The Black Belt Podcast

“Train like a fighter, think like a soldier, fight like a warrior. I believe confidence has to be done with inoculation. In martial arts we have stress and aggression drills that inoculate us to pain, it’s like they give us a little bit of poison, and the next night a little more poison, then a year and a half later, when we are in the arena with real fighting, we can perform. In sparring you have to give students inoculations, it’s got to be done in a logical progression, because if you don’t do it in a logical progression, those students will break. So first they need to learn defensive maneuvers, then they got to learn how to block and get hit, it’s got to be done in a systematic progression with sparring drills that lead the way. This is how you build confidence.”—Mike Lee Kanarek

My guest this episode is Mike Lee Kanarek, who is a multi discipline martial arts master. He is the founder of Haganah, a 6’th degree Black Belt in Joe Lewis Fighting Systems, a 4th Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, a 1’st Degree black belt in Krav Maga, a Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and Former Special Forces. He was inducted into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame and was Instructor of the year in 2007. He is a teacher of teachers and has instructed Special Units in every branch of the US Military.

This episode is all about progressively developing the warrior spirit and trusting yourself in combat. My key takeaway is that constant growth and evolution is essential to building trust and performing under pressure. In life and death situations, those who have prepared themselves by testing themselves under pressure, will have the confidence to execute in chaos. A principles based modular approach that addresses the physical, mental, tactical, and spiritual aspects of an individual is essential for growth and development in combat and in life. We discuss the importance of integrating fighting training from sports combat with self-defense training to develop a complete martial artist. Mr. Kanarek is truly a Machine, he has a unique sense of his purpose, and is driven to make the world a safer place by creating warriors on and off the battlefield. Join me for an amazing episode with a one of a kind martial arts personality.