From 1998 onwards Rodney has been a man on a mission.
Tired of ineffectual training methods taught by so many martial art systems, tired of getting hit in the face and inspired to find a better way to not only train martial arts, but also coach and experiencing it — Rodney developed the Crazy Monkey Defense program.
Over the years Rodney has tirelessly worked, and ‘re-worked’ what he had uncovered in many years of experimentation, not only in his own personal martial art game, but coaching others to perform at their best.
His ‘mad scientist’ approach and continued experimentation has created a martial art system that can only be described as eloquent.
As Rodney puts it,
For years I have been playing with ideas, re-working them, putting them to the test in rigorous performance based environments. I have had all these ideas and theories running around in my head for several years. They where like pieces of a puzzle, all-important, but only in 2008 did all these independent ideas; concepts and processes finally come together into a ‘system’. A coachable system, that had a progression that anyone can teach and learn. What you see before you now is the result of everything coming together.
The Crazy Monkey Defense is truly unique in the world of modern martial arts. A cross-platform system of martial arts that has been used as a vehicle of physical health, competitive success, in law enforcement, on the ground in Iraq by special force operators and most importantly as a vehicle to help people become champions in their life.
While Rodney acknowledges the functionality of the program he developed, what has inspired him over the years, and kept him going, is how the program has evolved into a life performance coaching platform,
In the beginning I wanted to develop a program of martial arts that would work. My intention was to find the most functional and effective way to express the martial. Over the years, as I grew as a person and coach, my goals changed. I began to realize that the power of what I was coaching goes far beyond just functional martial arts. If anything I wanted CMD to be an intelligent system of martial arts that transcended the mat into positive performance in life. It has become this and so much more. It is truly a transformative experience. Not in some kind of ‘esoteric’ way, but in a grounded way, because what we teach really works. And when a martial art works, it has by it’s very nature the power to positively affect people both psychologically and emotionally for the better.
Crazy Monkey Defense Trainers are truly part of something amazing. A martial arts program that is both functional, dynamic and real, but at the same time a vehicle to create champions on and off the mat.
CMD never stagnates. It is evolving all the time. It evolves every time our clients and we as trainers come together. It is a living evolving system, and because of this, it is an amazing journey for anyone who is involved in it.
As Rodney reminds us all,
I sometimes take what I teach for granted. Then I pause. In that moment of pausing and reflecting I remember back to the beginning and how bad I was in my own personal martial art game, how horrible the coaching was that I received from those who proclaimed themselves as experts. And then I look at my clients, six months in and I have to say to myself, “I could never have done that at six months. In moments like this (and many others) I cannot control the Goosebumps. I recognize in moments such as these how amazing Crazy Monkey Defense, this system of modern martial arts truly is.
Welcome to the CMD, where we are changing the way modern martial arts is viewed, coached, experienced and most importantly used.
The most common question I am asked is, “How did the name Crazy Monkey come about?” The story behind the name started as a joke but has since then become synonymous with a modern martial arts program that creates champions not only on the mat, but in life as well.
As far back as 1998 we where already playing around with martial art ideas and concepts that we know today as the Crazy Monkey Defense Program (CMD). In those early days we did not have a name for what we were doing.
A chance encounter by one of Rodney King’s friends on a Safari changed all of that.
While Rodney’s friend was on holiday enjoying the African bush during a game drive, he came across a troop of monkeys sitting under a Baobab tree. While watching the monkeys play and groom each other, they suddenly became restless and very agitated.
In the far distance Rodney’s friend could see another troop of monkeys coming their way. The invasion of territory that followed by this new group of monkeys caused a massive fight between the two groups.
While watching this unfold Rodney’s friend noticed how some of the monkeys would lift their arms and cover their heads with the palms of their hands face down in defense of the incoming assault (A similarity shared with the Crazy Monkey defensive hand position).
On returning from his Safari, Rodney’s friend could not wait to tell everyone about, “these Crazy Monkey’s he had seen” and naturally he went on to tell everyone his Safari story. While everyone was standing around in the gym listening, some of the guys suggested, “Why don’t we call it that, the Crazy Monkey?” Needless to say the name stuck.