Dear All,
First a warm felt congratulations and sense of camaraderie amongst all the June graduates of ECF Course 001. We've been to hell and back; it was a true test of grit and intestinal fortitude. Thanks to Shawn and Mike for giving us their all.
While words cannot describe the Instructor Course, it truly has to be experienced. I will attempt a brief overview of the three days:

FIRST DAY
You will be put to the test. In our case we did jumping jacks, push ups, mountain climbers and the like until the instructors smelt blood. This is a test, meaning we kept going until we basically reached our limit. Welcome to ECF, you will be smoked in the first part of the course and only 30 minutes have elapsed! After that you will go through bodyweight basics. You will learn the proper form to do basically all the exercises on the ECF manual and learn how to make it easier or harder. This is important as it allows you to modify the exercise depending on the fitness level of the person you have under you. Then you will learn kettlebell basics (kettleBELLS not kettleballs, right Shawn?). For most of us it was the first time working with one and going though kettlebell circuits is an eye-opening experience after you have learned them. Prepare to have newfound respect for 36 lbs. Then you will do more bodyweight exercises and practice teaching. Eight hours of non-stop exercise have just flown by.

SECOND DAY
This day started with a 3.5 mile run in Runyon Canyon where we had three phases of hill work included. When I say three phases of hill work, I mean: heartbreak, agony and misery. Again, this has to be experienced. The rest of the day is spent learning more exercises, partner drills, medicine ball drills, refining the kettlebell exercises, doing more kettlebell circuits, practice teaching and we end the day with a suicide mission. OK, if you have the ECF Workout Book you can read it on pages 214-215. This is your rite of passage however, words cannot truly describe it! It must be experienced, as in pain, exhaustion and one more step! Another grueling eight hours have elapsed.

THIRD DAY
After a dynamic warm-up where we were treated to the fastest crab walk ever seen on the planet courtesy of Shawn, we kept on learning log drills, exercises, games, partner exercises and had our teaching test. Just so you have an idea of all the information that is downloaded into your brain, from the 229 pages in the ECF Workout Book we go through everything from pages 1-215. The end of the day greets us with a combined kettlebell/bodyweight circuit and then, and only then, when you have given it your all and there is nothing left (truly, there will be nothing left) you will be given the notice that the course has ended. There are few things in your life that you will earn with as much effort and dedication as this Instructor Certificate.

If you are sadistic enough to still be interested here are some tips:

1. You need to be well rounded in Mobility, Flexibility, Strength and Endurance. If you have time to prepare, make sure you hit all aspects. Being strong alone is not good enough, having great endurance alone is not enough. Whatever your weakness, this course will bring it out to the forefront. Having the ECF Workout Book and DVD is great preparation for what to expect.

2. Bring AT LEAST 1 gallon of water or other liquids, power gels, and food/protein bars to the training. Try to eat those energy gels midway through the morning workout and midway through the evening session. The first day I only had breakfast and water until we had our seven minute lunch break and felt there was no gas in the tank. On days 2 and 3 I had the power gels and drank electrolyte laden water and fared much better, even though they still kicked my ass!

3. Wear a long sleeved shirt on the second day for the suicide mission... just trust me on this one.

4. If you can run hills in your area, start doing so now.

5. Be mentally prepared to be pushed to your limit. (Please sir may I have another!)

OK, hope this helps anyone who is considering the ECF Instructor Course or just wanted to know what goes on in one of these 3 day S&M events.

