rick Capozzi Jr.

Ridgefield Police Connecticut. U.S.A.

From Auckland NZ:

Hi Rich,

Hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that I used a passive Shred for the first time today as a police officer. I have been out on the street for a year now and this being the first time I think is a credit to my de-escalation skills!!

The subject was being abusive and would not move away without causing a scene, he was itching for a fight and then threatened to kill me and my partner and threw punches. He was taken down to the ground in about 2 secs and quickly gave up. It wasn't a hard shred, it didn't need to be, and he became quite compliant after that.

While it wasn't life or death, and I hope it never is, it was certainly refreshing to use your concept in a real situation and find it so easy to do. It was so fast taking him to the ground, I can hardly remember it, and he sustained no injuries which is even better. I hope I don't have to use it again, and if I do I hope it works out as well as today.

I personally want to thank you for developing something that is so effective at different levels of violence and will save peoples lives. But I think just as importantly it is a concept that can be so devastating that there is always that little voice in your head saying "do I really need to fuck him up that badly?" I believe with knowing the Shredder comes a huge responsibility on that person to not abuse it or use it to abuse others or hurt them more than necessary.

Thanks again Rich and certainly a big thanks to Phil and Athena Thompson who first introduced and taught me the Shredder as well as introduced me to the values of Senshido.

Kindest Regards,

Marcus Weston (New Zealand)

Truth Be Told

(Dom & Rich at the grand canyon 2006)

Alright this is my first attempt at blogging so work with me folks. My name is Dominic Alexander and I am a member of the Senshido International Team in Tucson Az. I have been a Senshido Instructor since 2005 but I would say I started way before that. Like many of you I have and do study many different martial arts and self defense systems. I was a Krav Maga instructor for some time as well. No I am not here to bash but to share.

I am not a big man by any means or a super badass fighter. I am however an idealist with a tendency to live in a philosophical world. When I was in college I worked in night clubs as a door man. Not so much because I was an intimidator but more so because everyone thought of me as the nice guy, which I like to believe I am. So, the owners figured by having me standing at the door setting the tone for everyone that was coming in would help keep peace for the night. For the most part that is exactly how it went down.

On one of our slower nights it was me and one other securtiy guy that was working the club. It was usually a really slow night. Well while I was watching the door and the first floor saw this guy who was 6'4'' and weighed well over 320lbs (193cm and 145kg for my metric brothers and sisters) just give off this I am pissed off energy. So I walked up the stairs and right up to him and asked him if he was having a good time? He starts huffing and puffing about how someone in the club threw ice at him and hit him in the back of the head. Then he proceeded to tell me he was about to kick everyones ass in the club. Oh if I forgot to mention he was there with his other very big friends.

I just started talking real fast and explained to him that I am sure that it had to be an accident because no one in their right mind we dare start something with him. Now he met me at the door and I did my ususal joking around with folks as they come in so he knows I am not a tough guy. I ask him to come to the bar so we could talk for a minute and by him a drink. While we were talking about all the things that could go wrong with him smashing people like going to jail I noticed he had a big championship ring on his finger. So, I asked him about it. As it turns out he played for Georgia Tech in 1990 when they split the national championship in college football. I jumped right on that and we talked football and about Georgia Tech (I told him my sister went there and blah blah blah) games he played in etc. and his friends came over at this point and I bought them drinks and had a good time. No worries I was still watching my door like I said it was a slow night.

Anyway, I thanked them for being so cool about the misunderstanding that anytime they came on a busy night he and his friends could skip the line and come in for free on me. Everytime they came down I treated them like kings and on the nights that got a little crazy they watched my back.

This is why I will always teach Senshido on a big or small scale because I get more of a rush from changing someones mind then I do smashing their face in and I do enjoy sport fighting. I have read stories from forums about how someone beat this person down or jumped in a middle of a situation and just smashed people and I guess that is cool for them but what purpose did it really serve. I know sometimes it is necessary but I believe more often than not it isn't. Truth Be Told most insturctors and/or systems out there preach darkness (possibly unknowingly) and that is just not what Senshido is about which is pretty cool.

Dominic Alexander
Senshido International Team
Tucson, Az

Good Times.

(Tucson Arizona 2005 at the start of a seminar )

(London England 2004, the UK/Finland/Canada crew after a kick ass seminar)

( Sydney Australia 2008 just before the start of a seminar)

(April 2004 Senshido 10th year anniversary, a few lifetimes ago it was... )

(First generation Senshido Instructors Montreal 1996. We were often referred to as the 'Senshido Mafia' due to our always walking around the downtown area in groups all wearing black Senshido Jackets. )

(Having a good time with the International Team England 2009.)

Though we see each other on average once and sometimes twice a year when we're lucky, though some of our team members haven't even met face to face except for the Team member private forum, emails, skype, Facebook, phone and other methods of communication thanks to technology, we have been there for one another many a times and at some very rough moments for several of us at certain points in our lives over the last few years.

