Until the age of 30 Geoff Thompson worked through a plethora of menial jobs, from glass collector to floor sweeper; he even spent a decade working as a nightclub bouncer. Convinced that there must be more to life than this, Geoff decided to become a martial arts instructor (polled as the number one self defence instructor in the world by Black Belt magazine USA) then followed this by living out his dream of becoming a writer. He is now the author of over thirty books, a stage play, a BAFTA winning short film and two feature films.

For many years now I've been interested in reality training. I've trained, attended courses and seminars, read every book I can lay my hands on, surfed the net, read bulletin boards and generally tried to expose myself to the best in the field.

In this country, people like Geoff Thompson, Peter Consterdine and Dave Turton have been in the vanguard of showing people the difference between traditional martial arts training (or that which is now known as TMA) and reality based training. That isn't to badmouth or denigrate traditional martial arts training or anyone's individual art. Indeed I both train and teach. However it is important to be able to understand the subtly different goals that each has.

In 2002, I became aware of an U.S. based system known as F.A.S.T. Defense (sic). F.A.S.T. stands for Fear Adrenaline Stress Training. Three instructors from a U.K. based association called P.U.M.A. returned from instructor training in the U.S. , and began teaching courses in the U.K. I asked them to conduct a course for my students and was blown away with the quality of the training. Since then I've seen the excellent reviews they've had from a wide spectrum of people, including reality instructors, members of the emergency and military services, victims of abuse and the general public.

At this juncture it is worth pointing out some of the terminology. F.A.S.T. is the name for the training whilst bulletman is the suit that is used. I've often heard this type of training referred to as bulletman training but I think this is actually missing the point a little. The suit is only a tool that is used to allow full power strikes. The benefit comes from the way the course is run and the suit used, with increasingly difficult adrenal stress scenarios used to programme your future responses.

Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to follow in the original UK instructors' footsteps and train as a F.A.S.T. Defence instructor and bulletman. So in the early part of February 2004 six of us, accompanied by two of the original team, made the journey to Peyton Quinn's RMCAT facility high in the Rocky Mountains . Amongst our numbers were two ex-doorman, an ex-special constable, a special forces reserve.

RMCAT (pronounced RAMCAT) stands for Rocky Mountain Combat Applications Training. This is Peyton's purpose built training facility and is the home of what I consider to be the best self-protection training to be had in the world. RMCAT is 2800m above sea level at Lake George , Colorado . The facility consists of the training hall, accommodation and bathroom blocks, Peyton's ranch house and lots of wide-open spaces.

The facility is a two-hour drive from Colorado Springs , or three hours from Denver . For visitors, probably the most telling distance is that it's half an hour drive to the nearest mobile phone signal! This means that you can immerse yourself in the training, free from distractions. All meals are cooked and served in Peyton's house, mostly by his wife Melissa but often by Peyton himself.

The countryside around the ranch is absolutely wonderful. In February, when we arrived, it was deep snow and -10 o C so a walk in the country was a bit adventurous. Some of the guys went for a run in the morning but soon regretted that with the combination of altitude and cold.

Peyton Quinn, for those who don't know of him, is an author, self-protection expert, martial artist, ex-bouncer, Harley Davidson rider and a mine of great stories, all of which are interesting beyond belief. His great pal, Crazy Joe Reynolds, was telling us of a recent visit they'd made to a biker bar in Tucson . Tucson is still a bit of frontier town and they like to make visitors feel the full flavour. So when someone pointed a loaded shotgun at them it came as no surprise. Peyton though, quick as a flash, took the shotgun from him using a disarm and reverse technique that he was well practised in and, after unloading the gun, said in a loud voice 'Get this man a drink'. The bikers fell about laughing and the moment passed.

The first morning saw us having a huge breakfast in Peyton's dining room and meeting course instructor, Bill Kipp. Bill is the founder of F.A.S.T., has been teaching with Peyton for many years and is now the programme director at RMCAT. Bill trains all the bulletmen himself. He himself has a long history having been a US Marine (recon), bouncer and a stuntman. Bill spent many years in the Philippines where he studied Kali and Eskrima.

