2020 with all of its ups and downs was a year like no other, but it certainly slipped by really quickly.  We were so busy in the studio and at the various gyms and schools, and didn't keep up to date with our media activities.   Sorry about that.   

It's getting harder to find available training sessions for new clients but you can be assured that we continue to do our best.  From focussed olympian hopefuls and competitive sports conditioning, to transforming dad bods or working mums, new mums or retired mums, all training sessions are tailored for each client and designed to make a difference in your day.  

With so much we haven't been able to control this year, it's great to remember that we are in charge of our own bodies, what we put in, how it moves, and we are responsible to make the changes that we need to ourselves.  If you are like me, you will have gained kgs that you don't need in 2020.  It can be a little overwhelming sometimes knowing where to start, or feeling uncomfortable being sweaty and wobbly at a gym, or feeling a little lost around the equipment, or even keeping the motivation to keep moving.  At our HumanWeapon studio in 2020 we had a lot of people start with us so that they can work out in private away from friends, colleagues or community, and under Personal Training really targeting workouts to make the most of the sessions.   

It's such a thrill to see changes in people physically, in both strength, balance and fat and muscle distribution, and to see confidence and emotions change through the months.  Thank you to everyone that gave such great feedback at Christmas.  To know how much it means to you, means so much to us here.     

We've been working on a few new things for 2021 and can't wait for you to be involved.  Check out our 10-Day Body Reset Program, 28-Day Kickstart Challenge,  Fit3D Body Composition Scans, Self-Defense Courses for L1, L2 & Combat, new after-school programs for kids, Boxing Workshops for Personal Trainers and Full Body Transformations! 

Who knew it's been so long since we last did a blog post.  Well its been a busy year thats for sure but we are still here and certainly active with classes.  
This time last year Boris was putting his "best foot forward" entering the Exercise Industry Awards.  We are hugely proud of his success in getting through as a finalist in two categories; Innovation and Small Group Trainer of the year.  
Through 2019 we have refocussed self-defense classes, we've run after school programs, private self-defense workshops and Boris has been extending his small group fitness classes in boxing and combat, and set up training courses for Personal Trainers.   
We have trained new instructors at the studio and are excited about new opportunities on the horizon.
Most of our updates are shared on Instagram, and Facebook pages so head over there if you are interested to see more of what we've been up to. 

With the weather cooling we are now into trail running season.  The trails are getting wet and slippery, but out in the New Zealand bush we have a great escape from the bustle of the city.  We have put together our top ten safety tips for trail runners.

I was a special forces Paratrooper and participated in many active missions throughout Eastern Europe, The Middle East, Asia and South America and experienced firsthand the ravages and futility of war.    On a mission, my team would be dropped at location with specific objectives to achieve.   Failure was not an option.  I experienced firsthand how life or death can come down to performing certain techniques, doing them right, the first time. On my final mission I was awarded Medalla San Lorenzo for courage and bravery under fire.
 
Years of specific highly skilled training enabled me to survive in life threatening situations.   Situational awareness and hand to hand combat skills were paramount.  My experiences have helped me to understand how knowing techniques, does not prepare you to use them right, or in time, especially when you are at a disadvantage in any situation.  Its only through repetition that defensive movements and decisions can be made instinctually and with most effect.  This is one of the biggest reasons that I don’t teach techniques in quick money-making workshops or recommend seminars or online videos about techniques on self-defense. 
 
Some people claim that they can teach you “secret special deadly army techniques” or “prepare you for a moment in your life” with only a few hours of training.  The truth is that no one can do that.  Even if you can remember one or two techniques, are they going to be the right ones, practical or safe for you to use?
 
