Paul Cale
BSc
ACT, AUSTRALIABefore he became a CEO, former Commando Sergeant Paul Cale gained more than 25 years of experience in the Australian armed forces — 20 of those as a Special Forces operator and team leader. With heart-stopping stories from his combat tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, Paul brings to life the lessons he's learned 'outside the wire'. He's also unafraid to talk about the fallout, personal and public, that follows working in a war zone. Featuring a mixture of deep reflection, raw honesty and dry Aussie humour, Paul Cale's talks are not easily forgotten.
While Paul is well equipped to educate audiences about the realities of combat and violence (he is also a life-long martial arts student and instructor), his specialty is taking the lessons of battle and applying them to life as most of us know it. As well as training Special Forces soldiers, he has coached Olympic athletes and mentored top CEOs.
In his talks, Paul shares inspiration and insight on life, work and education. His mantra, Excellence Over Everything, embodies the belief that by developing mental toughness and physical mastery through discipline and commitment, you can take control of your life and succeed in your personal mission.
Paul is a living example of these principles at work. Having grown up in a rough area of outer Melbourne in the 1970s, he first took up martial arts to combat bullies, and was inspired by the results. He became so committed to budo (the warrior path) that he joined the army straight out of high school. Paul later became a founding member and platoon sergeant of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment, which saw the most fighting — and took the most casualties — of any Aussie unit during the war in Afghanistan.
After years of front-line combat — and a battle that saw Paul fight empty-handed for his life in an Afghan compound — he was asked to rewrite the book on close-quarter fighting for Aussie Special Forces. The success of that endeavour saw him seconded to the US to teach his methods (now known as Kinetic Fighting) to US Special Forces soldiers as well.
Although mounting injuries and post-traumatic stress forced Paul to retire from the Army in 2013, he was immediately recruited by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. AIS sport scientists were keen to explore the rigorous training and selection methods used by Special Forces — and a Commando sergeant with black belts in 8 different martial arts and a Behavioural Science degree was just what the doctors ordered. For the next few years, Paul worked as a team leader alongside top sports psychologists and physiologists at the AIS Combat Centre of Excellence. As well as coaching athletes in judo, taekwondo, boxing and wrestling, Paul developed selection and training protocols for basketballers, cyclists and others.
Today, Paul Cale is the CEO of his own company, KEF Group, which specialises in advanced skill-enhancement training for defence, police and security organisations. In his spare time, he can usually be found on the mat at his martial arts club or hanging out with his kids.
Before he became a CEO, former Commando Sergeant Paul Cale gained more than 25 years of experience in the Australian armed forces — 20 of those as a Special Forces operator and team leader. With heart-stopping stories from his combat tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, Paul brings to life the lessons he's learned 'outside the wire'. He's also unafraid to talk about the fallout, personal and public, that follows working in a war zone. Featuring a mixture of deep reflection, raw honesty and dry Aussie humour, Paul Cale's talks are not easily forgotten.
While Paul is well equipped to educate audiences about the realities of combat and violence (he is also a life-long martial arts student and instructor), his specialty is taking the lessons of battle and applying them to life as most of us know it. As well as training Special Forces soldiers, he has coached Olympic athletes and mentored top CEOs.
In his talks, Paul shares inspiration and insight on life, work and education. His mantra, Excellence Over Everything, embodies the belief that by developing mental toughness and physical mastery through discipline and commitment, you can take control of your life and succeed in your personal mission.
Paul is a living example of these principles at work. Having grown up in a rough area of outer Melbourne in the 1970s, he first took up martial arts to combat bullies, and was inspired by the results. He became so committed to budo (the warrior path) that he joined the army straight out of high school. Paul later became a founding member and platoon sergeant of the elite 2nd Commando Regiment, which saw the most fighting — and took the most casualties — of any Aussie unit during the war in Afghanistan.
After years of front-line combat — and a battle that saw Paul fight empty-handed for his life in an Afghan compound — he was asked to rewrite the book on close-quarter fighting for Aussie Special Forces. The success of that endeavour saw him seconded to the US to teach his methods (now known as Kinetic Fighting) to US Special Forces soldiers as well.
Although mounting injuries and post-traumatic stress forced Paul to retire from the Army in 2013, he was immediately recruited by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. AIS sport scientists were keen to explore the rigorous training and selection methods used by Special Forces — and a Commando sergeant with black belts in 8 different martial arts and a Behavioural Science degree was just what the doctors ordered. For the next few years, Paul worked as a team leader alongside top sports psychologists and physiologists at the AIS Combat Centre of Excellence. As well as coaching athletes in judo, taekwondo, boxing and wrestling, Paul developed selection and training protocols for basketballers, cyclists and others.
Today, Paul Cale is the CEO of his own company, KEF Group, which specialises in advanced skill-enhancement training for defence, police and security organisations. In his spare time, he can usually be found on the mat at his martial arts club or hanging out with his kids.