All my best,
Eric Guttmann
ECF CLASS 001
 

There's nothing better for me to say than speak for myself that the ECF Training was a humbling experience. I thought I was in good shape and ready for anything but Shawn and Mike proved to be the toughest, most fittest and knowledgeable trainers I've ever come across. ECF teaches upper body, core and lower body fitness concepts for total and complete fitness. I learned that my weakness was in my upper body although I thought prior to ECF that I was doing well with my upper body training. I found that any weakness in one of the three areas can greatly diminish your endurance and power. I learned so much at the ECF training course that my six months at an all hands on personal training school didn't teach me. The training included hundred of exercises, their variations, progressions and combinations which Shawn and Mike demonstrated to us in perfect form. They answered all our questions with complete brutal honesty and gave us years of insight from their own experiences. I can't say enough about how Shawn and Mike showed us by example their level of fitness and what it means to be in top shape. Even though the training is hard and pushes you to your limits, it's hard to give up when you know your teachers can do the same exercises. No one asks you to do something that can't be done or that they can't do. Shawn's and Mike's enthusiasm, energy and motivation to teach correct knowledge kept me motivated all day when, in my mind, something was saying, "How in the world did I get here?" Yet we all made it through, everyone passed the suicide test and no one gave up. All our faces showed fatigue and strain but no one whined or complained during killer KB circuits mixed with body weight exercises at the very end of the course. This is proof that the training was not to break us down but to make us truly elite. That is a level that Shawn, Mike and my fellow comrades displayed every minute during those 3 grueling days at 9 hours a day of training. That is why I'm now a much more knowledgeable, fitter and humbler trainer.

For all you future ECF candidates, remember to pre-train in the three planes upper body, core and lower body. Train for endurance, power, agility, strength, joint mobility and flexibility! Most importantly, train never to give up!

John W
 

I wanted to say thank you to Shawn (with the Kettle bell program), Mike and of course Moni for putting together such a challenging program such as ELITE COMBAT FITNESS.

Lessons on the First Day:

(a) KETTLE BELL kicks my butt!!!

The ELITE KETTLEBELL FITNESS program kicked my butt and handed it on a silver platter. Man, I was tired… that was the first time I ever touched a kettle bell and definitely earned a great respect for this wonderful piece of equipment. Now I have three kettlebells. Having ELITE KETTLEBELL in the ECF program is such a marvelous idea.

Lessons on the Second Day:

(a) Being Martial Fit (physically fit through Martial Arts training or other combative) doesn’t mean you know everything about ELITE FITNESS!
(b) Be Humble!
(c) Humility!

I always thought I’m above average but that was not enough for this course. Training through Martial Arts alone will not give you the ELITE COMBAT FITNESS that we are all searching for. I was humbled during the second day as I saw my weaknesses. A wise man once said that in order for you to be strong you must first find your weakness. That day, my weakness was exposed and all my weaknesses got exposed through out the course. I’ve climbed mountains before, I’ve rock climbed, and rappel down but I’ve never run up a mountain. Needless to say, I’ve never even thought about running backwards to the top of a mountain. Brothaaa…running 3.5 miles uphill on this killer mountain was one of the toughest exercises I’ve ever done. I used to say to those wannabe tough guys, “If you think you’re tough join the Marines, join the Navy Seals, be a Boxer….just get out of my face and do some thing with your life to prove to yourself that you are tough by joining something that will give you those moments of toughness instead of bullying or posing.” Now I say if you think your tough, “TRY ELITE COMBAT FITNESS!” Although I did well on the last phase of the mountain challenge, when Shawn asked us to think of something that will motivate us to climb this mountain, I pulled a joke and replied, “… cake… I see cake… a piece of cake…” and I hauled butt all the way to the top screaming “give me some!” In all seriousness, that mountain showed me the humility to admit that I need more work to be able to call myself ELITE. I need more work to deserve it!

Lessons on the Third Day:
(a) This is ELITE COMBAT FITNESS (ECF) not AAF (ABOVE AVERAGE FITNESS)
(b) To be called ELITE is to have responsibilities for the rest of your life

At 02:00 hours, that’s 2:00 am… I woke up shaking… I didn’t have a fever but my muscles and entire body was shaking. I guess this was the part when my body was telling me we both had enough. Shawn (my man) gave such a good spill at the end of the second day that I couldn’t sleep. What Shawn said stuck in my mind, “This is the ELITE, not the above average Joe, boot camp!” I have to finish this strong. To be proud of… to be remembered… and in the end if I pass…. if I succeed… I still have big responsibilities on my shoulder to be called ELITE.