After breakfast, it was time for those new bulletmen amongst us to meet our new suits. The bulletman suit is the result of a 30 year evolution by a gentleman called Mark Morris. All suits are made to measure and are only sold to people attending approved instructor courses. The suit consists of the head (silver and bullet shaped, hence the name), chest guard and groin guard plus some other sundry bits and pieces.

The headguard is an american football helmet inside a purpose built foam shell. The foam shell interlinks with the chest guard to eliminate all the brain shake and whiplash during strikes (not that you don't still feel a good shot!!). The groin guard is massive and moves the energy from full power shots away from the family jewels and up into the muscles of the legs, abdomen and lower back. Bill said that he's tried to make his own headguards over the years but it's always resulted in bulletmen with concussion.

The first thing on was the helmet. My first impression was 'Oh crap, I need to get out of this thing fast'. It was truly claustrophobic. I remember thinking that I'd just wasted hundreds of pounds buying a suit and attending a course that I wasn't going to be able to do. Then Bill asked how we all felt, and the others were saying similar things so I didn't feel quite so bad. Bill's view was that this was the worst moment and that we'd have the suits on so much over the course that we'd get used to it.

The altitude wasn't helping matters and, when we put the chest guard on with the helmet on top, the combined weight, the restriction around the chest and the claustrophobia was enough for a good adrenal rush on its own. Still I wasn't going to be the first to wimp out so off we went. The other immediately noticeable thing about the helmet is the lack of vision. No need to worry about the effects of adrenal tunnel vision when wearing the helmet. You get it from the moment you put it on.

Although made to measure, the first job was to adjust the helmet so it fitted well. This involved taking it out of the shell, adjusting straps and baking some of the padding in the oven. After that it was a case of putting it all back together and hitting each other in the head, then readjusting until we got it right. Sharp knives and more silver tape were used to change the padding arrangements. Mine was still agonisingly tight over the ears but on we went.

After that it was the same thing with groin guard. Bill inspired me with confidence as he hacked into my many hundreds of pounds investment with an evil grin, a sharp knife and the words 'I'm glad this isn't my groin guard'.

Then it was on with the other bits. These include kneepads, elbow pads and a rather fetching pair of massive overalls that go over the whole ensemble. Bill was a bit bemused by the brits constantly asking each other 'does my bum look big in this'? I've since replaced the overalls with a pair of very large mesh pants from the ladies section in Walmart. The person these were intended for needs to have a few less pies I think.

Now we were all adjusted and comfortable (yeah right), we could move on with the course. During the training we would learn how to teach the various F.A.S.T. modules, how to coach the students as they go through each element and how to be a bulletman. Every lunchtime and evening we would spend an hour or so going over the video of the previous sessions so we could look at our performance in each of the roles of coach, bulletman and even student.

Just as a side note story, at the end of the first days training, my ears were bruised completely black by pulling the helmet on and off. Another headguard strip down revealed that even without two inches of padding, the side of the football helmet was barely clearing my massive head, let alone my ears. We remedied this by cooking the whole helmet for 20 minutes at gas mark 5, and then jamming a bit of wood it to make a permanent stretch while it cooled. Oh and lots of vaseline on my ears for the rest of the course.

The bulletman skills themselves are quite difficult to get to grips with. It isn't just a case of standing around and being hit. You have to be able to act out the initial interview aspects (the 'woof'). When woofing, you have to be able to react, change and refine your woof to elicit the response you want from the student. You have to be in control of your own responses. Finally, when it gets physical you have to respond in an appropriate fashion. In some cases this goes against your natural reactions. Actions like tucking your head down are likely to result in students with broken faces as the headguard is great for butts.

The first drill we used for bulletman training was also one of the basic drills from foundation level courses. The 'student' was made to stand with their back to wall and their eyes closed. No interview woof was required. This was a straight adrenal dump drill. The bulletmen would grab them around the throat at the same time as issuing a hearty 'raaaaaar'. The student would then react with eye strikes, knee strikes to the groin and a finishing knee to the head. The bulletman skill here is in offering the student the correct target, especially the groin (please bear in mind this is a basic level drill before you start saying how this is not realistic).

