The Ron Engelman Podcast

Paulo "GN" Rubio is a martial artist and tactical trainer celebrated for his unique approach to self-defense and mixed martial arts. Growing up between the urban and natural jungles of the Philippines and later moving to Canada, he faced many transformative experiences that shaped his training philosophy. Paulo combines insights from law enforcement, military, and civilian perspectives to teach creative problem-solving and self-expression in martial arts. His methods emphasize understanding c...

Nick Rians is a former US Marine, urban warfare specialist and bodyguard.Nick founded a tactical training facility, off the grid, in the desert of New Mexico. His school - Ghost Ring Tactical provides firearms courses, hand to hand combat training, tactical first aid and long range precision rifle training to the general public. Earlier this year I was invited as a guest instructor to teach a Krav Maga program at the facility which is where I originally met Nick and the rest of his...

Tsahi Shemesh is a lifelong Krav Maga pratitioner. He grew up in Israel where he learned Krav Maga from an early age and joined the Israeli paratroopers where he served in combat. In 2010 Tsahi moved to New York and founded Krav Maga Experts which is a Krav Maga school with branches across the city. Tsahi trains Krav Maga instructors, works with numerous Krav Maga school around the world as well as local law enforcement in New York.Tsahi is also a good friend of mine. In this episode we discu...

Yousef Badou is a former Marine Infantryman with multiple combat tours, and an industry leading expert in the areas of Situational Awareness and Behavioral Analysis. He was requested by name, to serve as the Predictive Threat Analysis Lead to the Marine Corps Combat Hunter Program. Yousef served as the certifying authority for instructors in subjects pertaining to Enhanced Observation, Predictive Threat Analysis and Tracking. Yousef is routinely utilized by the FBI, Join...

Matt Larsen is a former United States Marine, United States Army Ranger and lifelong martial artist. Matt is credited with establishing the United States Army Combatives School at Fort Benning and the Modern Army Combatives program. Larsen is also a Evolutionary Psychologist specializing in Combat Psychology. He is currently the Director of Combatives at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he trains the leaders of tomorrow.It was great to hear his ideas and outlook on prepa...

This is THE most controversial topic when it comes to self-defense and martial arts. I don't expect you to agree with me. Some of what I say may piss you off. That's ok. Frankly, it doesn't matter if you agree or not as long as it gets you thinking about the topic. In this episode, I go on a solo deep dive into the problems with Boxing, Brazilian Jiujutsu, and Krav Maga when it comes to self-defense. I offer solutions on how these problems can be addressed.

Marc MacYoung is a self-defense expert. In fact, he is one of the OGs. He is written multiple books on the topic and is often called to serve as an expert witness in court proceedings that involve self-defense. In my first conversation with Mark, we discussed what you can expect if you have to plead self-defense for use of violence in court. We discussed the important difference between being assertive and being aggressive when it comes to avoiding violence, and we discussed some of the socia...

Danny Netzer is the head Krav Maga instructor for the Israeli Defense Force. His responsibilities include putting together the training programs and overseeing the syllabus that's delivered to every single soldier in the IDF. He heads the Krav Maga instructors school that trains the instructors themselves that teach Krav Maga throughout the Israeli army. And he debriefs and studies all instances in which Krav Maga is used by soldiers in real life to protect themselves and to survive real viol...

Ron Rotem is a 5th degree black belt in Krav Maga. He has served as head of the Krav Maga instructional division in the IDF and as head of Krav Maga for the Israeli prison authority. In this episode, I sit down with my good friend, training partner and world renown Krav Maga Instructor to have a conversation about Krav Maga, it's history and what it's all about, over a bottle of single malt whiskey. Enjoy.