God, Guns, & Grappling - Dangerous But Good [DBG]

Jaron Smitih
Apr 19
5 min read

The following article will highlight my experience at a recent event facilitated by Dangerous But Good. For reference, DBG is a company that believes in Faith, Family, & Freedom. DBG offers products such as Tee Shirts, Hats, Leather Bibles, and other amazing cool accessories.

Backstory: I have been affiliated with DBG for about 2 years now. I am an ambassador for the brand, so if you're interested in purchasing some products, then you can use my discount code RYGT10 for a 10% discount. Though I am an ambassador, I paid the same amount as any other attendee because I believe in supporting those that I respect. I mean, I would expect the same for anyone attending any of my courses or purchasing my products. By the way - New Merch from RYGT is coming soon!

Now, let's break down the day. It was a beautiful, overcast day in Collierville, TN. The date was April 18, 2026. It was 7:00 a.m. CST, and I arrived at the dojo where we would begin the day.

Session 1 (JABO):

Jason "Jabo" Long is the Director of Training, and I'm sure wears other hats with Guild Solutions Group. For context, their company structures training for the LE or MIL personnel. Jabo started the day with warming up on the mat. We performed a series of exercises to loosen our joints from head to toe. It was a great opportunity to understand what it means to be intentional. After the warm-up, we returned to our seats to learn about resilience. A couple of takeaways from the session were as follows.

Who is the real you? Who are you sharing with the world?
1. We often find ourselves sharing various pieces of ourselves with others based on setting, relationship, obligation, etc. I had to question myself by realizing there are even some parts locked away that I choose not to share with anyone because it's something that many of us hide... That would be the "Ugly Truth".
Are you the "bad" C4 or the "good" C4?
1. Jabo discussed how C4 could be a negative and a positive. He provided context for each perspective. I would share what those are, but that's not fair to do publicly. So, if you're curious then you can email me, and we can discuss. It was eye-opening though.

To sum it up: Jabo shared a piece of his heart at the end. He opened the door of his heart to express a significant moment in time that encouraged and empowered him to choose better. We all have these moments that we return to as a reminder of the guiding force to do better.

Session 2 (Hit the Mat, Literally):

The next session was facilitated by Ben Sharp, Eric McMahon, and a professional MMA fighter by the name of Matt (I forgot his last name), but he was an expert. This was a new arena for me. No lie, when we were preparing to start, I scanned the room to see that many of the men attending were wearing Jiu Jitsu apparel from their respective gyms or dojos. Yep, I thought I was going to get pummeled. I was grateful to be paired with Silas. Silas shared so much advice and wisdom when we were learning the different grappling techniques. If you're wondering, this guy was strong, but he said I was too, so yeah. I'm strong, ha. In seriousness, it was amazing to learn how simple techniques can "encourage" a person to comply when applied correctly. By attacking specific areas of the body, you can make even the biggest guy hug the ground, but it requires intentional and quick movements to work.

Session 3 (Daniel Grose):

Daniel led a session discussing how we should work toward 3 areas as men. Integrity, Mission, and Processes were the 3 areas that we should focus on to be or become great men. Let's discuss each area based on my life.

Integrity - Let's first understand what the word even means. Webster will say, "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values." This means that whether someone is or is not watching, you vow to adhere to the expressed code, pact, etc. What does this mean in my life? It means that being a man is about me and not about me at the same time. Okay, you may be a little confused. It's about me because if I do not do the work to be the man, or son of God that I should be for those around me, then I'm losing in life. There are people who look to me on purpose for purpose, so I have to be intentional about doing the necessary thing. It's not about me because I do not believe that I was placed on this earth solely for me. I was placed here to fulfill purpose for those that I encounter.

Mission - In life, there are 2 missions. There's God's primary mission for us, and there are side quests along the way. Having a mission gives us a foundation to develop, refine, grow, change, and whatever is needed to work toward. If you're not working toward anything, then why are you even breathing bro (or sis)?

Processes - Life is all about processes. The cars we drive, the places we work, the daily things we do all require some form of steps to complete. Having processes within life gives us the space to know what we're doing. Again, if you do not have some steps to help you along the way, then you risk wandering aimlessly through life, and, honestly, missing the mark. Do not miss the mark because you're too stubborn or prideful to work out your inability to accept that you must grow and evolve.

Session 4 (Davis and Chad):

The final session was the live-fire session. Of course, I was ready for this session, and I was glad because it allowed me to stay engaged throughout the day. Davis led the session. Chad assisted Davis to ensure that we were all safe on the line. Davis performed really well with his processes to educate on firearms handling and weapon manipulation. As an instructor, or a Facilitator of Learning (thanks Jabo), I try my best to approach any firearms session as a learner because there is always opportunity for growth. We performed a series of tasks and drills with the "El Prez" as the final course of fire. Oh, thank God for videos because when running the El Prez, I did something weird that made me like "Huh?" From what I can remember, it was failed marrying of hands when drawing from my duty holster. Here's some context, I rarely wear the duty holster, but I did so to increase the level of safety for those instructing. I am much more confident drawing from appendix because that is my primary mode of carry, but none of that is an excuse, only context. Any time I am able to send rounds down range, I am always like a kid in the candy store, so that was a big win for me.

Overall, the day was great. It was a day filled with intention and expectation. I'm so grateful for Noel Fenderson. He is a man truly after God's own heart. He has a heart for all people to be introduced to God's presence and to the areas that he has operated in for years. Noel, I'm ever thankful for your vision coming to light. It will continue to help those who accept the call.

This was the 2nd year for this event (I missed the 1st one), so I have faith that it was better. I learned a good bit about myself. I learned some areas of opportunities, and a few places where I have a good start to do well. I am hoping to attend next year. Hopefully, I can be an instructor on the range.