by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Richard Dimitri

Age: 34

Occupation: Senshido instructor

Bio: This big, bold, bouncy Brossard buck is world-renowned in martial arts/streetfighting circles for his unique "reality based" self-defence/confrontation management system, Senshido. A form of hand-to-hand combat that addresses "real life situations," Senshido differs from other self-defence systems in that it "pays close attention to the psycho-dynamics of violence." A former bodyguard for film stars and various assorted big shots, Richard instructs cops, bouncers, amateur fighters and plenty of McGill and Concordia students how to diffuse potentially violent situations, and, should that fail, how to make anyone bold enough to mess with you wish they'd never been born. He drives a 2003 Ford Mustang GT.

How he learned his street fighting skills: The hard way. "Experience is a wonderful teacher. We have a saying based on an old Arab proverb and it goes, ‘Ask the experienced, not the learned.'"

What the hey inspires somebody to devote their entire career to developing a better way of beating people up? "I was fighting personal demons when I first got involved in this and just needed to do something to… express myself, if you will. I was self-destructive, and having ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder] also helped. In the end though, it's all sort of paid off for me."

How he deals with violent mega-tards who want to learn Senshido for the sole purpose of hurting people? By not accepting them into his centre. "Everyone is screened."

Do the police officers he trains invariably ask to be taught new methods of really, really hurting people without leaving marks? No.

Something he's conducting on June 27: A rape prevention seminar at his Ste-Catherine W. centre. "We go over the psychological components and demystify rape completely. It's actually not one of my more popular seminars because I think so many people are in denial, basically not wanting to face the fact that rapists are out there. But they are." Go to www.senshido.com for the full 411.

Does he honestly believe some lithe chick with a bit of Senshido training can adequately defend herself against a 250-pound nutcase with a raging boner and a maniacal need to feel empowered at her expense? "Absolutely. There's an entire psychology behind rape. Rapists don't expect you to fight back - especially if you seem passive and submissive. But remember, rape happens in very close quarters, where a man's vitals are very close to a woman's tools. An attacker's guard is generally low and his ego very high - rape is about power, after all. So if she remains calm [and pretends she's somewhat okay with what's goin' down] and then suddenly, while perhaps caressing his hair, let's say, jams her thumb an inch into his skull through his eye socket, well, it's game over for him. But there are many, many effective ways a woman can defend herself."

Last book read: Watch My Back, by Geoff Thompson.

Musical preferences: Insane Clown Posse, the Doors.

Words of wisdom: "You're born, and you know you're going to die, so what are you doing in between?"

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca