Than 'good Guys' Are At Self-defense. - Snake Blocker

Vol. IV, No. 1
“More ‘bad guys’ have become better fighters
than ‘good guys’ are at self-defense.”
DISPATCH FROM
‘THE DEADLIEST WARRIOR’
ON DESERT DEPLOYMENT
Snake Blocker trains U.S. Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, and Special Ops. He is now on the third deployment
to Iraq/Kuwait/Afghanistan with the U.S. Naval Expeditionary Combat Command. A recognized authority
on Military Close Quarters Combat (MCQC), an expert Apache knife fighter and a former Muay Thai World
Champion, Snake was interviewed for MUAY THAIMES ® by Ajarn Clint Heyliger, Executive Director of
United States Muay Thai Association, uniting America’s First People through Muay Thai.
ANCESTRAL HERITAGE
Q: For those of us who don’t know you, and I am sure you get this from many, how did you get
the name Snake Blocker?
A: I’m Apache Native American (Lipan Apache Band). My parents loved animals and they
loved to watch the rooster cock fights on the reservation. So they originally wanted to call
me Cock Blocker. But it just didn’t sound right. So they went with Snake Blocker (j/k).
Snake told the crew of ‘Deadliest Warrior’ that he kept a pet
rattlesnake in his youth. Here is a photo of ‘Phantom’, a 10 ft. Burmese Rock Python,
from his Family Album. Snake also kept company with a Black Russian Wolf Hybrid,
a Diamond Back Rattlesnake, two Piranhas, a Black Widow, a Mongus Spider, a
4 ft. Nile Monitor, a Scorpion, and a Spilatus-Spilatus snake.
MUAY THAIMES 77

Why is my name Snake? The Apaches believe the snake to be a very misunderstood creature by many. It is not to be thought
of as a representation of evil, but rather as a symbol of strength. By shedding its skin, the snake symbolizes change in the cycle
of birth, life, death, and eternal life. It counts among its strengths the power of creation; the power of sexuality; the power to
know one’s self; as well as the power of transformation. Snake-people are rare, because they come into contact with poison
in their experience and have been able to transform the poison in their bodies into something harmless. The snake belongs to
the element of fire, which causes desire and passion in both the physical and spiritual realms, creating a connection with God
(Usen) and wisdom. Whenever the snake appears in your dreams, it is a sign of change as you come ever closer to your destiny
and true goals. The snake is also used to mark rivers. Snake-people flow and adapt like a river. The snake is also associated
with flashes of lightning, as both are feared for their speed and deadly power. Very few Apaches are given this name, because
of the meaning attached to it.
Q: How many different branches of the Apache people are
there?
A:
78
1. Apacheis de Nabaju/Navajo Apaches (Dine Tribal
Group).
2. Arivipa Apaches (Band).
3. Bedonkohe Apaches (Band).
4. Casadore Apaches (Band).
5. Chokonen Apaches (Band).
6. Chiricahua Apaches (Regional Group) – The Chiricahua
Apaches lived in southwestern New Mexico, southeastern
Arizona, and the adjacent Mexican states of Chihuahua
and Sonora. The Chiricahua Apaches were the fiercest of
all tribal groups. They constantly raided along the borders
of Mexico.
7. Cibecue Apaches (Sub-Band) – The Cibecue Apaches
were cousins of the White Mountain Apaches.
8. Coyotero Apache (Band)
9. Cuelgahen Nde Lipan (Lipon) Apaches (Sub-Band) – The
Cuelgahen Nde Lipan Apaches are a Sub-Band of the
Lipan Apaches. They lived primarily in Texas.
10. Hoyero Apaches (Sub-Band) – Hoyero means “The
Mountain People.” The Hoyero Apaches are a Sub-Band
of the Jicarilla Apaches.
11. Jicarilla-Tinde Apaches (Regional Group) – The Jircarilla-
Tinde Apaches live primarily in New Mexico today, but
they roamed from central and eastern Colorado into
western Oklahoma and as far as Estancia in New Mexico.
