Grandmaster Ray Kelly from the House of Shotokan is well-known for his intense karate and kickboxing classes, but he is also a certified defense tactic instructor. This weekend he took those skills to Mexico where he conducted a one day training for one of the police units. Today he told us about the importance of this cross border connection as it relates to improved law enforcement.
Shihan Kelly, Defensive Tactic Instructor, House of Shotokan
"It was a one day training an 8 hour training which consist of various different portions of training in defensive tactics."
Courtney Weatherburne, reporter
"Tell us a little bit more about the techniques and so forth."
Shihan Kelly
"The training, you had the physical portion which is a lot of pushups, sit ups, calisthenics, jumping jacks , your running, primarily to break them down and let them appreciate how out of shape they are and then subsequently train them on the tactics as far as the tactics, how to utilize the handcuffs, how to utilize certain positions when they engage a target and how to execute an arrest and also working with them on entry techniques into a facility once they have to execute their operations."
"There is a disconnect when it comes to unarmed combat tactics that is necessary utilized in their job. It is not there, in some instances when you talk about tactical to where the law enforcement has to use a certain techniques to get the bad guy on the ground and then it goes to throwing blows for blows and then it ends up in court and it is deemed abuse from the law enforcement."
Courtney Weatherburne, reporter
"And the Mexican authorities they were not aware of some of these techniques, what you taught them this weekend was pretty much new to them?"
Shihan Kelly
"It was pretty much new to them."
"The importance of this connection with Mexico is that I have been requested to go back in to Mexico and the Commandant of the unit there expressed their great appreciation of the country of Belize to have allowed me to go over and train with them. And this particular unit would like to get closer on sport level with Belize for example with police to police and also a collaborative working together effort on the law enforcements tactics such a training session a weekend where the Belizean law enforcement and their law enforcement get together and then they do a combative tactic training so it is a great essence of a collaborative effort."
Kelly has conducted this training in Haiti, and throughout the Caribbean and all over the US. He also conducts trainings for Belizean police, embassy security personnel among other units.
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