Frequently Asked Questions

  • A principle-based framework for life under pressure, built around the Five Pillars — Balance, Structure, Breath, Intent, Connection. It is not a collection of techniques. It is the thinking underneath effective movement, self-protection, and teaching.

  • No. Styles change with culture, body type, and trends. Principles do not. BareBones gives you a lens to see what is missing in your own training and return to it under pressure — whatever style or background you come from.

  • No. BareBones is for complete beginners who want pressure-tested foundations, and for practitioners who have trained for years and still feel something is missing. Same framework, different entry point.

  • The Framework is the thinking — the Five Pillars and the principles underneath the work. The Toolkit is the hard-skills side — simple, stripped-back combatives actions trained under pressure. The Toolkit is the vehicle. The Framework is the way. You need both for either to hold up.

  • No. The Instructor Pathway is not a belt system and not a shortcut to authority. It exists for people who want to understand, embody, apply, and eventually teach the principles responsibly — not to collect another logo.

  • It runs Foundations Graduate → Apprentice Instructor → Full Instructor → Mentor Instructor. It is framework-first. We are not creating fighters — we are developing people who can understand, embody, apply, and teach this work responsibly.

  • It depends where you are starting from and how much time you can put in. Email us and we will talk through what that looks like for you.

  • Raw Combatives is the in-person class taught at Raw Life Australia in Rowville, Victoria. BareBones Combatives is the broader principle-based framework behind it, developed for instructors and practitioners more widely, including internationally.

  • Both. Jim teaches the Foundations Course and Instructor Pathway in person, including internationally, and is open to hosting enquiries. Get in touch to talk about what fits.

  • Email us and we will talk you through it based on where you are starting from and what you are after.

  • Yes. Get in touch through the contact page and we will work out the details.

  • Martial artists who want clearer principles beneath their practice. Combatives and self-protection instructors who want a stronger teaching lens. Coaches who work with pressure, performance, and decision-making. Practitioners who want less decoration and more truth. And beginners who want simple, pressure-tested foundations.