This includes those who aren't active teaching any longer and haven't been for a while, they know they are still and will forever be a part of this team. It's amazing to witness the growth of such tight friendships and bonds form over a common goal, bringing people of every nationality and creed to the team, from every walk of life and creating a bond so tight, you know you have a place to lay your head peacefully no matter how rough life gets in 11 different countries in the world.

It makes life alot easier, even the rougher moments, to know that these people are out there, have your back, support one another and are there at the proverbial 'drop of a dime'. No other feeling in the world like it to know in ones heart of hearts, that no matter what... there's nothing to worry about.

The content of the conversations over the countless Chinese dinners since 1994 and beginning with the original "Senshido Mafia" as we were once known in Montreal for more than half a dozen of us wore the "Senshido Tactical Urban Combat" black Bomber jackets (as seen in the above middle pic) and walked around in packs back in the day, to the International Team we are today.... so we've had Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Thai in:

Italy, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, all over North America, the UK (most of it lmfao!!!!) and how many tables have we all cleared... honestly, if it were to be cumulative since 94, damn man... damn... as my memory turns back the pages, wow... I mean Marc (MP) can chime in with a few himself but I'm not sure how appropriate more than half the content would be lmfao!!!

Like all families, we've had our ups and downs, and though some of us may be at odds today due to some of those downs and for whatever it is worth, I want you to know I never forgot and will never forget the good times, the times you were all not only there for me, but there for Senshido especially, as for me, they will forever outweigh the bad and though the love I had has shifted, it is still love I feel when you enter my mind and I choose to cherish the good times regardless of the fact that life has taken us our separate ways. I honestly and from the bottom of my heart, if by some odd reason or another you are reading this, wish you love and happiness.

To my present team, what can I say, you all know how I feel as I've spewed it out often enough in book length emails sharing with you everything from my fears and concerns to my joys and triumphs. You at this point in time, all know everything there is to need to know about me and you haven't judged me or even questioned me, you've not only accepted me but trusted me and were patient with me over the last 4.5 years as I went through these massive transitions in my life. I know that you didn't have to stay and we did lose one of us during that time though he still remained on the sidelines and got us on the cover of Blitz last month :`) and I don't blame him nor would I have blamed any of you for giving up on me at that point, but I am glad you didn't and I know that you are all just as glad cause things just freakin exploded again and the universe just kept knock, knock, knockin' on my door and just wouldn't let me leave all this behind....

So thank you to one and all who ever had the fortune or misfortune of joining me in my insanities, the rough times I know for a fact I put some of you through, I apologize for and for helping propel Senshido to the unbelievable level it is today and growing as you have all at one level or another, helped me achieve this and the literally tens of thousands of lives that have benefited world wide from your contributions.

To the present Team... well.. you know... GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND START CONTRIBUTING! :`)

Most sincerely,
Rich

Wondering about our products and/or seminars? Some unbiased reviews from around the world:

A few reviews of our products and seminars:

Shredder DVD & book Review by KO-Reviews Product Reviews, News and Commentary: http://ko-reviews.blogspot.com/2009/04/richard-dimitri-shredder.html?showComment=1246492848138#c1766990889908095044

The Get Real DVD set by Rick Weisbrot of Martial Arts Video Reviews:

From a 16 year young man named Adam in Sydney Australia whom apparently has posters of me on his wall.... that is the absolute strangest feeling in the world I simply don't know how to connect to, here is what Adam had to say and why I will till my last breath be doing what I am doing: http://senshido.savi.ca/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6022

Brisbane Walk the Talk seminar review by Bryn Orr of Street-Edge Defensive Tactics: http://realitybaseddefensivetactics.blogspot.com/2009/03/when-has-fight-really-begun.html

And Brisbane Shredder seminar review as well by Bryn Orr of Street-Edge Defensive Tactics: http://realitybaseddefensivetactics.blogspot.com/2009/03/youve-just-been-shredded.html

A huge thank you to all who take the time to write in their thoughts and express their opinions of our work, it means the world to us and inspires us to persevere. Thank you so much.

The Original Senshido Kanji... a little history.

SENSHIDO

This painting hung over my office door at the Senshido school from mid 1994 until the day I closed shop in mid 2006. It looked allot cleaner back then of course, but it's since followed me through 2 divorces and 4 moves and is sharing its experiences with the stains and creases found on it.

This painting was given to me by a friend's wife who was a Japanese artist. He told her about me and the school as he and I shared many similar views, at least then as I've only seen him twice since and met him one day when he simply came into Senshido to chat, and trained and sparred together several times that summer.

So one day he comes in and gives me this painting and tells me it says Senshido in Japanese Kanji, it was painted and given to me as a gift for luck and prosperity and if there is such a thing, the painting worked miracles.

I have used the Kanji in several of our past advertisements, a run of T-shirts, as well as have it tattooed on my back. 2 other Senshido instructors and a few of our students also got it tattooed on themselves... today, it sits above my home office, temporarily as I get ready to leave the country for a few years.

Be prepared to see more of it in the future as it is in the process of making a come back ;`)