And Yes, after all those non stop drills, we all finished it strong… screaming to the end “I still got some juice” and we all earned the title of an ELITE COMBAT FITNESS Instructor.

Summary:
ECF, what happened in ECF stays in ECF. I don’t want to give out too many details because I don’t want to spoil the excitement and fun for those who are going to take the course. But what I could tell you is that although there are many times where you will have to prove yourself to the instructor, life at ECF is much easier if you do it as a TEAM. It becomes so hard that you need to motivate someone else in order to motivate yourself and vice versa. In the end, it is you who must finish it… and you can not do this if you are not sure about yourself because once you finish ECF you will not be the same person, ever. You will be one of the ELITE!

Again, thank you Moni, Shawn, and Mike… for giving us another moment to shine... and of course to all my ECF brothers for all the fun and good times.

Sincerely,

Rodrigo “Wild Man” C.
 

I just made it back (alive) from the ECF course in Los Angeles. To sum it up in one word; amazing, superb, professional, challenging, unique, fun and exciting. OK, it looks more like seven words. The course was extremely physically challenging. I could go on and on about the soreness, aches and pains but I would not want to bore you with these details. It truly was elite from day one.

I wish to express my gratitude to Shawn Mozen and Mike Diamant for their excellence in teaching and very hard work! They embodied the Elite Combat Fitness philosophy. They constantly kept up the motivation and energy of the group. I felt they were completely tuned in the group's needs for three days. Not a small feat!

The course pushed me to my physical limits and exposed my weaknesses. I had to face my weaknesses, look at them square in the eye and acknowledge them so I may now move beyond them. There is no doubt in my mind that anyone practicing CKM has to take this course, even if it is only for self improvement. Elite Combat Fitness is one piece of the puzzle and for all of you seekers out there, this piece is essential to complete the puzzle. And if you are reading this forum, you are one of them. I know that my CKM training will evolve with the knowledge I acquired over the past three days. I am already a different person.

Erik H
Level 2 CKM Instructor
ECF Elite Trainer

Day 2 of my post recovery from the ECF Instructor Course and my body is still in recovery mode. I just wanted to thank Shawn and Mike for inspiring, motivating, and guiding us along the way. You guys believed in us, especially after the Day-2. I think everyone in my class would agree that we've all discovered something new within ourselves. I personally think that if I didn't pass the course, I would have to think long and hard whether to retake the course or not. Every time I think of the 3.5 mile Runyon Canyon hill run (ECF style), and the Suicide Mission, which should be the official "rites of passage" to ECF, I still cannot believe how I did it. Absence of the bruises from CKM Instructor Course, ECF is brutally challenging, physically and mentally as well, at least for me it was. There was a brief moment during the suicide mission where the word "quit" crossed my mind. I started questioning the purpose of this course to me personally. But of course I didn't quit. I kept going and drew strength from the rest of the guys and at the same time Shawn and Mike didn't stop encouraging us to keep going. Day-3 of the course is just as hard, if not the hardest, with the 30 minute endurance test doing circuits of Kettlebells and body weight exercises back to back. There's one observation that I noticed in the 3-day course....and that is, the first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of each day is the most brutally grueling part of the day, and I'm being "brutally honest". I think it was brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed.

The ECF course, just like CKM is an experience of a lifetime. It's a very humbling experience once you go through it. It will re-introduce you to yourself and you'll discover that each of us is capable of doing much, much more.

To Shawn and Mike, what can I say....you guys are the best. Moni wouldn't expect anything less from either of you. That's the reason you guys are there. Mike, one of these days I will visit and train with you in St Louis, and Shawn, I hope Moni brings you to Manhattan Beach in December for our Level 3. I will forever cherish the friendships that I've made this past weekend; Eric G, John and Kyle, my new Elite friends. Eric and Rodrigo, it was a pleasure reacquainting with you both. Hope to see you guys in December.

Andy
CKM Level 2
ECF/EKB Level 1