Jicarilla comes from the Mexican/Spanish word meaning
“Little Basket.”
Apache Ceremony courtesy of http://www.FirstPeople.us.
MUAY THAIMES
Vol. IV, No. 1

12. Kiowa-Gataka Apaches (Regional Group) – The Kiowa Apaches were Plains Indians. Kiowa Apaches were also
known as the Gataka Nation of Native Americans. They lived mostly in the plains of west Texas, Oklahoma and
eastern New Mexico at the time of the arrival of Europeans (“Pale Face”). The Kiowas originated in the northern
basin of the Missouri River but migrated south to the Black Hills around 1650 and lived there with the Crow. They
were pushed southward by the invading Cheyennes and Sioux, who were being pushed out of their lands in the
Great Lake regions by the Objiwe tribes. The Kiowa Warriors moved down the Platte River basin to the Arkansas
River area. There they fought with the Comanches, who already occupied the land. Around 1790, the two groups
made an alliance and agreed to share the area. From that time on, the Comanches and Kiowa Warriors formed
a deep bond – they hunted, traveled, and made war together. An additional group, the Plains Apache (also called
Kiowa Apache), also affiliated with the Kiowas at this time. The Kiowa Warriors were notorious for long distance
raids, as far north as Canada, and as far south as Mexico. The US Government and the Kiowa entered into the
“Treaty of Medicine Lodge of 1867.” The Kiowa agreed to settle on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. Some
bands of Kiowa Warriors remained at large until 1875. On August 6, 1901, Kiowa land in Oklahoma was opened for
white (“Pale Face”) settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation. The Kiowa Apache were a small
group of Athabascan (Apachean) speaking people. Although their common name is derived from the erroneous
belief that they were a detached band of Apaches from New Mexico and Arizona, their myths and oral history tell
of a northern home, probably near the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, when they were an independent tribe
with north and south divisions. They called themselves “Naishandina”, which in the Kiowa language meant “our
people”. Many hostile tribes became affiliated with the Kiowas for mutual protection. The original Kiowa language
is a bit different from the language of contemporary Apaches. The Kiowa Apaches were first mentioned in European
records under the name “Gattacka” by the French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, around1681.
In 1719, Jean Baptiste Bénard de La Harpe referred to them as “Quataquois” and reported them living in connection
with the Tawakonis and other members of the Wichita confederacy in a village on the Cimarron River near its
junction with the Arkansas, in the area of present Oklahoma. In 1853, they were mentioned as a warlike band
roaming the Canadian valley alongside the Comanches. In the late 1800’s, the Kiowa Apaches only numbered 325.
In 1892, a severe measles epidemic killed a quarter of their numbers. By 1905, they numbered only 155. With the
break-up of the Oklahoma reservations, the town of Apache in Caddo County, became the tribal center. By 1933
the Kiowa Apaches numbered around 100.
Vol. IV, No. 1
13. Llanero Apaches (Sub-Band) – Llanero means “Plains People.” The Llanero Apaches are a Sub-Band of the
Jicarilla Apaches.
14. Mescalero-Faraon Apaches (Regional Group) – “Mescalero,” to the Spanish, meant “Mescal Cactus Eaters.” Today,
the Mescalero Apaches primarily live on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in south central New Mexico. The
Mescalero lived off the land, eating roasted wild mescal plants and hunting wild game. The mescal cactus provided
fiber as food and water to drink.
