A first hand account

“Hey brother, could you come up here for a second?”

The tattooed, olive-skinned man with the closely-shaved head standing in the center of the dojo is pointing at you.

“Sure mate.”

You get up and strut over to where he’s standing, under the watchful gaze of 20 other martial artists who have traveled from all over the country and some even as far as London and New York.

“Could you do me favour?” begins the man, in his distinctive accent, which is 3 parts Canadian and 1 part New Jersey wiseguy. “I’m going to stand here, and I want you to take me down, any way you want”.

“Sure”

“And then when you get me down, I want you to beat the living shit out of me.”

“Huh?!”

“Seriously bro, don’t hold back! Take me down anyway you can, then I want you to start pounding on me, and I’m going to try and resist. Double leg, single leg, hip throw, rugby tackle, whatever, I want you to try and run through me like a Mack truck and then go ballistic on my head! It’s cool, I take full responsibility for any physical damage you incur upon me!”

“OK…”

You both step back from each other a little, and in those couple of seconds you quickly scan the guy up and down. Yeah, he’s a well-known self-defense instructor, but he’d be struggling to break 5’9″ and 70 kilos. You, on the other hand, weigh in at a rock solid 105 kilos, can bench press a small car, and have your takedowns so honed you could floor an ape with your eyes closed.

“How hard can this be?” you think to yourself. You’ll scoop him up, drop him on the ground, slap him around a little, and make a bit of an impression on everyone watching, especially that blonde hottie in the pink Adidas top sitting near the kettlebells, hehehe.

You face each other, then begin circling. You feint a couple of times, gauging his reaction, a process you’ve been through a million times before. You feint one more time, and then you feel it – that golden moment of opportunity when your instincts tell you the time is right to pounce.

You explode off your back foot, and launch your left shoulder towards his hips with the kind of force that would rattle a double-brick house. Your timing is impeccable and in those microseconds after your launch, you get that familiar feeling of satisfaction that comes from a beautifully executed shoot. In a split second, you’ll have the guy on his back and be all over him like a rash.

But then it hits.

FOR THE REST OF THE ACCOUNT, CLICK HERE:

Yo... this you???

It's amazing how many emails and messages I receive from all over the world from people who are part of other's 'teams' in the self defense industry.  These people are literally afraid to speak to me or some of my friends because their instructors FORBID them to communicate or train with certain other people, me being one of these other people apparently.


The fuck can anyone have the testicles large enough to tell another human being how to live their lives??? Seriously.  


One of my more recent team members had sent me a message, asking me if it was ok to go train with someone else and the like, after a certain incident had occurred which prompted his questions: here is part of what I replied which has been edited to maintain anonymity and further illustrate purpose:

Brother, you're a grown man and you make your own decisions. You follow your heart and do what you feel is right, this has nothing to do with me. I never take offense at anyone, especially anyone on my team for training or wishing to train, grow and learn from anyone else and you can ask any of the guys. Matter of fact, Ville recently completed a 5 day course with so and so himself bro.... again, you can ask him yourself.

There are no clans here brother, there are no alliances, there are only people and the choices they make to evolve and grow for themselves and if you feel you can learn something of value there brother, then by all means, absolutely go for it. With all my heart I encourage and will always encourage you and the team to do what is best for yourselves and I will always support your decisions in the end as everyone has their paths to walk.

I'm no guru brother... I am no master, I certainly don't have all the answers nor do I ever pretend too... I just care about people and do my job accordingly in the hopes of bettering a world; and limiting Anyone of an experience that is in no way, shape or form detrimental to their or their families health would be nothing shorter of wrong of me.

Would take a pair of brass balls for me to run your life when running my own is hard enough. Would you be working for a restaurant, would you need permission from it's chef to eat, buy, cook, share food elsewhere?

With that said, go as you will in peace... honest man... Let me know how it goes, you never have to ask me for permission for anything bro... :`) I'm your friend, not your master or owner, you own your life and I trust you and the team implicitly and with all my heart brother.

