Personal Safety Train-the-Trainer

Our Functional Self-Protection, Personal Safety and Protective Physical Interventions Instructor Trainer Course offers a professional qualification to those who wish to teach a legally accurate, safe and functionally effective course in functional intervention tactics. The teaching system we will show you is behaviourally-based and incorporates modern motor learning and performance concepts.
Duration:

3 to 5 Days in-person training (2,5 days for self-protection and 2.5 days for control tactics) building on a package of online learning and workbook assignments pre-course.

Functional Tactics - 9 Attitudes Instructor Certification
To Successfully pass this course you will need to complete the following five learning outcomes. To assist you, you will be provided with and signposted to all of the resource material you require. These will include: Fact-sheets, e-books and online video resources.

The course covers:

1: The Law in Relation to Interventions and Personal Protection

2: Health & Safety Best Practice for Running Interventions and Personal Protection Courses

3: Stress Inoculation Training Theory and Design Framework

4: The Science of Skills Training

5: Functional Edge System which can be adapted to suit the needs of Breakaway Skills or Physical interventions Training in the NHS, Lone Worker Safety training in Housing or Social Work, Officer Safety Training for Enforcement Teams, as the Self-Defence/Breakaway component of a PMVA (Prevention and Management of Violence) course for Mental Health staff, or other requirements. Our Advanced Control Tactics component covers higher-risk and lower-risk contexts and is suitable for use in a wide variety of workplace demands.

Materials and Resources

The Functional Self-Defence Instructor Trainer Course will be taught using a blend of pre-course distance-learning material, followed by attendance at the course where further lectures and physical skills development will complete the training and ensure your competence.


9 Attitudes Trainer Course Learning Outcomes:

1. The Law in Relation to Self Defence and Personal Protection

UK common and statute law that relate to the use of physical force for the purpose of self-defence or physical intervention. The meaning of ‘Reasonable Force’ with reference to statute and common law.

2. Health & Safety Best Practice for running Self-Defence Training Courses

The various elements of Health and Safety statute and associated Health and Safety regulations that relate to the use of running physical skills training courses and instructing physical technique, including the ‘common-law duty of care’ and ‘Tort’ with regard to Negligence.

3. Stress Inoculation Training Framework and Training Design

Understand the effect of the primitive fight and flight response and associated fear response mechanisms on physical, emotional and behavioural state and understanding what physical changes take place when the primitive flight and fight response is triggered.

4. The Science of Skills Training

Definition of skill, the relationship between arousal, stress and performance and the relationship between heart rate and performance. References to: Stress and Performance, Decision Making and Anxiety – Arousal – Reaction Time. Learning vs Performance. Scenario Development.

5. Functional Edge System of Self-Protection for Breakaway and Officer Safety

Demonstrate physical skills techniques consistent with the rights of defence and self-defence consistent with Reasonable Force and Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998, and which will be designed to work in situations of high emotional distress consistent with an understanding of the Primitive Stress Response and the Science & Psychology of Personal Combat.

Modern methods and approaches

The physical skills portion of the Personal Safety Trainer course will include modern approaches to the short-term management of violent assaults, including topics such as:

• shortening Reaction Time by recognising pre-assault behaviour
• the primitive fight and flight response and associated fear response mechanisms
• the relationship between arousal, stress and performance
• How Reaction Time and Decision Making effect motor skill performance
• capitalising on the natural strengths of the body’s survival system

Continuing Professional Development and Networking

Every year our certified 9 Attitudes instructors are invited to return for training which expands their repertoire and expertise into new and different contexts (see here for the list of advanced certs). Each year the experienced self-defence trainers are exposed over 2 full days to an advanced-level methodology from the 9 Attitudes system.

Each course is designed to offer the trainer a comprehensive methodology for dealing with very specific domains of the self-protection or physical intervention space. 

Advanced modules deal with a variety of key ideas related to instinctive protection and specific types of interaction, or domains of confrontation.  Each of the courses build skills in surviving, reversing and then engaging with an assailant in carefully layered stages of development which progressively increase the trainee’s skills in sometimes very dangerous contexts. 

Contrary to much training in this area, each course focusses on the fundamental skills needed to mitigate the damage that close-quarters assault can do – it is based on a defensive strategy. Then, by looking at the ‘mechanics of an assault’ and by breaking-down, phase by phase, the various stages involved, we can increase survivability by making it harder for the assailant to inflict injury.

Gerard O’Dea
Trainer and consultant to the security, health and social care sectors in the UK with multiple BTEC qualifications in use-of-force, Gerard has developed and delivered courses for a wide variety of professional groups whose roles require them to deal with dangerous client groups appropriately. He has spoken at national events on the science and psychology of interpersonal conflict in these contexts and designs and delivers training programmes in the UK and internationally which reflect these realities.

Gerard  leads the Understanding Reasonable Force and trainer risk-management portions of the course, supported by online learning materials, ensuring compliance with UK statute, common and human rights law.

Tony Torres
Defensive tactics instructor during his 9 years of service in the Search and Rescue and Nuclear Weapons Security fields in the US Navy and during his 13 year career as a decorated Master Police Officer in the City of Virginia Beach.

Mr. Torres also worked for Blackwater USA first as an instructor for Force on Force CQB Training then as a Team Leader in Iraq providing dignitary protection for US Department of Of State personnel including Ambassador Bremmer.  He is the former Chief Instructor for Tony Blauer’s combatives programmes.

Tony leads the physical skills and confrontation management portion of our Self Defence Instructor course by introducing candidates to his Functional Edge System. a behavioural self-protection method.

