"The Men Who Stare at Goats" - Spotlight on Master Peter Busso

Recently, I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing Peter Brusso, who's one of the men who inspired the George Clooney and Ewan McGregor film The Men Who Stare At Goats. Mr. Brusso and I now speak on a regular basis, and I'm delighted to say, we've struck up a blossoming friendship. It's also earned me a great deal of respect for this American.

The Men Who Stare At Goats opens this week, and both the professional critical previews and fan reactions have been encouraging. It's with a timeliness for the movie that I now share more of Master Peter Brusso's fascinating life.

At the age of six, Peter Brusso was destined to become a tenacious fighter. After a bullying incident at school, Peter asked his Dad (a Golden Gloves boxer) to learn to fight. From then on, fighting concepts relating to martial arts, warrior combat or the kill or be killed arena of the battlefield of war became as second nature to him as breathing.

Brusso employed those martial skills and warrior spirit into a grueling tour of duty in Vietnam, which helped him rethink much of the traditional, even conventional ways of utilizing unarmed or hand to hand combat. It was an early example of Brusso's unique problem solving ability. This served him well, as would a formal education from California State University at Sacramento (CSUS), where he'd earn a Degree in Electrical and Electronic engineering. He used his training to invent equipment used on a national professional sports level, enabling him to become a patent holder six times over.

Self defense aspects of martial arts is never far from Master Peter Brusso's heart. It's this passionate and personal focus on teaching everyone from the very young to the elderly to protect themselves, which led to the creation of the Defender. Also known by its more tactical military term of the Predator, this tool no matter the name, impresses for a simple, durable construction and no nonsense efficiency. As its popularity grows, it's now something of a pop cinematic icon. Actor George Clooney emulates Peter Brusso in both form and function in the feature film, The Men Who Stare At Goats, when he confidently wields Brusso's Predator against co-star Ewan McGregor.

Whether it's high level problem solving for an engineering project demanding years of practical experience, working in the demanding aerospace sector, acting as a subject matter expert for the U.S. Marines, crafting the design of a sporting device found in basketball arenas nationwide, or teaching a local self defense class to middle aged women and kids, Peter Brusso excels at combining his love of discovery and natural ingenuity, but always keeping with a solid academic and real world background.

He makes his home near the fabled Salton Sea, CA, and he rarely, if ever, stares at goats.