Your health and safety, or even your life may depend of how well you do the techniques, and how calm and focused you are when performing the techniques.   Like learning to swim or playing a musical instrument you need practice after learning the technique.  You need to understand why, when, and where you need to perform the movement.   I am sorry to say that paying money for 2 or 3 hours will not give you the tools to be successful.   It may give you more confidence on the street, but it will not necessarily give you the ability to protect yourself or your family under pressure or a random attack.  I don’t teach my students to rely on hope or allow them to leave our courses ill-informed on the seriousness of using suitable self-defense techniques.  Motor Behaviour and Muscle Memory are things the military work very hard on.  Executing defensive techniques in an unpredictable environment is something that takes some time to learn.

You may only have one time in your life to use self-defense techniques and you want to be assured that you can do the right thing to survive. Learning techniques of self-defense is not only learning something that will help just you.  It also gives you the ability to help keep your friends and family safe. 
 
Why would you pay for something that will not work for you? 
 
If you are looking for self-defense training, do your research and find someone that teaches techniques that will be suitable for your body weight, height, age and also the state of mind that you have.
 
A lot of the people that we see teaching self-defense are retired from the army, security, police or have experience in some form of martial art.  Some others only have good intentions and they don’t realize they gamble with people’s safety by demonstrating or teaching ineffective techniques, or not teaching them in a way that they can be performed correctly. 
 
Every day I see crime growing in New Zealand and offenders are becoming more and more aggressive.  Although we always live in hope that “it will never happen to me”, unfortunately sometimes it does.  Everyone needs the opportunity to be prepared for it.  Please feel free to contact me any time and we can discuss further. 
 
Boris Belmar
Head Instructor, Human Weapon Self Defense
 
 
 “Muscle memory has been used synonymously with motor learning, which is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to be performed without conscious effort. This process decreases the need for attention and creates maximum efficiency within the motor and memory systems. Examples of muscle memory are found in many everyday activities that become automatic and improve with practice, such as riding a bicycle, typing on a keyboard, typing in a PIN, playing a musical instrument,[1] poker,[2] martial arts or even dancing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_memory
 
Motor behavior When first learning a motor task, movement is often slow, stiff and easily disrupted without attention. With practice, execution of motor task becomes smoother, there is a decrease in limb stiffness, and muscle activity necessary to the task is performed without conscious effort.[8]” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_learning
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We have seen increased reporting on serious attacks in New Zealand.  From abductions, to home invasions, domestic violence offences, and store attacks, over and over again we see that people don't know what to do when these situations. 

I was attacked by a serial rapist in an Auckland car park in 2006. I didn't know what to do to defend myself and no-one came to my rescue. Although it was over 10 years ago, I can still sense the panic. 

As I returned to my vehicle I saw someone running towards me so I jumped into my car and quickly locked the doors. I was surprised when I saw him try to open the doors, but I was shocked when I saw him raise his arm and start to smash the drivers window with a large metal bar.  

In my panic I was trying to get the vehicle started and into reverse to get away from the danger.  Foot on brake, gear stick in park, turn key, gear stick in reverse, accelerate. It just never seemed to co-ordinate as I madly kept turning the key and running the gear stick backwards and forwards. The glass showered over me with every bash.  Again and again he smashed the metal against the heavily tinted window which finally gave way. 

I remember the feel his warm hands around my neck as he squeezed tight.  The pulling towards the window. 

And I remember seeing his sillouette running away.

After my ordeal, I ran back towards people trying to get help.  Inside the building, time seemed to be in slow motion and no-one seemed to understand my panic.  It was that moment that I realised the screaming was coming from my own mouth. 

Although the police had tracker dogs there within minutes my attacker went on to attack and rape many women in Auckland all of different ages and ethnicity's over several months before he was caught and sent to prison for 16 years.
  
Detective Sergeant Megan Goldie said outside the court there was little any of the women could have done to avoid being attacked. 

"Those women were not doing anything out of the ordinary. They were just very unlucky." 

I took self-defence classes to get my confidence back and now I'm teaching others how to defend themselves.  Now I know what to do if I find myself unlucky again.  

