Hard Target Training
It seems that almost every day we hear about another mass shooting or terrorist attack somewhere in the world. People are getting nervous and less reluctant to travel; they are letting the criminal predators win, and living a life of fear, hiding from their potential. As a professional body guard I get asked all the time what I would do in situation that are reported on the
news. The simple answer is “I would not be in that situation. As a bodyguard, my job is to plan and prepare properly to avoid those dangers and risks.”
In these times of uncertainty most people would love the idea of having a body guard or security professional with them while they go about their daily lives. But who can afford to have a full-time bodyguard? The simple answer is only the privileged few. But what if there was a way to gain the mindset and skills used by bodyguards all over the world. Ask yourself:
What if I knew how to not only survive conflict, but avoid it altogether? What if I knew how to spot dangerous situations before they develop? What if I knew how to avoid attracting attention from criminal predators or make myself unattractive to them as a target? What if I could send my kids off to college or university confident that they knew how to stay safe, not only from criminals but also from sexual predators? What if I could reduce the liability to my business by teaching these skills to my employers or co-workers? In other words, what if I could BECOME MY OWN BODYGUARD??? Well now you can! HARD TARGET INTERNATIONAL was created by a team of internationally known and experienced bodyguards for the purpose of teaching the general public the skills we use to keep the people we protect safe. The Hard Target Course has been designed to help people become what we call “situationally and tactically aware.” Our goal is to take non-security professionals and teach them how to protect their families by training them to think and act like bodyguards. And here’s the best part: you don’t need weeks or months of training in order to develop the mindset and skill-set of a professional bodyguard. In just one weekend you can be transformed from a person with no security awareness (an easy or “soft target”) into a person with the skills and confidence to protect yourself and the ones you care about (a HARD TARGET). The thought of being trained as a bodyguard might seem daunting, but that’s only because Hollywood presents a wholly unrealistic picture of who bodyguards are and what they do. Myth: Bodyguards are heavily muscled Neanderthals who spend their days beating people up and shooting them. Reality: you probably wouldn’t recognize a professional bodyguard if you saw one. Bodyguards spend far more time on mental tasks like planning travel routes and schedules in order to avoid potential risks. Most bodyguards look like anybody else; they come in all shapes and sizes! And the FACT is, most bodyguards will go their entire career without having a physical altercation. In fact, if a bodyguard does have to get physical with another person, it’s only because he or she failed to prepare and plan properly! Another reality: you probably already have some basic bodyguard experience. Think about this: every parent on the planet is a bodyguard. Every person who goes out with friends and family is a bodyguard. Wouldn’t you step in harm’s way to protect your family or friends? It’s a natural instinct to pick up the child when a dog approaches, or hold your significant other’s hand a little tighter when you cross a busy road. Imagine how much safer you would feel if you had the training to back up that instinctive behaviour? If you could literally see potential problems forming in the distance and avoid them rather than walking into danger? If you already have the instinctive desire to protect yourself and your loved ones, why not learn the skills necessary to do it right? Consider what happens when there is a terrorist attack like the ones we have seen recently in Nice, France; San Bernadino, California; and Orlando, Florida. When these attacks happen, most people panic and don’t know what to do. Criminal predators expect this; it gives them an advantage. But if you were thinking like a bodyguard, you would have been prepared for danger. You would have played “what if?” in your head, looked for escape routes in advance, and had a plan just in case something bad happened. When the attacks began, you have done what bodyguards call, “Getting off the X” instead of panicking and followed a plan to get away from danger. In other words, you would have made yourself a HARD TARGET. And then consider what happens in the aftermath of these attacks: gun and ammo sales skyrocket. And even though a weapon can help, do you really want to be in a shootout with half a dozen street criminals? Even armed, the odds are not in your favour. The point is, the best way to survive a criminal or terrorist attack is to avoid it in the first place, and that’s what bodyguards do: we avoid danger. And we can teach you to do the same. We can teach you the 10 points of the bodyguard mindset and then give you the specific skills and tools that bodyguards use to keep their clients and themselves safe. We can help you to stop being a soft target and become a HARD TARGET.
