A logical question: What makes Via De Custos different, and how did it come to exist? ~ The answer is simple: Necessity. Unique drills, brutally effective striking and grappling, practical curriculum, Functional Strength Training and no filler or fluff. Real life experience is the foundation of this system. I am a perfectionist, good is simply not good enough. The desire to protect those I love was my driving force, it tempered my will.

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Regarding combat, you don't get to dictate how a threat will attack, the numbers involved, the skill level or training they possess, their intentions or rules of engagement, weapons and more... there is no room for impractical training. Through a very methodical approach using trial and error; I developed drills, training methods and strategies to fortify what I observed were missing or insufficient elements in many systems. Materials developed that surpassed expectations, a portion of the curriculum I had been taught during my twenty years of formal training in martial arts was rejected, and replaced with what had proven to be effective - diverging heavily from where I had started. Melding of the old and new, forged a powerful synergy.

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Experience was the most rewarding, least forgiving, greatest teacher I ever had. First hand knowledge of what did and did not work, paid for in sweat and blood - no exaggeration. Long before Hammerforge was dreamt, by venturing off the beaten path I had (unintentionally) taken the first steps in forging a new way. Hammerforge offers a one of a kind training experience - words are cheap, so come see for yourself instead.