Led Zeppelin to SPEAR: SPEARway to Heaven
If you’ve never watched Heart play Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center Honors for the remaining members of Led Zeppelin, do it.
Robert Plant’s eyes well up. Jimmy Page — iconic, untouchable — is completely absorbed. You can see he’s in it. If you close your eyes and just listen, it’s the same song — same chords, same notes, same melody — but it’s theirs.
If you haven’t watched this yet, click here and experience it then read the rest of the article.
I’ve been a Led Zeppelin fan my whole life. I had front row tickets to see them in Montreal when I was young. John Bonham passed away, the tour was canceled. I never got to see them live — watching this performance decades later, and watching their reaction had a real emotional impact on me.
It made me realize that respect, integrity, and authenticity was real and that became the standard I set for my instructors:
If you can make the guys who wrote Stairway to Heaven cry when you do their song — you nailed it.
Heart made the song their own, but they respected the authors, the notes, the structure. They didn’t turn it into something unrecognizable. That’s exactly how SPEAR must be taught and practiced.
Lesson for everyone: Respect the source, and bring your authentic self to the material. Whether it’s self-defense, business, or life — authenticity matters most when it’s rooted in fundamentals.
There Should Be as Many Systems as There Are People Training
I believe there should be as many self-defense systems in the world as there are people practicing self-defense — provided the system is based on the central nervous system, on neurobiology, on psychology, on kinesiology.
This idea is huge. It only works if what you’re learning honors the human mind and body. True survival skills must be rooted in neurobiology, kinesiology, and psychology. If not, it's mostly just choreography. Which is why you never see John Wick type movements during real violence.
How you avoid danger will look different than me. How you run or hide will be unique to you. How you defuse will be shaped by your voice, your words, your experience. How you defend yourself will be shaped by your size, your attributes. This is what I mean by there should be as many systems as there are people training.
Lesson for everyone: No two people handle stress the same way. But principles — clarity, courage, preparation — are universal. Start there.
The Chords, the Notes, the Melody
Non-violent postures are the chords.
The SPEAR form are the notes.
The whole form together is the melody.
If you’re going to teach, you must play those chords clean. You must hit those notes. You must play the melody so it’s recognizably SPEAR.
If you f*** it up, it doesn’t sound like SPEARway to Heaven. It sounds like noise (or a copy).
And if you’re a student who just wants to protect yourself, you still need to learn the notes and the chords — the basics. You don't need to play at the Kennedy Center.
Lesson for everyone: Whatever your craft is — learn the scales. You can’t improvise until you’ve got clean fundamentals.
SPEAR Is a Bridge
Your startle flinch will deploy whether you want it to or not. That's your survival system trying to buy you a moment of safety. You may still need to fight after that.
That’s why I call SPEAR a bridge:
If you box, you can transition and start punching.
If you clinch, you can turn it into a takedown.
If you kick, you can create space and launch a counter.
If you’re carrying, index and transition (remember force must parallel danger).
I don’t care if you’re a boxer, a grappler, a kicker, a cop, or you’ve done jiu-jitsu for 900 years — SPEAR will help get you to your next move faster, safer. That’s why it’s a bridge, not a cage.
Lesson for everyone: The flinch is life’s airbag. It buys you a second. What you do with that second is everything.
Scales, Every Day
You don’t get to play Stairway to Heaven on stage without practicing the scales.
In SPEAR, your “scales” are:
Non-violent postures
Fingers splayed, Outside 90
Half SPEAR / tactical SPEAR contact, structure, indexing
Closest weapon, closest target
Threat discrimination in a snapshot
Off-balance on-purpose reps
De-escalation reps following the Trojan Horse and the Choice Speech Protocol
Applying ASAP: Awareness is impacted by the suddenness, aggression, and proximity of your opponent.
Bruce Lee never stopped doing his scales. He was a martial artist, philosopher, and scientist all rolled into one — but underneath it all, he practiced. Every great fighter, every great musician, every great protector has this in common: they keep their fundamentals sharp.
Lesson for everyone: World-class performers don’t just show up. They practice their scales, every day, until mastery feels natural.
Instructor or Protector — The Contract Is the Same
If you want to teach, you need to be able to [metaphorically] play Stairway to Heaven — clean chords, clear melody, unmistakably SPEAR. If you want to protect yourself, you still need to play it — maybe not on stage, but well enough that in the chaos of real violence, it’s there.
Either way, you don’t get there by loving the idea of the system. You get there by doing the work.
Ready to Train the Scales?
Come play for real. Stop reading and start doing the work.
Some people might think the name SPEARway to Heaven sounds corny. But I’ve been using this performance as a metaphor since 2012, when Heart played Stairway to Heaven at the Kennedy Center and Robert Plant’s eyes welled up. Back then, when I was training people how to teach the SPEAR System®, I’d say, “I want to be able to sneak into your class and watch you teach the SPEAR System® — and I want my eyes to water like Robert Plant’s because I’m so proud of how you’ve made the music come to life, and how you’re passing this method on to other good humans.”
I’ve devoted my life to studying violence, fear, and aggression, and have spent over 30 years teaching others how to teach and manage it. The best example I can show them is Heart’s rendition of Stairway to Heaven. One time in a lecture I said, “Let me see your version of SPEARway to Heaven.” Everyone laughed — and it stuck. Corny or not, if you’re part of this community, you know exactly what it means.
The metaphor for SPEARway to Heaven is bigger than some cute play on words. It’s a powerful message, and many of you who follow the KNOW FEAR® podcast or have trained with me have heard me do my rant live. It has traction. It’s much bigger than a class. Every rep you do right makes you — and the people you protect — safer. And that’s our mission. That’s our vision. We are here to make good humans safer, sooner. And that starts with you playing your song like it matters.
Lesson for everyone: You don’t need to be an instructor to live this. Every rep you do makes you — and your family — safer.
To your safety,
Coach B
LIMITED RELEASE
SPEARway to Heaven Tee
Inspired by my lifelong love of Led Zeppelin, this pre-sale is a one-time-only run.
✅ To my SPEAR Trainers: this tee is your badge — proof you’ve earned the right to “play the song” with authenticity.
Not a trainer? No problem. Wear the philosophy. It’s your insider nod — 99% won’t catch it, but those who do will know exactly what it means. (Yes, there are knock-offs out there. This is the original.)
Pre-sale ends Friday. After that, the price goes up and this run may never repeat.
Pre-Sale Price: $34 (Retail: $40 starting Saturday)
👉 Pre-order now. Train the scales. Play it real.
