{"id":1317161,"date":"2019-12-07T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=991581"},"modified":"2019-12-08T09:21:45","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T16:21:45","slug":"from-prison-to-prosperity-black-belt-gabe-cohen-fights-addiction-and-finds-faith-and-family-along-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/from-prison-to-prosperity-black-belt-gabe-cohen-fights-addiction-and-finds-faith-and-family-along-the-way\/","title":{"rendered":"From prison to prosperity: Black belt Gabe Cohen fights addiction and finds faith and family along the way"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Krava Maga instructor Gabe Cohen practices defensive tactics on the dummy inside his studio in Glenwood.<\/strong>
Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Two decades and a lifetime ago, Gabe Cohen wrote his mom and dad a letter from his cell in the Mesa County Jail. <\/p>\n

After violating his parole, which stemmed from a felony drug conviction in Aspen, Cohen was awaiting his transfer to a prison facility in Walsenburg, Colorado.<\/p>\n

In the letter dated Oct. 22, 1999, Cohen wrote, \u201cAll these different people I meet and all of their different situations are all so sad.\u201d <\/p>\n

Just 29 at the time, Cohen went on to write \u201cI ponder a lot of thoughts and try to have sympathy and compassion for people who are in so much pain on the inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I can relate,\u201d Cohen added.<\/p>\n

Cohen went on to spend the better part of eight years in prison.<\/p>\n

He blames no one but himself.<\/p>\n

KINGS AND PRIESTS MINISTRY<\/strong><\/p>\n

These days, Cohen still frequents the Eagle and Garfield County jails, but for a higher purpose: to host weekly Bible studies with inmates. <\/p>\n

During his own years of incarceration, Cohen found himself reading the New King James Version of the Holy Bible, in particular Revelation 1:6. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt reads that he has made us kings and priests,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cYou know, three-time felon, drug addict\u2026that scripture just spoke to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Cohen was released from prison in 2011, he needed to create an email address \u2013 something he had never done before \u2013 and settled on the username kings and priests. <\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Kings and Priests Ministry officially became a local nonprofit organization.<\/p>\n

For Cohen, the jail and prison ministry does not end with weekly, two-hour-long bible studies, either.<\/p>\n

Instead, Cohen strives to assist those getting out of jail who have nothing other than a criminal record. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them have the wrong people that come and pick them up,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI want to be there at the gate when they get out to help them get to their mental health appointments, get their medications and to find employment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Through Kings and Priests Ministry, Cohen spends his Thursday and Friday mornings studying the faith with inmates. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want them to know that change is possible,\u201d Cohen said. <\/p>\n

AMERICAN KRAV MAGA<\/strong><\/p>\n

After completing his final prison sentence, and with nowhere to go, Cohen spent his days in Denver-area libraries reading when he came across Krav Maga.<\/p>\n

\u201cI discovered the words \u2018Krav Maga\u2019 while I was homeless reading a book at the library,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI took my first Krav Maga class in Denver and fell in love with it.\u201d <\/p>\n

The official combat system of the Israeli Defense Force, Krav Maga implements a variety of self-defense techniques and translates from Hebrew to English as \u201ccontact combat\u201d or \u201cclose combat.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for a link back to my family,\u201d Cohen said, whose family is of Jewish heritage.<\/p>\n

Wanting to reconnect with his two sons who were attending Glenwood Springs High School, Cohen worked up the courage to ask if they would like to meet up. <\/p>\n

\u201cI went to prison when they were 2 and 4,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cWhen I finally resurfaced they were 15 and 17-years-old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen and his two sons reconnected in Glenwood Springs for a workout class and have stayed in touch ever since.<\/p>\n

TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before volunteering in the jails and working as a Krav Maga instructor, Cohen did nightclub security for $13 an hour.     <\/p>\n

\u201cI was working armed posts, but I couldn\u2019t carry a gun because I\u2019m a felon,\u201d Cohen said. <\/p>\n

A three-time felon, Cohen\u2019s job opportunities after being released from prison were few and far between.<\/p>\n

While the nightclub work paid the bills, it also put Cohen in a vulnerable position.    <\/p>\n

\u201cI was entering territory I knew I shouldn\u2019t be in,\u201d Cohen said. \u201cI wanted to believe that I could handle it, but when I got hospitalized I realized I was playing Russian roulette and I had to tap out.\u201d <\/p>\n

Seventeen months ago, Cohen was taken to St. Mary\u2019s Medical Center in Grand Junction due to kidney complications from drug use over the years.<\/p>\n

He vividly recalls the doctors explaining to him that they were not sure he would leave the medical center alive. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday I thought I was going home, the doctors would come in and say, \u2018There\u2019s no improvement yet \u2026 we\u2019re not sure if you\u2019re ever going home,\u2019\u201d Cohen said.  <\/p>\n

A firm believer in forgiveness and second chances, Cohen fought for his life and eventually recovered.<\/p>\n

However, following the near-death experience, Cohen quit working in the nightclub scene and focused all of his efforts on teaching Krav Maga but more importantly staying sober, for good.<\/p>\n

Cohen went on to earn his black belt and today trains everyone from law enforcement officers to single mothers in the self-defense skills of Krav Maga at his dojo in Glenwood Springs on Sixth Street.<\/p>\n

In the letter he sent to his parents on his way to prison in 1999, Cohen ended by saying \u201cIt\u2019ll all come together one day. I know it will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, Cohen has over 17 months of sobriety under his belt. <\/p>\n

mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Krava Maga instructor Gabe Cohen practices defensive tactics on the dummy inside his studio in Glenwood.Chelsea Self \/ Post Independent Two decades and a lifetime ago, Gabe Cohen wrote his mom and dad a letter from his cell in the Mesa County Jail.  After violating his parole, which stemmed from a felony drug conviction in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 10:14:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317166,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317161\/revisions\/1317166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}