15. Mimbreno Chiricahua Apaches (Sub-Band).
16. Mojave Apaches (Band).
17. Nednhi Apaches (Band).
18. Mimbreno Chiricahua Apaches (Sub-Band).
19. Mojave Apaches (Band).
20. Ojo Caliente Apaches (Band).
21. San Carlos Apaches (Band).
22. Tcihende Mimbres Apaches (Band).
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23. Lipan (Lipon) Apaches (Regional
Group) – Lipan Apaches were known by
many names: Lipajenne, Lipanes de
Arriba, Lipanes de Abajo, Ipande, Apache
de los Llanos (meaning “The Tall Grass
People”), Nide (“Buffalo Hunters”) and
Eastern Apaches. The Lipan name was
adapted from the word “Ipa-n’de” and the
word “N’de” (meaning “People”). These
Apache tribes designated themselves
with the word “Náizhan” (meaning “Ours”
or “Our Kind”). At various periods of the
18th and 19th centuries, they roamed
from the lower Rio Grande in New
Mexico and Mexico eastward through
Texas to the Gulf Coast. They gained
a livelihood by depredations against
other tribes and especially against the
white settlements of Texas and Mexico.
The name has probably been employed
to include other Apache groups of the
southern Plains, such as the Mescaleros
and the Kiowa Apache. The Franciscan
mission of San Saba was established
among the Lipan in Texas in 1757, but
it was soon destroyed by their enemies,
the Comanche and Wichita. In 1761-
62, the missions of San Lorenzo and
Candelaria were also founded, but
these met a like fate in 1767. In 1805,
the Lipan were reported to be divided
into 3 bands, numbering 300, 350, and
100 men, respectively. This apparently
gave rise to their subdivision by Orozco
N. Berra in 1864 into the Lipajenne,
Lipanes de Arriba, and Lipanes de Abajo.
In 1849, under Apache Leader Castro,
they sided with the Texans against the
Comanche. They were always friendly
with their congeners, the Mescaleros,
and with the Tonkawa after 1855 but
were enemies of the Jicarillas and the
Ute. Between 1845 and 1850, they
suffered severely in the Texan Wars,
who’s purpose was the extermination
of the Apaches within the Texas border.
Most of them were driven into Coahuila,
Mexico. They resided in the Santa Rosa
mountains with the Kickapoo and other
refugee tribes until the last 19 survivors
were taken to northwestern Chihuahua
in October of 1903. They were taken
by the United States government in
early 1905 and placed on the Mescalero
reservation in New Mexico. By the end
of 1905, they numbered about 25 and
began making more rapid progress
toward civilization than their neighbors.
MUAY THAIMES
In addition, there were one or two Lipan
Apaches with the 54 Tonkawa, under
the Ponca, Pawnee, and Oto agency, at
the Oakland reservation. Some Lipans
were with the Kiowa Apache in the same
territory, making the total population
about 35. The Lipan resemble the other
Apache in all important characteristics.
They were often known under the
designation “Cancy” and “Chanze” from
the French form of the word “Caddo”
and collectively named “Kä’ntsi” for the
Eastern Apache tribes.
Vol. IV, No. 1

24. Tonto Apaches (Band).
25 Northern Tonto Apaches (Sub-Band).
26. Southern Tonto Apaches (Sub-Band).
27. Warm Springs Apaches (Sub-Band).
28. Western-Pinal Coyotero Apaches (Regional Group) – The Western Apaches/Pinal Coyotero Apaches covered parts
of Arizona, which included some White Mountain Apaches, Cibuecue Apaches, San Carlos Apaches, Northern Tonto,
and Southern Tonto Apache Bands/Sub-Bands. They are reputed by tradition to have been the first of the Apaches to
have penetrated below the Little Colorado among the Pueblo peoples, with whom they intermarried. They occupied
the country from the San Francisco mountains to the Gila, until they were subdued by General Crook in 1873.
29. White Mountain-Coyoteros Apaches (Band)
30. White Mountain Eastern Apaches (Sub-Band)
31. Yavapai Apache (Band)
32. Yuma Apaches (Band)
Vol. IV, No. 1
Photo courtesy of http://www.FirstPeople.us.
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82
“Many MMA type instructors have put most of their focus
on the external, and they have lost the internal.”
OLD SCHOOL MATRICULATION IN MUAY THAI
Q: You have trained in Muay Thai for several years. Did you train in Thailand?
A: My Thai Boxing training primarily comes from various instructors, some of whom have trained and fought in Thailand.
