Over the past year I’ve changed and developed as a person and a professional a great deal. This influx of transformation was due to a unique learning experience from a unique man I first encountered in a small hospital in a small southern Missouri town.
To understand the sum of my metamorphosis one must first understand the equation of my past and present. Since I was about 15 years old my life has been surrounded and enriched by martial arts. I can’t say for sure what exactly started this fascination although it may or may not be related to being the world’s smallest 7th grader. I started training in Tang Soo Do, a Korean style and a year later moved to a traditional Japanese style, Shorin-Ryu in which I spent several years perfecting an elaborate way of getting my ass kicked in a real fight.
When I graduated and left for an out of state university in a small Texas town I found myself with nothing but Tae Kwon Do to fill the gap. The instructor and the material was not what I was looking for. How can I put this nicely? Let’s just say I swear I thought I heard him telling this blond kid to “sweep the leg”. Those few hours in Tae Kwon Do have led to my distaste for the style to this day, and stands as a testament to how crucial the attitude and character of a teacher is.
I learned some unique combat and unarmed skills when I joined the U.S. Army and started training as a corrections MP. After my first week on the job I quickly honed the verbal conflict resolution skills I already had to a fine edge. Being surrounded by armed and deranged men that have already proven their capacity and willingness to commit murder was a strong motivator.
In 2011 I started working as a security guard at a small hospital with a small security staff. Before and after the Army I found myself in several security jobs and wasn’t expecting much in the way of training from this one. What I found was a school of true self-defense unlike any I had ever experienced before. I found a new perspective on self-defense, educating and of life itself. I found DT4EMS.
I found Dave Jones and Kip Teitsort. Dave, my boss, immediately started teaching me the basic E.V.E. principles. I was immediately impressed with the effectiveness and straightforwardness of what I was learning but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to discover. I took the 16 hour basic E.V.E class and like every other student I’ve come to know since, I was left sore, impressed and wanting much more. Kip was bottled energy. I can’t remember enjoying a classroom more. His passion for teaching this material was so copious it was transferable. My first thought after finishing the class was: why the hell didn’t the Army teach me this? I was given a two day hand-to-hand training class and then dropped into perhaps the most dangerous non-combat environment possible. With all my martial arts training, all the time spend in Dojo’s and in tournaments and this was the first real self-defense class I’d ever taken. I knew that this was information that needed to make its way to the people of this world that willingly face danger every day to keep others safe. Kip’s ardor for getting the information out was so intense it instantly impressed on me the necessity to do the same.
I was fortunate enough to take the advanced and instructor course. It was a fascinating experience to again be presented with information presented in a way that I had never before experienced. This time it was how to be an educator. I was an OC instructor for the State of Colorado, and had taught several other subjects over my career, but I learned more about adult education from Kip than from all my experience and college combined.
Dave had been an instructor in EVE for several years before hiring me. I’ve found that the program’s success has created an environment in the hospital that leaves me stumped for examples for my own classes. The longstanding and prevalent attitude of “being attacked is just part of the job” was cleaved out of this hospitals institutional schema long before I was hired. The staff at Cox Medical Center Branson knows that no violent behavior will be tolerated.
DT4EM’S Escaping Violent Encounter’s class has been a positive influence in both my life and in the working environment of our Hospital. There is no comparison that I have found, past or present, to the material presented in the course in value to service professionals.
Brian Bailey
Security Officer, Security
CoxHealth
Brian.Bailey@coxhealth.com
Phone: (417) 335-7399