About Us

Welcome to Modern Combatives, an organisation that provides realistic operational safety and survival solutions across the entire force response continuum, to personnel within security, law enforcement, government, corrections and military agencies.

"Learning is not compulsory...neither is survival"    W. Edwards Deming

Our Philosophy

The ability to use force lawfully against the public is a major factor that distinguishes law enforcement, military, corrections, security and certain government agencies from the remainder of society, and as a result these sectors come under close scrutiny. Training and experience are the basis for decisions made by officers on the job. A use of force capability is a responsibility, not a privilege. The greatest dangers to officer safety are complacency and hesitation. Our desire to survive is instinctive, but our ability to survive is learned. Learning requires motivation. We can teach skills, but we cannot teach the will to live. We aim to motivate participants to want to learn. Our creed is ‘let no officer be killed or injured because of something we failed to teach them’.

Design Criteria

All our programs are designed to conform to 3 specific criteria:

1. Effective - strategies that actually work on the job, not just in the ideal classroom setting
2. Defensible - strategies that adhere to lawful parameters and withstand legal scrutiny
3. Administrative - program can be monitored and evaluated by modern agencies

Our programs result from a synthesis of many systems, including what is useful and excluding what is not. The principles are commonly utilized by agencies worldwide. Why? Because they work! An important feature of the design process is that we are able to customize each program to suit each agencies’ specific operational requirements. Programs are presented in 3 phases:

1. Theory – a relaxed discussion so participants understand why they are doing what they are doing
2. Practical – training skill acquisition at a moderate pace
3. Simulation – application of key skills and knowledge under simulated stress

All our programs focus on the application of key principles, which are easier to train and apply for operational personnel. Effective control of resistive subjects simply involves the understanding and application of these key principles. They can be divided into 2 basic categories:

1. Bio Principles - Mind Set, Balance, Stimuli Response, Leverage
2. Tactical Principles – Command Presence, Distance, Action/Reaction, Proxemics

We are not in the practice of resting on our laurels. We know what we teach works, and we are constantly researching, revising and improving. If we access new and improved methods and strategies then we test them and adopt them. Officer Safety is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly.

Realism

There are 3 aspects integral to tactical force responses to real violence:

1. What we would like to do - based on a person’s idea of what they can do in response to violence, often influenced by media representation depicting unrealistic techniques better suited to movie fight choreography with little real world value.
2. What we must do - focuses on your particular operational parameters, including departmental policies, job role mandates, etc, and forms the baseline for the development of all programs.
3. What we actually will do - how you actually will respond to violence in the real world, based on several factors, including training, experience, and your ability to operate under the effects of stress.

All our programs combine what we must do with what we actually will do under the stress of actual confrontation. Proficiency and confidence are a product of realistic, appropriate and regular training. This is why our strategies and techniques are designed to work for the average person, in full duty uniform with duty gear and under realistic stress conditions. Train as you work and work as you train!

Tactical Blueprints

Our programs aim to develop tactical blueprints which are natural responses based on sound principles, rather than the traditional technique-based style of teaching defensive tactics, where participants learn techniques by rote. In our programs, participants are presented with generic solutions to violence based on sound biomechanical and tactical principles, and they are encouraged to adapt the concepts to suit their own personal capability, not just copy the instructor. The skills required to control violent situations are perishable…if you don’t use them, you lose them.

The technical aspects of our programs are based on gross motor skills, which offer important advantages of less instruction time, reduced refresher time and high retention level. They are also more likely to be performed during times of high stress and are more forgiving. Our programs acknowledge the 90% rule, which states that ‘techniques are designed to work 90% of the time in 90% of the situations that you face. However, nothing works 100% of the time. You should not give up a good technique because of an exceptional case in which a procedure does not work’. Using the principle of saturation training, participants practice skills until they are not only competent in them…they understand them…and can then adapt them to suit their own personal capabilities.

Our People

Richard Kay is the Principal of Dynamic Training®, an accredited provider of vocational education and training in Melbourne, and founder of Modern Combatives®, an organisation providing operational safety strategies to the security, government, military, corrections and law enforcement communities. He has been studying martial and combative arts since 1984, and holds numerous professional certifications, including firearms instructor trainer (Victoria Police), ASP Trainer Certification, PPCT Instructor (Defensive Tactics, Spontaneous Knife Defence, Violent Patient Management), SimunitionT Safety Supervisor and Force-on-Force Simulation Safety Instructor. He is a certified 3rd degree black belt in CloQuBa Ha-Jutsu (the 'real world' police fighting system created by Chuck Habermehl of CQC Inc in the USA) and has studied Systema (Russian Special Forces), Krav Maga (Israeli Defence Forces) and SAFTA (US Navy SEALS).

His martial disciplines include karate, aikido, ba gua, hsing-i, tai chi, bojutsu, iaijutsu and Filipino knife combat. He is a founding member of the Goshu Karate-do Yonshinkai, and holds 5th dan black belt certifications in both Goju-kensha Karate (Japan) and Goju-Ryu Kakurinkan Karate (Australia). In 2007 he received an official Shidoin teaching license and Bubishi masters text in Japan from Ohtsuka Tadahiko, 9th dan Hanshi, Gojukensha Karate-do Renmai, and official registration with the Japan Goju-Ryu Federation. Richard has over 15 years experience in security operations and spent time in the ADF as an infantry soldier. In 2001 he attained the prestigious ASP Trainers Certification for law enforcement use of force training, and is 1 of only 2 qualified ASP trainers in Australia. He travels overseas regularly to further his research and development on an international scale, where he liaises with members national and international law enforcement agencies and specialist military units. Internationally to date, he has instructed in America, Belgium, New Zealand and Portugal, and regularly conducts operational safety programs in Australia for personnel from various agencies.

Richard has designed and implemented aggression management programs for the health and community services, and personal safety and security courses for civilians. He has consulted to organisations regarding personal security in high risk situations, and has provided authoritative opinion for investigations and legal cases involving operational use of force and training. He maintains close links with regulatory bodies for the development of use of force policy, regulations and training, and has numerous articles published on workplace conflict, aggression management, personal safety, and tactical use of force. He is a specialist use of force consultant for the Security Trainers Association, and is a member of The International Law Enforcement Educators & Trainers Association.

Associate Instructors

All our instructing staff have 'real world' experience, ranging from active duty in law enforcement, military, government, security and corrections. Our staff are not theorists.they are grounded in the practicality of what works under realistic operating conditions. Despite their varied backgrounds and experience, they all share 2 common goals - they 'walk the walk', and they are committed to providing skills and strategies that ensure the safety of operational personnel on the job.