I’ve been able to see many live Muay Thai fights. I’ve watched many Thai Boxing training videos and studied old Thai
Boxing books from Thailand. I’ve been invited to Thailand 5 times, but I’ve only been able to do two trips to Thailand
thus far, due to my military obligations. During my last trip to Thailand, I was invited to do demos and teach some Thai
Boxing classes at the Thai public schools (high school and college level). I also had the privilege to teach at a Thai
Orphanage.
Snake Blocker on the Left.
Thailand is a beautiful country. I spent some time in Bangkok and Yala (southern Thailand) both times. The highlights
of Thailand for me are visiting the Emerald Bhudda museum and several other sacred museums; going to the Snake/
Alligator Farm show in Bangkok; riding an elephant in the jungles of Yala; visiting the Queen of Thailand’s summer
home; seeing bats flying around at night and monkeys waking me up in the morning; swimming and riding a Sea-Doo
in the Gulf of Thailand; meeting the locals and helping the children.
MUAY THAIMES
Vol. IV, No. 1

Vol. IV, No. 1
Thai fighters are great to train with, because of their pain tolerance and their speed. They are natural
fighters, and I love their attitude. They have “heart.” The big difference between Thai Boxing in Thailand
and Western style is the use of elbows and knees to the face.
In 1993, I met up with Rod Kei (a Native American), who had won a victory in Thailand. The audience was
so outraged that they began to throw their folding chairs into the ring. He had to be escorted out by the Thai
Police. Thai people hate it when their locals lose on home ground. Rod Kei was the first American to win
the French World Cup for Savate/Boxe Francaise (French Kickboxing) in France. His other two titles were
from W.K.A. and K.I.C.K. Association. Kru Rod Kei was my roommate when I lived in Rowland Heights,
California. He and I opened up the Academy of Martial Arts in Palos Verdes, California in 1996. We also
both worked as personal trainers at Bally’s Total Fitness in Torrance, California, where I was the Service
Supervisor in 1993. Upon Rod Kei’s retirement, he was rated 4 th in the World in Muay Thai by the Muay Thai
Kickboxing Association. His 1 st Muay Thai Instructor was Kru Victor Vachai and his corner-man was Master
Toddy. Rod’s training partners were Multi-World Muay Thai Champion Maurice Smith, Featherweight World
Champion Victor Solier, and Multi-Arts Multi-World Champion Peter “Sugarfoot” Cunningham. Rod fought
professionally in Thailand, Mexico, Canada, Korea, France, and the U.S.A.
COMBAT AT CLOSE QUARTERS
Q: What can you tell us about your military service?
A: I joined the U.S. Navy in June 2001 and was authorized to teach Military Close Quarters Combat (MCQC)
with a focus on Muay Thai and knife combat techniques. I remember one of my old Senior Chiefs telling me a
story of his tour in Thailand. He was under Military Orders to do Joint Operations with the Thai Navy. Late one
night, the main Thai officer took my Senior Chief out on a walk to inspect his vessel and crew. As they turned
a corner on the ship, the Thai officer spotted one of the sailors asleep on his post. The Thai officer pulled out
his pistol, pointed it at this sailor’s head and blew his brains out. My Senior Chief was in shock. The officer
got out his cell phone and began to yell in Thai. Afterwards, my Senior Chief asked what that was all about.
The officer replied “You do not fall asleep in the Thai Navy.”
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Q: You have trained in several CQC methods. Which do you prefer, or which would you say would most closely match with
your Native system?
A: I incorporate Apache Knife Fighting & Battle Tactics whenever I teach MCQC to the troops. I prefer the Boxing, Kickboxing,
and Weapons training portion of the MCQC curriculum, because it prepares the person for multiple attackers, which is
a realistic scenario in combat.
Q: It is believed that Native Americans were experts in CQC and that even the U.S. military, during the early period of
expansion, were told not to take them on in hand to hand fighting. Every native youth was a master with the blade in
comparison to the typical European foot soldiers of the same generation. Do you agree with this assessment?
