Have you ever felt afraid or threatened while walking alone at night? When out and accosted by some creep? When travelling in unfamiliar places? Felt something was ‘wrong’ in your gut but didn’t know what to do about it? Want to learn how to get out of handcuffs and other restraints?
Learn to understand your instinctive fears and use them effectively through understanding and awareness. Decrease and control your fear while maintaining awareness of threats and dangers, implementing personal security and risk management strategies and security tradecraft while building confidence in your abilities through training and learning.
Designed and developed to give you an advanced working knowledge of skills and principles which can be used immediately.
This class is exclusively for women only as it is tailored to providing a safe and positive environment for learning while highlighting women’s-specific issues with regards to personal security and safety.
Our goal is to arm you with knowledge and skills while empowering you to take control and responsibility for your own safety and security.
Topics covered include:
Situational Awareness (SA)
Survival Mindset
Social & behavioural analysis
Security risk management
Hostile surveillance awareness
Violence dynamics
Kidnapping and abduction awareness
Unlawful custody – methods and motivations
Introduction to common restraint escapes and counter-custody (theory & practice)
Every Day Carry (EDC) recommendations
Personal protection principles & improvised weapons
Ambush response and immediate actions to attack
Travel security
Home security
No other self-defence class in Canada will prepare you to avoid violent encounters and give you the skills to facilitate escape from unlawful custody or personal security threats at home or on the road.
You can contact us directly to book a 1 or 2 day workshop for your group (Varied formats depending on length of workshop and group requirements).
On March 30 & 31, 2019, True North Tradecraft, joined by Ace from Delta2Alpha, will be delivering a Personal Security & Combatives workshop in Toronto.
You will have the chance to learn, practice, and be coached through escape from some restraints commonly used in unlawful confinement; your success is guaranteed.
*pre-manufactured and improvised options will be covered*
Delta2Alpha will take you through a systematic approach to dealing with the common ranges where most fights are won or lost. Through a unique objective-focused method you will learn:
How to work in your existing skillset;
Earn your deployments;
Rapidly neutralize your immediate threat.
Come and learn how to find the calm in the storm, and what it takes to win…when the only way out…is through.
Designed as a fast paced, practical approach to get you started on your personal security plan.
EARLY BIRD PRICE: $250 CAD per person
SUPER-DEAL: $225 CAD per person for groups of two or more *Contact us at [email protected]*
Prepare yourself for the unknowns in the world with this next-generation training.
***Note: When you purchase this item, you will receive a joining instruction sheet for download listing the location & directions, schedule timings, contact information and a list of essential and supportive gear to bring.***
Training Review: IRETC with 4TAC5, Chicago, IL, May 2018
In May of this year (2018), I travelled to Chicago to expand my skills in the field of Counter-custody and counter-kidnapping but attending the IRETC Instructor Certification with Karl from 4TAC5.
For the longest time I had been working towards attending the counter-custody instructor certification course with 4TAC5 – IRETC (International Restraint Escape Training Course). I had tried for months to connect with them and was planning to travel to their training base in England to attend it when I was referred to Aaron Cunningham of the ITTA (International Tactical Training Association) as they were going to be hosing IRETC in Chicago. As luck would have it this made things much more convenient and less expensive.
Upon arrival I made contact with Aaron and he picked me up from the airport. I treated him to breakfast for the courtesy. As I had only had communications with him through e-mail to that point it was good to finally put a face to the name and get to know him. After breakfast, Aaron and I took a little tour around Chicago (he showed me some of the sights and gave me some background to the respective history and current situations with specific neighbourhoods we were traversing) and then we did two more circles to the airport to pick up other attendees and finally to pick up our instructor, Karl, and make our way to the training facility and our lodgings.
There were 4 of us with Karl and Aaron. A small but diverse group of LEO/MIL personnel.
***I will not speak to the identities of the others in the training as they are currently operational with their respective security services, nor will I get into specifics of the training due to it’s nature. ***
Over that first evening we all had a chance to get to know one another and discuss the upcoming week of training. Admittedly, I was very excited to get the training started and build upon my existing skills.
