This page will describe the system I developed for warriors that carry a weapon for a living as well as for the ordinary citizen as a last ditch defense when victimized in a violent assault. The RAD Program draws  heavily from Hsiao Chui Tien, Splashing Hands and Ba kua; while this system is mainly intended for retaining or disarming a weapon it has evolved into a unique blend of movements that form the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) of a very effective close-fighting system that is useful from standing to flat on your back. While the individual components are not of my invention, the method of combination into a coherent effective fighting method is all my own, with drills and tactics that are gleaned from a life of experience and taking the basic drills shown to me by Lao Tzu and carrying them to the next level using modern training techniques and my own desire to encompass every eventuality.

This system of weapon retention and disarm, while designed for law enforcement and military personnel would be beneficial to anyone that carries or owns a gun or knife or is concerned about being under the gun or knife, which should be everyone in these times. Swift decisive action and some practiced techniques could save your life or the life of another. It is called the Weapon Retention and Disarm Program (RAD) and is based on core techniques taken from Splashing Hands, L9H and Ba kua. The program focuses on firearms and edged weapons; both retaining your own and disarming and neutralizing the threat of someone who attacks you.

I have a program established to accommodate any desired student time-frame from a four hour period of instruction to a full two week basics course. A full training block for this system would require a twelve week course to full address the intricacies of this comprehensive program and would be a specialty course for SWAT or Special Operations. The student would be presented with a multi-tiered approach to threat that could fit within any rules of engagement guidelines. The full program is also available to the individual student except for the use of Simmunition which is a restricted training tool and some of the course syllabus would be scaled down for use with the solo operator.

The three fighting styles selected, along with Iron Hand, which I consider mandatory no matter the style a student learns, form the core of this fighting system. These styles were selected for specific attributes they have to solve the inherent problems of weapon retention and disarm. In fact that is how I developed this program; by satisfying a specific need I had as a security operator and that I had found somewhat lacking in my own search for weapon and small team military-style tactical training. Some of the things I was taught in this regard by the trainers I worked with over the years but I found it was missing something; first and foremost, I never really had any instructor offer much in the way of techniques to counter a two-handed weapon grip. Everything was from this western style one arm extended shooting position which is really only utilized by a tactical shooter when one arm is disabled. This is what you don’t want to see;

Immediately the light went on and I knew a proper technique would have to be based around a two hand grab in order to control an opponent presenting a weapon with a proper two-handed grip. If you can deal with this then an opponent using a one handed grip is much easier to deal with and really does not need to be trained for; very little if at all. The majority of the training time should be spent against the two-handed grip. The perfect basic grabbing method is contained in the Ba Kua style using the Monkey Bears Fruit hand form.

I saw the necessity for a different way while seeking training for going overseas to the Middle East to work as a Private Security Contractor. After my failure to join the military as outlined on the Instructor page of this website, I sought out private instruction from one of the foremost trainers in the field Max Joseph of the Tactical Firearms Training Team/ Direct Action Group (TFTT/DAG) now just DAG. A former Special Operations professional with unique qualifications, I could go on for pages about this guy, he was the next best thing or even better as he told me later, than what I MAY have gotten to do in the military if I was lucky. Except for getting paid for jumping out of planes and SCUBA diving and blowing shit up training with Max and his gang fit the bill and I learned a lot. Over the course of the next fifteen to twenty years I amassed over 3000 hours of training time running the full gamut of the courses that he offered. During that time were many defensive tactics classes with retention and disarm of weapons as the primary focus.

With all due respect to the cadre at TFTT/DAG and other sources I have studied on the subject, I have always found the standard techniques to be flawed on their face due to the fact that the scenario is always against an opponent using a one hand extended grip on the pistol; I believe that because of the far greater power of retention afforded by the two handed grip most standard techniques won’t work without modifying the grab. Coupled with the fact that I have a pretty strong grip and I showed more than once that the standard techniques won’t always work. So I set my mind to the task because it would be vital to my survival possibly if I was deployed to a hot zone and even in the cities of the U.S. where crime is only on the rise.

Once I realized that the two hand grab was the key the Ba Kua Monkey quickly came to mind and coupling it with the side shuffle I had the basic beginning of the comprehensive system known today as the RAD System. I have a lot of training experience doing hand to hand while armed and equipped with a holster rig and all the accompanying gear and it can be very challenging. But before I began training with TFTT I had two separate incidents, one with a knife and one with a gun where the necessity for this type of skill was driven home. Stand by for more.