WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – In 2018, a video of Aaron Donald training with fake knives went viral on the internet. The person wielding them was Albert "Poodie" Carson, a Krav Maga instructor who now works with Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner.
After the 2023 season, Donald put Turner in contact with the trainer, so he flew out to Carson's gym just outside Pittsburgh for a week of training. From there, they grew what Carson called a "familyship," and they've worked together throughout the offseason.
In fighting, hands and feet have to work together, Carson said. And when training football players for their specific craft – whether it's defensive line, offensive line or skill position – Carson has specific verbiage that encompasses a variety of techniques to win reps: "counter to the counter" and "attack the attacker."
Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art developed as a self-defense system. It teaches people to combat with their hands, which is the essential job of a pass-rusher. Donald benefitted from that training throughout his illustrious career, and now Turner will as well. But the second-year star isn't just furthering his own skill set, he's elevating both sides of the Rams' line as well.
"Some of the 'defensive linemen guru trainers' have never been in a fight," Carson said. "But offensive and defensive line play is a street fight, okay? It's hand-to-hand combat. And that's what we base it off of, and that's where Israeli Krav Maga comes into play."
Turner said a lot of defensive line coaches aren't looking to teach new techniques, they just have players practice the moves or drills that are already in their arsenal. Carson doesn't waste his time with redundancy. He teaches new moves and breaks them down by body part and explores counter attacks.
Carson is a retired law enforcement officer and current high school football coach at Hempfield High School four hours east of Pittsburgh. He earned Krav Maga from David Kahn, the United States Chief Instructor for the Israeli Krav Maga Association. His philosophy is to train the "elite," whether that's a soldier, law enforcement officer or football player. He called Donald "the greatest ever" at his position, and the perfect example of an elite athlete. And he thinks Turner is on a similar path.
As a retired canine officer, Carson said he knows what it means to be "an alpha dog."
"When Aaron Donald walked into the facilities to train… (he) would come in and sit down in a chair. He would change his shoes, put his cleats on, ready to work, get his music ready," Carson said. "When Aaron stood up and walked onto the field, everybody else followed. And he never said, 'let's go.'"
"Everybody knew who the alpha dog was. What I'm seeing right now is Kobie Turner is becoming that alpha dog."
Turner is a more effusive personality than Donald, but once he crosses that white line, the switch flips, and he becomes the alpha, Carson said. But Turner went above and beyond his own growth this offseason. Between OTAs and training camp, Turner flew Carson out to Los Angeles so that he could train with most of the Rams' offensive and defensive line. He covered all the travel and housing expenses for Carson along with the training costs for his teammates.
Both units worked with Carson for a week, and Turner said the results have been obvious, as now they are all "speaking the same language." The offensive and defensive lines were pitted against each other as part of the training, so Carson could show both sides how to win reps against specific moves.
"I have the offensive lineman win a rep and do a technique, and then the next rep is the defensive line counters to what that offensive lineman will do, and vice versa," Carson said.
Not only did that improve the hand and footwork on both sides of the line, but it also helped unite the two units. Turner hadn't yet been named captain, but that was the kind of initiative and care that helped him earn that title, as voted by his teammates.
"I think it just builds up a lot of great team camaraderie," Turner said.
Carson was especially impressed with rookie defensive tackle Braden Fiske. He saw perennial All-Pro potential from both Fiske and Turner, and told both to keep the chip on their shoulder.
Turner wasn't chosen to participate in the Senior Bowl, while Fiske started his college career at Western Michigan before fighting to get to Florida State. Now, they are primed for massive roles beside each other in the Rams' defense, despite neither being chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft.
"The little things make you great," Carson said. "Big things don't make you great, little things (do). And they picked up on that. They're like, 'yeah, if I turn my arm a certain way, if I step a certain way, or if I punch a certain way,' you know, those little things like that."
Logan Bruss was another player that showed significant improvement from Carson's training, and he even texted Carson afterward to say that his hands had never been better. Bruss' Pro Football Focus preseason blocking grades improved from the last two seasons, up to 80.7 in 2023, and he earned a spot on the 53-man roster.
By the week's end, both sides of the Rams' line benefited greatly from Carson's training and Turner's generosity.
"He wants to be the best, but he's also one of the biggest team players I've ever seen in my life," Carson said.