A: Some warriors were far better than others. In general, though, the Apaches dominated when it came to CQC, because
they used the “element of surprise” to their advantage. They knew the terrain far better, and they knew how to track.
Q: In your judgment, what would you say that the Native American fighter of the past has passed on to the fighting soldier
of today?
A: The art of guerilla warfare and stealth.
Q: Would you say that the loss of native American CQC, grappling and ground fighting techniques, which were once passed
down from generation to generation, has been detrimental to American Martial Arts?
A: I can only speak for the Apaches. It has not been lost but is endangered and is going extinct. I’m doing more research to
record these tactics, which are still passed down in limited numbers, and I’m encouraged every time I learn more about
my culture and battle tactics of the past. In the near future, you will be hearing about more of these tactics.
MUAY THAIMES
Vol. IV, No. 1

“When you look at other countries’ military, many of them
have much more intense CQC training than the U.S. Military.”
Q: This may appear to be a strange question, and it may take a bit of thought to answer, however I am interested to hear your
thoughts on this. There are some revivalists of the “Old Ways”, some native teachers digging into the past to protect the future,
finding and reviving some of the old Martial Arts of the nations and bringing it forward into a world that is now comfortable with
deadly Martial Arts. Would you describe yourself and those like you as a protector of the past and a teacher for the future?
A: I see myself as an historian, trying to clarify misconceptions about the Apaches and how they survived all these years. I am
excited to open the minds of a new generation, and I’m proud to be a part of these discoveries. Many Apaches have their own
stories, which I want to share with the “Pale Face” community. The Lipan Apache Tribe is recognized by the state of Texas. We
have a museum in Texas. See http://www.lipanapache.org. I am a direct descendant of Lipan Chief Capitan Santiago Lurano
De La Cruz, who was born on August 18, 1764.
Q: As a hands-on instructor, do you believe that today’s combat soldier has gained from the Martial Arts systems around?
A: The plus side is that Martial Arts are extremely popular, due to the UFC and the movie industry. More people than ever are
training in it. Muay Thai and BJJ have gained the most popularity. The down side is that many MMA type instructors have
put most of their focus on the external, and they have lost the internal. This means their classes are all about conditioning
and sparring. They’ve forgotten about Respect, Honor, Courage, and Discipline. They’ve neglected to teach students to be
role model citizens and mentors to children. Martial Arts or any other combat program should teach its students to control their
anger. Don’t take drugs. Don’t drink, smoke or take steroids. And always show respect to your teachers and fellow students,
among other ethical teachings. Balance should be taught to all practitioners.
Q: Are we better mentally equipped to handle the “bad guys” out there than before?
A: I would have to say that more “bad guys” have become better fighters than “good guys” are at self-defense. But I hope
I’m wrong.
Q: Do you think that the military needs to upgrade or re-think its individual ‘hand to hand’ weapons arsenal for the foot soldier?
A: Yes. When you look at other countries’ military, many of them have much more intense CQC training than the U.S.
Military. Some units have very good instructors, but the majority of U.S. troops do not get adequate CQC training.
Q: I see that you have produced a fighting blade series for CQC. How much of these blades are from the past? Can you tell us a
little more about these?
A: On September 11 2009, TOPS Knives released the 4 th signature Snake Blocker knife. Mike Fuller, President of TOPS
knives and Snake Blocker got together to make a practical and tactical fixed blade for the military and martial arts community.
This knife is called ‘Apache Falcon’ by Snake Blocker...a 12 inch overall length and a 6¼ inch blade make it ideal for CQC
tactics. With a slight curve on the handle, it has the ideal grip for saber or reverse grip. See http://www.topsknives.com and
click on ‘Apache Falcon’ under ‘New Products.’ These products represent the simple style of the old, along with higher quality
material for durability, sharpness, and grip from the present.
Vol. IV, No. 1
MUAY THAIMES 85