COBRA Brings A Real Self-Defense Solution To A Very Dangerous Place: South Africa

Leon Myburgh Brings A Real Self-Defense Solution To One Of The Most Dangerous Countries In The World.

This months featured instructor has introduced COBRA to one of the most dangerous countries in the world, South Africa. Leon Myburgh is a former Military counter intelligence officer and a certified COBRA instructor.

The combination of Leons extensive tactical background and as a COBRA Instructor brings a real self-defense solution to a country with a reputation for wide spread crime. Talk about supply and demand. Leon realized the urgent need to offer a reality based program to the community of South Africa .

After becoming a certified COBRA instructor Leon did not hesitate to get this training into his community. Introducing COBRA , a law enforcement based training program , has given Leon a platform to reach a great deal of the adult market in South Africa.

Even with a martial arts background Leon realized something extremely important. If people are in fear of becoming a victim or have been a victim, they will not be looking to sign up for a martial arts class. The law enforcement based training COBRA offers comes straight from reality and there is no better service to offer to those who need it most.

For being an innovator and South Africa’s first COBRA training center Leon as been selected as this months featured COBRA Instructor.

Let’s take a trip to South Africa and meet Leon Myburgh.

INSTRUCTOR BIOGRAPHY

Leon Myburgh (Owner Instructor)

Leon is a former military counter intelligence officer currently employed as Protection Services Manager with a large mining group in South Africa. He enrolled for his first Goju Ryu Karate class at age 7 in 1977 and achieved provincial colors and also won the South African Junior Champion title in kumite and kata several times. At age 11, he was awarded a junior black belt (Shodan). Through the years, Leon also trained in both JKA and Shotokan styles. He holds a BA Degree and has completed University Programmes in Security and Safety Management. Leon is actively involved in community crime prevention and is the chairman of the local Community Policing Forum. Protecting other people and teaching them how to protect themselves comes as second nature to Leon and the opportunity to own a C.O.B.R.A. training facility fits his passion perfectly.

Yolanda Myburgh (Instructor)

Yolanda holds a National Diploma in Medical Technology but is also an experienced school teacher. Her passion for teaching children, coupled with the fact that children adore her, mean she is the ideal C.O.B.R.A. for Kids Instructor. Yolanda trained in the JKA Karate style and also completed her C.O.B.R.A. Instructor Certification recently. Yolanda is actively involved in the local Community Policing Forum, where she actively partakes in crime prevention patrols and has contributed to several arrests. Yolanda is the administrative officer of C.O.B.R.A. Self Defense South Africa and manages all the administrative functions of the training facility.

When and how did you start training in the self-defense / Martial Arts industry/ fitness industry?

I started training in the martial arts in 1977 at age 7 and have been involved with martial arts and the protection industry ever since. South Africa ranks top in the world in terms of violent crimes and I realized there is a definite need for quality personal self-defense training. While there are many excellent martial arts and self-defense schools in South Africa, the one major shortfall I identified was that most of these centers do not offer realistic simulation drills and knowledge about criminal behavior in order to prepare their students for real life situations. By chance, I came across the C.O.B.R.A. website and I was immediately hooked when I realized that C.O.B.R.A. offered exactly that. I therefore acquired the C.O.B.R.A. training facility in November 2014.

How has Cobra added value to your training/business?

C.O.B.R.A. offered me the opportunity to present well-structured courses that are internationally recognized. The fact that the C.O.B.R.A. system is an international brand added immediate credibility to my training facility and allowed me to distinguish myself from the “dojo around the corner” who presents their own self-defense system and who does not focus on criminal behavior and practical application of self-defense techniques. The support and marketing materials received from Chris Sutton and Mark McKay are simply outstanding. Fellow business men are truly stunned when they see the quality of materials and support received for the relatively small amount of money invested.

What are your training/business goals for the next 3 years?

I would obviously like to significantly grow my school and branch out into other cities. Although I want to grow my business, the one thing I will not compromise on is quality of training. My view is that the instructor student ratio should be kept small so as to ensure that each student can receive personal and quality attention.

I recently also purchased the C.O.B.R.A. Fighting Systems and COBRA FIT licenses and want to become the training center of choice for people wanting just a short course, those who want to continue with training on a long term basis and those who simply want to stay fit and toned.

What do you enjoy most about being a Self-Defense Instructor?

The ability to empower people to not become another crime statistic. It is very sad to see our very beautiful country become the crime capital of the world and our citizens becoming helpless victims of a minority of criminals. I believe that by empowering people, they have the ability to take a stance against crime and to send out a strong message that they refuse to become helpless victims. In a small way, I believe that I am contributing towards making South Africa the safe place it once was.

If you only had 5 minutes to train someone, what would be the most valuable survival skills you would teach them?

The two things I believe everybody should know and understand are the AAA principle and the TPM Principle. I believe that if you truly understand these and apply them, you will very seldom need to use physical techniques. The physical techniques I would teach are palm heel strike, elbow strike and knee strike. These three techniques are very easy to master yet very effective.

Describe your school, its location and all the programs you/ your staff teach.

C.O.B.R.A. Self Defense Systems South Africa is based in Bloemfontein, also known as the “City of Roses” in South Africa. We make use of three different facilities to ensure that we bring our courses to our clients, no matter where in the city they reside. As the only accredited C.O.B.R.A. training facility in South Africa, we also present our courses country wide in community training centers. We present all of our courses in English and the local language called Afrikaans. We present the following courses: