Combatives
KEF–IC Training
KEF–IC courses focus on principle-based learning to facilitate faster uptake and flexibility in application, so our trainees get the most value out of every short course. Our instructors’ mission is to provide you with the framework and understanding needed to develop the skills taught, as well as your existing skill sets, for effective application in self-protection or on operational duty.
Kinetic Fighting was first developed to keep soldiers alive in war zones. So, even though the KEF–IC program is tailored for use in an everyday setting under common law, the goal of the training is the same: survive, no matter what.
Your Mind Is Your
Primary Weapon
Chief Instructor Lachlan
Paul Cale
Paul has been involved with the Australian Army for 30 years, either as a soldier or a preferred contractor. For most of that time he was a member of the Special Forces (SF), serving in the 1st Commando Regiment and 4RAR Commando before he became a founding member of the 2nd Commando Regiment (2CDO) in 2009.
As a Commando, he was deployed five times on combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, and at home served as a team leader in the Tactical Assault Group, Australia’s elite anti-terror unit composed of Commandos (TAG-East) and SAS operators (TAG-West). Paul’s personal hand-to-hand combat experiences in theatres of war, and those of his fellow Commandos, have guided his development of the Kinetic Fighting system. This evolution began when, as a sergeant with 2 CDO, Paul redeveloped the Close Quarter Fighting (CQF) course for Special Forces, and co-founded the 2 CDO Integrated Combat Centre (ICC). Paul later created the Infantry Integrated Combat (IIC) course being used by the entire Australian Infantry Corps, and is now the Army’s subject-matter expert in delivering the Army Combatives Program. ACP Level 1 is compulsory training for all Australian soldiers.
In 2017, Paul was appointed Head Coach of the Australian Defence Force Martial Arts Association (ADFMAA) and continues his work enabling soldiers to develop their unarmed combat skills. Paul had previously co-founded the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Combat Centre, working as a coach and specialist consultant to the AIS. For several years he worked with Olympic combat sports teams and their embedded sports scientists, and also led the implementation of Special Forces selection methodology in several other sports including cycling and water polo.
Paul has been involved in combat sports and martial arts since the early 1980s and holds black-belt ranks in eight different systems. These include Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), Kudo Daido Juku, Kyokushin karate and three aikido styles (Yoshinkan, Tomiki and Gyokushin Ryu), as well as the Olympic combat sports of judo and taekwondo. Paul was the first Australian to earn a Kudo black-belt and was the first branch chief of the International Kudo Federation Australia (IKFA). Now, in partnership with several other high-ranking budo instructors, Paul runs an independent martial arts training and assessment body, Jissen Budo International, which has branches around Australia and the world. In 2019, Paul was awarded his 7th Degree rank by Hanshi Bryson Keenan (8th Degree Black-belt, Goju-ryu karate), one of his first instructors and also a former soldier who contributed to previous Army combatives programs.
As KEF Group’s CEO, Paul draws on his experience and that of his specialist staff to ensure Kinetic Fighting maintains its position as a world leader in close-combat and personal protection training.