“Thoroughly enjoyed the course. It gave me numerous ideas and drills I can start to use with my students. Teaching standard was excellent and I’m very keen to attend future courses”
– Martial Arts Instructor, Edinburgh University

“Course provided me with knowledge, tools and skills I will take away and use. By the end I felt confident that I was going to be able to structure, design and give a class. The presentation to peers was actually very helpful in pulling it all together”
– Self-Defence Course Leader, HM Treasury

“A greatly presented course with a high standard throughout. Thoroughly enjoyed training with Gerard O’Dea and Tony Torres”.
– Martial Arts Instructor, London

“Found both Tony & Gerard to be very professional and highly competent. Behavioural Self-Protection concepts were new to me – enjoyed learning them and training them. Very impressed by these 3 days. Thanks”
– Martial Arts Instructor, Glasgow

“Tony and Gerard were very helpful. Would attend again!”
– Team Member, Community Safety Team

“The course was very well run, pitched at the right level for the candidates. I found the whole course interesting – the easy way in which the techniques move into one another was particularly interesting. The coaches were helpful and very professional.”
– Physical Intervention and Breakaway Instructor, NHS

“All parts fitted well together with the video/online presentations supporting the physical skills aspect. Both trainers were very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and related well to the delegates. Course is excellent in this format.”
– Martial Arts Instructor, Stirling

“The course was run very professionally and both instructors were able to answer all questions. The physical skills part was most interesting – thank you very much for spending the time to help us.”
– Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression Lead, NHS

“The course was well structured and full of information and practical practice. It has been one of the most beneficial courses for self-defence for me”
– Senior Control & Restraint Instructor, Prison Service

“Thank you both very much! I found the course really stimulating and empowering!
– Conflict Management Trainer, Private Company

“I would like to thank Gerard and Tony on the excellent delivery of the most knowledgeable and interesting course I have attended”
– Team Member, Community Safety Team

“Fantastic course, engagingly delivered – many thanks!”
– Mental Health Nurse and Violence & Aggression Management Lead

Trainers are exposed over 2 full days to a methodology which is specifically designed and architected to enable the trainee to control adult-sized subjects who are exhibiting extreme levels of violence and aggression.

This “Control Tactics” methodology enhances and supplements the more commonly-taught restraint methods which are often based on previous-generation models of technique or which are designed predominantly for use with vulnerable people.

 This course is recommended for previously-qualified restraint trainers. The course will include up-to-date discussion and dissection of current topics in regard to single-person restraint and the use of pain compliance holds, based on a thorough understanding of the control/restraint dichotomy.

“The initial control and restraint of violent individuals is usually a fluid and dynamic process…the period of control or, perhaps more accurately, the period that leads to the control of a violent individual is usually far less structured and significantly more frenetic and potentially dangerous than that of the restraint period… I believe the easiest way to help identify this transition is by observing the actions of both the officers and the individual. Once control is achieved their actions tend to become increasingly measured and orchestrated.”

– Insp. Sutcliffe, Chairman elect of ACPO SDAR Practitioner’s Group, Evidence to the Sean Rigg enquiry

SELF-PROTECTION FROM RESTRICTED POSITIONS

In some situations, an assailant may attach themselves to a part of your body by grabbing and securing it, thereby restricting the free movement of that part of your body to protect yourself or indeed restricting your ability to simply escape.   This course is designed to build on the principles of the core trainer programme to give you specific training progressions which build a capability to break free of restricted positions when they possibly occur.  Various grabs and holds, or restrictive situations such as being held against or on an object, or when one’s limbs are trapped, are covered with simple tactics which can be combined in a series of efforts with the maximum chance of success in gaining freedom.  This course is extremely useful addition to the core material for trainers who teach ‘Breakaway and Disengagement Skills’ for NHS or other health and social care environments.

How to Survive when an Edged Weapon is introduced into a Confrontation...

This advanced module deals with a variety of key ideas related to instinctive protection and knife/edged-weapon defence. The course builds skills in surviving, reversing and then engaging with a knife threat in carefully layered stages of development which progressively increase the trainee’s skills in this very dangerous context. Contrary to much training in this area, the course focusses on the fundamental skills needed to mitigate the damage that a knife or edged weapon can do. Then, by looking at the ‘mechanics of a knife assault’ and by breaking-down, phase by phase, the various stages involved, we can increase survivability by making it harder for the weapon to inflict its potential maximum damage.

Knocked to the Ground - Survive, Reverse, Engage

​This course is designed to help a trainer to explore the difficulties and challenges encountered when a person is taken off their natural bipedal state and knocked to the floor or onto an object where they do not have both feet under them in a standing attitude. Progressions of drills help the trainer to address Kneeling, Seated and Reclining positions and how to most quickly and effectively regain a standing posture to reverse and engage the assailant and escape or otherwise resolve a situation. Assailant behaviours, when the target has been knocked down, are explored in great detail so the entire course delivers a comprehensive set of skills for Surviving, Reversing and Engaging in order to resolve this disadvantaged position.

When there's more than one opponent...

This course is designed to offer the trainer a comprehensive methodology for dealing with scenarios where there are more than one assailant to deal with. The presence of additional assailants creates both difficulties and opportunities for the target and in a series of progressively layered drills and exercises, this methodology offers the trainer a system to increase awareness of opportunities while reducing the risks and threats from multiple assailants. It builds from the Core Trainer methodology and adds new tools and tactics which are particularly useful for managing the chaotic mobile geometry of the ‘mass assault’ where awareness, evasion and re-direction during the collision of bodies becomes a valuable skillset.