Dominique Olfsen recently faced a challenge against her own mind when she started Kalah Combat System instructor training.
Kalah is not a sport; it is a self-defence system that not only trains you on the physical aspects of self-defence but also trains you to develop the mindset required to survive an attack.
Many would know Olfsen as she is one of the owners of 1441 Combat, alongside Jessica Arde.
Today Olfsen is one of 10 qualified female Kalah Combat System instructors, worldwide.
Taking on the challenge
In November of 2021, Olfsen completed her black belt in Krav Maga. She then decided to attempt a pressure test with Israeli-born Idan Abolnik, founder and developer of the Kalah Combat System.
Right then and there, Olfsen and Jessica signed up for regular training in Kalah, under Idan.
Within a few months, Olfsen committed to the process of undergoing one of Kalah’s most intense training programmes to qualify as a Kalah instructor. She knew the world, especially women, needed this and she wanted to share it with more people.
The seven-day course consisted of four to six hours of gruelling training, culminating in a seven-minute test. Over the week, both your physical and mental ability is tested repeatedly.
“This week is referred to as hell week by those who have gone through it and rightly so. It takes everything inside of you to get up and do it all again the next day,” said Olfsen.
On the eighth day, she faced seven minutes of war.
“It is a true reflection of reality. Your survival instinct is pushed to the limit. Your mental fortitude is brutally measured and all I needed to do was survive.
“I remember the anxiety building before I even started. As I made it through each day, I knew what I was going to face at the end and I went to war with my mind, fighting against the negative thoughts of failure and the urge to walk away,” said Olfsen.
“Idan maintains a very high level of intensity within his training and offers nobody discounts, regardless of age or sex. Why? Because of the reality of the violence that we face.
“Kalah Combat System is the most realistic self-defence system that I have ever encountered, and no, it’s not easy! It twists your mind and takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. But it taught me so much more than just how to defend myself. It got me to understand the mind of the attacker too,” she explained.
Seven minutes of war
It was time for the final test and Olfsen’s nerves were frazzled as she had the entire day to drumroll what was going to happen. “I was scared.”
While her fear was great, the fighter inside her was greater.
“I remember sending him a text a few hours before we met on the mats and I told him that no matter what happens during that test, he must not let me quit,” she said.
“Mentally, Idan took me to a dark place, he spewed profanity and pushed all my buttons, knowing full well what my trigger points were. He handled me violently, aggressively, exactly as an attacker would. He screamed and shouted and dared me to tap out.
“By God’s grace, it was as though his voice became distant, as though I was hearing it from very far away. This helps tremendously as you’ll be surprised how your brain reacts to verbal and mental abuse,” she said.
“He was teasing me, begging me to go against my training and act from a place of emotion, but it was the fatigue and exhaustion that caught up to me really quickly. I felt like a boxer in a ring, who had taken too many knocks to the head. My head was spinning, I was seeing spots. I felt the blood draining from my face.
“God stepped in and in those final moments, while Idan spewed poison from his lips, he was encouraging me all at the same time, from a place of genuine love. He wouldn’t let me quit. He said what he knew he had to to make me keep moving, and I did. I finished, I passed,” said Olfsen.
Lessons learnt
“Idan has taught me so much, the thinking behind not just my own behaviour but that of the attacker too. It has changed my perception regarding self-defence and what that actually means. It has taught me to think very differently but most of all it has taught me to survive,” she added.
This course changed Olfsen’s life and made her a much stronger person. “The instructor inside of me is very different now, compared to the one that I was before this training.”
She is now ready to share her knowledge with others and to teach others about the Kalah Combat System.
“We as women need to stop being afraid and seemingly helpless. There comes a time in your life when you have to say, enough. Enough of the stuff you don’t want to tolerate, enough of the stuff that doesn’t make you feel good about yourself. Enough of the stuff that drags you down.
“Rise up! It is a conscious decision to step into the life you were meant to live. Only you can stop that which you no longer want to tolerate,” she added.
1441 Combat now also offers Kalah Combat Training for men and women and those interested can contact Olfsen on 071 604 4078 or Jess Arde on 083 501 4761.
There is also a lot of information on their website and on their Facebook page.
