Managing fear is one of the most important skills that will serve you and your loved ones in every area of life. Whether you are starting a new job, raising children, being caught in a violent encounter, the one emotion that universally will be experienced by all is fear. The faster you are able to recognize fear and it’s psychological and physiological effects, you will be better able to reengage your cognitive thinking and apply tactics to overcome whatever stimulated to fear response. Doing this is easier said than done, which is why I am excited to introduce you to my guest.

My guest today is Coach Tony Blauer. Tony is a defensive tactics expert and has been training men and woman around the globe in self-defense. He founded Blauer Tactical Systems (BTS) in 1985 and it has grown into one of the world's leading consulting companies specializing in the research and development of performance psychology, personal safety, and close quarter tactics & scenario-based training for law enforcement, military, and professional self-defense instructors. His research on the neuroscience of fear and the startle-flinch led to the development of the SPEAR System® a modern personal defense system based on physiology, physics, and psychology. It has been used by defensive tactics and combative trainers all over the world for over 30 years. After decades of interviewing victims of violent encounters and studying violence, he created the KNOW FEAR® program which focuses on managing fear through self-awareness, resiliency, and a 'movement' mindset. This program has also been integrated by psychologists helping Vets to deal with PTSD.

Decision making during high stress , life and death situation is difficult for most well trained first responders and the military personnel. With that being said, many Americans have found themselves listening to soundbites and watching incomplete clips of tragic events that forever change men and women’s life. At core of each watched or listen to encounter, is a burning question of why did this event occur as it did. Do I have all the information? Was it the police officers fault? Is it the suspects fault? Is it the systems fault? The outcry for answers is often deafening. What so many armchair critics and keyboard warriors fail to understand is that there are decades of research when it comes to Human Performance and Human Dynamics. Empirically, peer reviewed research is constantly informing training commissions across the nation on the best way to approach potentially deadly situations, but we have to listen to the data and implement the findings.

At the center of this research is the Force Science Institute (FSI) FSI is led by executive director Dr. William “Bill” Lewinski. Dr. Bill Lewinski has spent the better part of his life asking critical questions about how the human body works under and incredible amount of stress. Which is faster, Action or Reaction? What is the human experience with time distortion? How do we create experts? What is at the route of human error and how do we mitigate against the bodies tendency toward self preservation verses the best decision when a decision must be made. How does experiential bias impact a man or woman when faced with a decision that needs to be made in under 1 second? During this interview with Dr. Bill, he sheds some light on a few of these questions during our time together. This is a man that has sacrificed so much in the name of science and has provided vetted solutions to help prevent injustices toward the men and women who have sworn to serve and protect the constitution of the United States and the Laws of other nations around the globe.