Much peace and with much sincerity,
Rich

In my most humble of opinions, if you're part of any team out there regardless of industry - where the 'head honcho' tries to govern your lives, where you have to ask another grown man/woman for permission to do anything, where they tell you who you can and cannot train or even communicate with; unless it's a matter of national security, then they are telling you how to run your lives. 


If they demand so much "loyalty', then you should be asking yourself why?  Loyalty isn't demanded, it's earned through MUTUAL respect and trust and grows forth from a balanced relationship. If you're a part of their team then they should implicitly trust you otherwise, their decision to have you join their team is erroneously based, as why would anyone allow someone they don't trust to join their teams??? Doesn't make sense.


Enough with the masters and the gurus, enough with the titles and the hierarchies which belittles people and places them below others.... no one is below anyone in this world, we are all people, own your damn lives already.  Unless you're a sheep and you need to be led and told what to do, who you can and can't talk too, who you can and can't train with, then wake up and realize they don't give a rat's ass about you, they only care about their wallet & you spreading their names for them; and you're in a cult, not a team.


Ask yourself, if you're not a part of their 'upper tribe', would the instructor of whatever "organization" you're a part of even recognize you or know your name were they to run into you in a mall or on the street? And you let them run your lives to boot???


Fuckin hope you're not bowing to anyone outside your dojo's either eh. 


Wake the fuck up already. Really. Do some shit.


Sincerely,
Rich

A friend's perspective on Senshido International

By Mia Tanaka:

I've posted a couple of times about this concept here. Let's go back over and familiarize ourselves a bit, shall we? Here and here. I guess this kinda counts... Not really, but "AWWWW!" right?
Anyway, this is a concept that was developed by  a guy named Rich Dimitri. A down to earth, get off yer ass and "do some shit!", peace is the shizz "don't harsh my mellow!"  kind of guy. He can be kinda creepy looking when he wants to be and I suppose he's kind of nutty, but he's genuinely a nice guy. Deadly as all get out and I wouldn't ever want to see him angry, but the fact is, he's a sweet, squishy, all around good man with a big heart. He can laugh at himself and joke around. You'd never think this guy is one scary mo fo in the conventional sense. He goes around the world teaching a self defense method that can be utilized by anyone. He has also recruited the most amazing group of people to help him to "spread the word", so to speak.

FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE - CLICK HERE!

Thank you Mia, YOU ROCK!!! :`)

What goes around, comes around....

Those who are accountable for their thoughts, intents and actions, by proxy, take ownership of their thoughts, intentions and actions making these very things more likely to be positive ones, contributing in turn, a more positive ripple effect into our world.


The very belief in the ripple effects of our every thought, every intent and every action also directly leads to the belief that every thing we do or do not do matters & has consequence to every and all things, especially our own lives therefore creating more responsibility and accountability.


To see the effects that choices and decisions make in our lives, just take a  look at your own. Where you are, are the result of your choices. This isn't to create guilt or gloat, it's to simply understand that we are indeed in control of our very lives and all of our efforts, be they positive or negative, do indeed affect and effect all of our lives.

"If you help others, you will be helped, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in one hundred years, but you will be helped. Nature must pay off the debt. It is a mathematical law and all life are mathematics." ~ Gurdjieff

The above quote has proven itself to be true time and time again. Not just for me, but for everybody whether they realize it or not.  We are all changing the world every day, by every action... we indeed hold the power to change the world. Gandhi wasn't lying when he said become the change you want to see in the world. So many quote that yet so few live it. Real change comes from our everyday actions. We don't see it, but it makes a hell of a difference.


For instance, if you chose not to drive your car for 1 day and take a bus instead with an average of 50 other people doing the same on that day filling that bus, there would be 50 cars less on the road that one day.  50 cars would produce considerable cancer/ozone destroying/nature killing toxins in 1 day. There would be 50 less cars on the road that day, causing significantly less traffic and less pollution. Every single person counts. No man is an island... when we grasp that, we'll have a much better world.


