I was setting up for an early afternoon session of my Speak Up Self Defence: Safety for Indigenous Communities of Canada program when the room went quiet. A man about my age got a phone call, paused for a moment, and said softly, “They found Samuel.” That sentence changed everything.

The man was ...

Hey everyone, Randy King here. Today, we’re talking about manipulation—the subtle and not-so-subtle ways people steer you into situations where they benefit and you lose. These tactics don’t always come with raised voices or balled fists. In fact, some of the most dangerous manipulation happens with...

In self-defense and conflict management, physical techniques often get all the attention—but the ability to de-escalate a tense situation before it turns physical? That’s the real magic. And the foundation of that magic is emotional regulation.

Emotional regulation is your ability to keep your cool...

If you’ve spent more than a minute in the self-defense world, you already know knife defense is a hot topic—and a highly emotional one. Every system claims to have the answer, every coach insists their method is best, and every demo ends with the defender walking away untouched, like they just won a...

Let’s cut straight to it: the biggest mistake I see coaches make when teaching self-defense is this—teaching “moment-in-time” solutions instead of the whole damn picture.

You know the ones I’m talking about. Those “If he grabs you like this, do this” demos that are basically TikTok choreography for...