One of the key bulletman skills is learning to act out the strikes and to react correctly. The student needs to hear you saying 'arrgh, you f***er' as they strike you. Another is learning to block some of the power in students' strikes to your head. Although the suit is brilliant, when someone gives you a full power strike under the effects of adrenaline, you still feel it. This is especially true when you are on the floor and the student is pounding your head for all they are worth. This is where you need a good coach.

The instructor/coach is the person running the scenario. They stand slightly behind and to one side of the student and help them through the scenario. One of their principle roles is to avoid the student freezing. Many former students have reported that, even years later, when attacked the voice of their coach comes whispering back into their ears. The other job of the coach is to watch out for the bulletman. The bulletman will only react to effective and powerful strikes from the student. However, once the student has done what would be required for an effective defence, the bulletman will adopt a 'dying fly' position on his back. This is the sign to the coach to blow the whistle and stop the fight. Otherwise the bulletman lies there and gets pummelled.

The next phase of the course was to address, in-depth, the interview and dialogue areas of conflict. Everyone on the course practised their ability to woof. The woof tends to be broken into two types, the light and heavy. Light woofs tend to involve no threats of violence but make people very uncomfortable. Heavy woofs involve a lot greater threat levels. Even though we all knew each other well, these were still very real.

There were a few light moments though. John, one of the Brits from the Midlands , came bounding up on one woof and without any preamble at all said 'you’re a big lad, d'ya wanna a fight'. No one could keep a straight face. All the woofs are done wearing sunglasses (and sometimes other props like wigs, hats etc) to allow a subconscious division to be made between when you are acting as woofer and instructor/coach.

Throughout the course, the pressure was kept on. We were acting as student, instructor/coach and bulletmen. The residual adrenal effects were very obvious. A slow, light, no contact run through of scenarios was difficult because we were all so fired up all the time. A lot of unpadded groins were bashed during the gentle groundwork sessions.

Over the course we covered the main F.A.S.T. elements and are now the only 8 people in the UK qualified to teach:

• Basic level

• Basic groundwork

• Weapons

• Weapons groundwork

• Multiple attackers

• Multiple attackers on the ground

• Children's syllabus

Although the basic level is very interesting, it is in some of the later course elements that you really start to see the beauty of this training. Closing your eyes while one attacker puts a knife to your neck whilst the other is reaching for your wallet and then exploding into them full force is incredibly powerful.

Louise, the only girl on the course, had one scenario where she was on her back, one attacker holding her arms whilst Bill Kipp sat astride her torso, whispering filthy things in her ear and reaching for her fly. Now I knew she was tough, but she let fly with so much force I thought she was never going to stop. I'm just glad that we chose not to work on any scenarios together all week!

Another element that brought home how important what we were learning was the abduction and murder of 11 year old Florida girl Carlie Bruscia. This happened while we were in the U.S. and we trained while waiting for news. Her tragic death really brought what we were learning, but especially the children's course. The basic children's course is split between anti-bullying and anti-abduction. The anti-abduction covers all the aspects of awareness, avoidance and finally physical drills against bulletmen. It stresses, like all the courses, the danger of being moved to a secondary location.

There is no real way to describe just how powerful this training is. Now we are back in the UK , we are putting on courses for those that want them. There are no real restrictions. We will be making individual places available on courses we put on. Clubs, associations or groups of individuals can book courses at their location or own area. Anybody can get involved, you don't need to be a martial artist. It's great when we go to martial arts clubs and find the members training alongside their husband or wife that doesn't usually train.

There are even more intangible benefits. Many people have spoken about feeling more self-confident, being more in control, having better self-esteem and being more able to deal with other areas of their lives. Nearly everyone who's attended the courses has recommended it to their friends.

We are also trying to work out how to put on a RMCAT style weekend course, where we offer most of the modules, one after the other, finishing with the aptly named 'bloodfest'. This would be a great event for anyone to attend. We are currently trying to find a good, but reasonably remote venue.

Training in Colorado with Bill Kipp and Peyton Quinn was one of the highlights of my career. I only hope that by offering the training to others we can improve everyone's abilities and that these small steps will have a positive effect on the world.

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Keywords : Traditional training, full contact, protection, helmet, Geoff Thompson, F.A.S.T. program, confidence, self-esteem

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