Now instead of taking a bus, imagine riding a bike instead (weather permitting). If 50 people rode their bikes instead of driving their cars, on top of traffic and pollution being saved on, there is also an increase in health from the activity of getting off one's fat fuckin lazy ass eh? yeah... I went there. Do some!!!


Now make that 1 day 3 days a week and take a look at the immediate changes made both in your life and in the world around your clueless ass.  The healthier we are, the less we will need medical and pharmaceutical bills... the more energy we have, the better we feel the more positive energy we put into this world.... everything has cause and effect.  The majority of first world countries are out of shape, over weight and suffering from some kind of health issue.  You make a change, a change occurs... what kind of change? Depends on the changes you make. 


Remember, with every thought, every intention, every action, we are either moving towards or away from love...and you fuckin know the difference... cause you feel it deep in your inner guts you do, deny it or not... it comes in various forms in various ways for everyone: hatred, jealousy, irrational fears, anger, racism, guilt, road rage, blame, vengeance, misery, dis-ease, diseases, pains, aches, depression etc. and I have felt all of them at some point or another and I will continue to feel them throughout life. 


It is the ability to understand that not a single one of these emotions, while entertaining them will move any human being, regardless, towards love. Simply NOT possible. And what kind of ripple effect will any single one of these emotions return? Do they sincerely work for anyone? Really? Truly? The reality is a mega fuckin NO! isn't it? And brother, if you're fighting for any of them, then you're fighting for your right to misery. 


The ability to feel these emotions, identify them as a third party intruder if you will, from an objective point of view, as if they were someone else's emotions and observe the self destructive nature they possess is the first step towards controlling these emotions and taking responsibility for them.

"Consumerism in the western nations will never be changed or reduced by asking people to stop consuming. It will change when people are inspired by a more noble, worthy and fulfilling purpose for their lives.  This purpose could be described  as the spiritual growth and mutual empowerment of all people in the world." ~ Mclaughlan & Davidson

Every penny you spend makes a difference in the world. Believe it.... or not. Where your money goes makes a difference in people's lives around the planet. If 1 person stops purchasing big brand names, slave labor is considerably reduced in a third world country. Still think you can't make a difference as a single person? Imagine if an entire 90210 block of neighbors immediately stopped purchasing big brand names for 1 year...yeah... imagine that.... 


The reality is we, you, me, we everyone are responsible for bettering the world, for changing the world, not just 1 person or leader, everyone is the leader of their lives and therfor their futures, our futures, for fuck's sakes, is that so hard to grasp??? 


Action = reaction, regardless how insignificant we may think or believe we are. Great changes come from every day people, it's just that we don't get immediate rewards for making these changes... we don't immediately see the benefits therefor making the changes not as "tempting".  This isn't about what we can gain this minute, if you haven't caught on to that yet... the majority of our every day actions from a simple purchase to a thought released will indeed change your and our world. 


Have you thought of what we are releasing out there every day? Not that it should scare you... but it should. Yet at the same time it should empower you to no end as well because well, you are indeed in charge of changing this world. ;`) Now go out and do some!!! :`)

"Just as a drop of water causes ripples in a pond, so a thought dropped into the pool of consciousness can cause ever expanding ripples in the universal human mind." ~ Jean Richards

Much peace,
Rich

Australian Tour 2011....

3.5 Weeks, 3 cities, 13 workshops, 290+ people, 6 new Australian Team members, countless friends made and several lives changed.... 

A huge thank you to Joe Saunders, Damien Martin, Hannah Thornton, Shane Cassidy and his team, Dom and Ali O'neil, Phil Thompson, Jim Armstrong, his family and his crew, Cranbrook High school and all the kids who welcomed me and took me in as well as every seminar participant who helped make this yet another incredibly successful tour, without all of you, there is no me.... thank you for the friendships above all, thank you for the trust and thank you for the love!!!!

"Loved every bit of it mate........your message is loud, clear and Brilliant!!! You sir are making better people and the world a better place....thank you."  ~ Colin Staples

One of the 4 Sydney workshops.

With Joe Saunders and Phil Thompson at the Melbourne workshop.