As a New Zealander having grown up in such a safe country its distressing to see and know that so many bad things are happening to innocent people right her in our country.  We can't be ignorant anymore as these things do happen to innocent every-day people in every-day places all over our beautiful country.  

Self-defence classes gave me the confidence to go out again, taught me how to be prepared for a random attack, and the ability to do something if I'm ever attacked again.  At Human Weapon Self Defense we want others to have the same opportunity and to be empowered with the same knowledge and skills. 

Human Weapon have group self-defence classes that can be tailored to students personal concerns and can be based around scenarios like street attacks, domestic violence, bullying, home invasion, etc.

Class sizes are small and personal, and run as block courses to ensure that students learn the techniques effectively and have confidence when leaving. 

The techniques taught are  suitable for men, women, and children and can be performed effectively by children through to grandparents.  

If you would like to learn more about classes please contact [email protected] or through www.humanweapon.co.nz 

1. Never wear your ear phones at full volume when out and about. Make sure you can hear approaching vehicles or people.
2.  Always face towards anyone approaching. Make sure you can see their face and visually read any intentions.  If you get a bad feeling keep your distance.
3. Visually scan their body language and be suspicious if they look to be concealing a weapon.
4. Be suspicious of anyone asking random questions if you are outdoors alone or at night time, "do you have a lighter", "what time is it?  Keep moving.
5. Always keep a safe distance from anyone looking suspicious.  Cross the road if you would feel more confortable.
6. Pay attention to you intuition.  If something feels off, it probably is.

Very good advice from NZ Police came through this week. In our suburb there seem to be more and more doorknockers. Usually in the day time during working hours. I'm sure most are legitimate businesses or charities but you can't always be sure of their intentions.
Police remind everyone if a stranger comes to your door offering a service, you should always ask to see their photo identification. Don’t open the door to strangers and don’t be afraid to say no. Always keep your door locked, even if you are just in your garden.
There have been reports of a man targeting elderly in the day time by offering to fix smoke alarms and then stealing items from his victims after gaining access to the property.  The full article can be found here:

​http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/police-remind-residents-be-wary-door-knocker-claiming-fix-smoke-alarms?nondesktop 

It's frightening to see the high rates of teenage suicide in New Zealand. So often bullying has played a part in the poor mental health of our kids.
Kaleb Hurn was only 17 when he took his own life. His dad said that "A lack of social skills and face-to-face interactions, an ingrained fear of failure, a fear of being different, and bullying all played a part."
"We need to show our kids it's OK to be different… there's nothing wrong with failing and it's OK to make mistakes."
Knowing self defense techniques can give our kids more confidence if they are being physically bullied. A push or shove, being wrestled to the ground, shoulder barge, choking, neck holds are all things that some kids have to put up over and over and it can be difficult to know what to do about it. Fighting back can make the situation worse or escalate the bullying. Self defense taught by Human Weapon teaches kids to be aware of approaches, how to avoid confrontation and how to put a stop to physical bullying. Contact us for more info @ www.humanweapon.co.nz

​A petrol station worker suffered a head injury in one of two Auckland petrol station robberies that took place in less than two hours.
Counties-Manukau police are investigating Tuesday's aggravated robberies, the first of which happened at Mobil on Mt Wellington Highway in Mt Wellington.
The offenders were armed with what police said appeared to be a "sawn-off shotgun".
Two of the four men tried to smash a window at the Mobil station, however the store attendant activated the fog alarm and the offenders quickly left, police said.

Jess is such a brave woman for standing up and telling her story after such a horrific beating. Domestic Violence is NOT OK. Do you have the confidence and the knowledge to defend yourself if in a similar situation? You can learn these skills with Human Weapon Self Defense training. Just ask for a class specific to domestic violence situation.  

Article copied from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11859712​ 
Brutally bashed: Jess Setu's night of horror 20 May, 2017 8:49am
 
Jess Setu was brutally bashed by her estranged husband Lealofi Setu about a year ago. 
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