It was October 2012. My wife and I were enjoying an Italian dinner at a cozy restaurant outside
of Denver, CO. Earlier that year, through the miracle of modern science, we had celebrated the
birth of our third child, a healthy boy nicknamed “Bubba”. We happened to be back in Denver to
try for another child, praying for another little girl. You see Denver just happens to be a great
place to make babies…….. the mountain air, the ambience, and the fact that it’s home to The
Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine.
So back to the dinner. Our conversation with the waitstaff turned morbid. Earlier that year, a
deranged sicko entered a theater in the nearby suburb of Aurora and proceeded to open fire on
the patrons who were there watching “The Dark Knight Rises”. The local community was
devastated by this tragedy, and rightly so. 12 innocent lives ended, with another 70 wounded.
Our waitress was in tears as she talked about the impact to the area, and how fearful she was
going forward.
My wife and I were devastated too. Did we know any of the victims? No. But we did know the
incredible pain of loss that the families of the victims must have felt. In 2009, our beautiful little
girl Katie died in a tragic drowning accident. Her life was cut short just shy of 3 years old. The
pain of losing a child is beyond description. Your soul vomits.
So, I sat there in that Italian restaurant, wiping away tears, reliving our family’s pain, reflecting on
the grief-stricken community and feeling the fear gripping me. You can’t even go to a fucking
movie theater now without a lunatic shooting up the place???? That was my moment. Anger
replaced fear. I decided then and there that neither I, nor my loved ones, would end up being a
victim. Not on my watch. No way.
I took my first level one class at KMD on Tuesday, November 13th , 2012. Halfway through Lisa’s
class, I knew “this is the way”. Thus began my journey. I’ve spent the past 12 years of my life
trying to weaponize my body. The goal is simple. If someone attempts to harm me or my loved
ones, I want to visit upon them an overwhelming amount of violence. Check mate. I get to go
home and cuddle with my family and tuck my kids to bed. The bad guy lays in an ICU, perhaps
a morgue. Hey – he brought it on himself…
I approach the challenge of the Black Belt test with gratitude. Thank you to Pawel and all the
amazing instructors who pushed and challenged me. Lots of love to the many exceptional
training partners along the way. Kayla and Mike – I love you guys. Thank you, God, for all of the
blessings and miracles in my life. And most importantly, I thank my beautiful wife Linh for the
many years of support, and my babies Ryan, Bubba, Emma, and Katie.
On November 16th, the prologue to my Krav journey will end. To quote Winston Churchill – “This
is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps the end of the beginning.”
Kida
-Rob Wark