Georgia Army Guardsmen “go through the moves” as they practice what they’ve learned from famed Israeli martial artist Mike Lee Kanarek. (Contributed photo)

ATLANTA – Soldiers of Georgia’s Counterdrug Task Force, Macon’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Marietta’s 78th Aviation Troop Command participated recently in four days of extensive and intensive training with world renowned Israeli martial arts instructor and Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame member Mike Lee Kanarek.

Participants were challenged with a rigorous training regimen that involved Haganah Combatives, combat fitness, ground survival and Israeli tactical knife fighting techniques. The group also received instruction in empty hand defenses against firearms and knives, as well as Stick Attacks and Defenses. As taught by Kanarek, a Haganah chief instructor and former Israeli special forces veteran, the training is designed for the combat soldier to learn better deal with armed and unarmed attackers.

Participants received certification as Military Instructor Associates (MIA) in the International Haganah Federation. This certification authorizes them to teach Haganah Military Combatives and techniques to other military and law enforcement personnel.

“This was one of the most intense and focused training periods these Soldiers have experienced,” said Lt. Col. Brock Gaston, coordinator for the drug task force. He and Sgt. 1st Class Roger Green with Decatur’s 78th Troop Command, are the two senior military instructors certified by Kanarek in the first military certification of this kind back in 2004. Since then, Gaston has received recognition as the 2005 and 2007 Haganah Military Instructor of the Year.

His greatest reward as an instructor, he said, is knowing that the soldiers he trains can go outside the wire, confident in their ability to dominate and “stop an attacker in his tracks.”

“Most of the Soldiers who took this training, including this recent group, have lived through combat and heard shots fired in anger against them,” Gaston went on. “They could not, however, quite compare this training to anything they have ever experienced in their military careers.

It is truly one of the most physically and mentally demanding training challenges I have endured in 26 years of military service, he added.

First Lt. Shilo Crane, who commands Company B 1/121 Infantry in Covington, participated in this recent training session with Kanarek and is one of those combat veterans Gaston talked about. Having served two tours in Iraq, Crane said, the effectiveness of Haganah Combatives is obvious to anyone who takes the training.

“The techniques are geared toward the Soldier fighting on the battlefield wearing body, helmet and boots,” he explained. “There are no fancy kicks or moves, just violent and compact motions designed to incapacitate an assailant in the shortest amount of time possible."

Editor’s Note: Lieutenant Col. Brock Gaston, Georgia Counter Drug Task Force coordinator, contributed this story.

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