The next day training started and we covered a LOT of ground. The content for day 1 was vaguely as follows:
Overview of material, counter-custody principles, kidnapping & hostage survival;
Detailed review of improvised restraints and manufactured restraints;
Improvised tools against restraints;
Mindset and tactics
I felt as if I’d been overloaded with information and it took me a while to process what I was learning. So much amazing stuff was coming to me – efficient and effective techniques and principles to put to use immediately. My hands and wrists were smashed and raw by the end of the day but it was well worth the pain to gain the knowledge and hands-on experience in a controlled environment where mistakes can be made and learning can occur. Very helpful when you get yourself in a pickle and need someone to cut you out so you can try again.
Day 2 was much the same in so far as having a firehose of info shot my way. After a great breakfast, we got fuelled up on coffee and a recap of the previous day’s material and dove right in.
Recap Day 1;
Tools, carry, concealment and deployment;
Handcuffs (various, identify, function, features)
More mindset and tactics;
Special tools (contents, function, use)
Anatomy of abduction and custody (phases, counter-intelligence, immediate actions)
Captivity & custody Exercise
Day 2 was a long day filled with more work, soreness and trial and error. However, the more exhaustively we practiced, the more confident I was with the little curve balls that were thrown our way and, with patience and focus, they could be overcome.
Day 2 dinner was another great time gelling with the group and expanding on the day’s lessons.
***BTW the food in Chicago was AWESOME!***
Day 3 was the Big Cahuna. Exercise after exercise after exercise, more scenarios and practice. Very involved to test our newly acquired skills and assure we’d assimilated the little tricks and remained focused on the task regardless of the negative stimulus applied. I found this culmination was a thorough test of my skills and my ability to apply them under stress and in unknown conditions.
As a finale to the week, Aaron arranged a tour of the Chicago Police Marine Unit (with associated boat ride and waterfront tour) and topped it off with a ride-along with the Chicago Police Aviation Unit aboard a CPD helicopter above downtown Chicago. And, as it was Tuesday, what better dinner to have than tacos? I guess you really haven’t lived till you’ve watch a White Sox game at Wrigley Field from a police helicopter. Karl and I had a blast. What a great night.
The following day included a debrief, discussions, clean-up and certification presentations. My trip to the airport was bitter-sweet. I had made some new friends, learned and experienced some top-tier training and was leaving a very Toronto-like city (minus the 14 people who were shot while I was there).
I extend my sincerest thanks to Aaron Cunningham and the ITTA for hosting the training and for their wonderful hospitality. True professionals doing a great job.
To Karl of 4TAC5, thank you for your knowledge, patience and great sense of humour during the week.
To the Chicago Police Marine and Aviation units – thank you for your hospitality and for the amazing ride-alongs. Stay safe out there!
And to my fellow attendees, thank you for the laughs and lessons. Stay safe in your respective areas of operation and keep in touch.
For those of you who are in Canada looking for counter-custody and hostage survival training, keep your eyes peeled for our offerings for both civilians and military/law enforcement (restricted content) or contact us directly for private training solutions for your group.
For more information on mentioned training and entities, see below and feel free to contact us.
Covert Entry skill sets increase operational capabilities for government, law enforcement and security operators across a wide array of situations. Expand your skills today.
We still have a couple of seats left for our May courses in downtown Toronto…
Covert Entry Concepts is $865 ($200 deposit to hold a spot) May 12 & 13.
This course will teach Law Enforcement Personnel, Special Operations Forces, and Government employees and security professionals the principles of safe dial mechanics.
This course is basically two courses in one. Day 1you will learn everything you need to know to install, dial, open, change the combination, diagnose and troubleshoot UL Group 2 mechanical combination locks. By the end of the day you will be able to completely disassemble and reassemble most mechanical dials in use today. Some non-invasive covert methods will also be discussed.
Day 2we will teach you how to use the design flaws in mechanical combination locks to manipulate the wheels and components to obtain a locks combination while opening the locking mechanism. All mechanical locks have factory defects, known as tolerances, which allows them to be manipulated.
This is a non-invasive method for obtaining access to a safe as well as retrieve the combination. Since the techniques taught in this class are largely nondestructive, agencies will also benefit by having a decrease in costs and civil actions due to property damage.
The cost of the course is $510 CAD with a $200 deposit required to hold your place. If taken with Covert Entry Concepts, the cost is $1150 for both.
Equipment:
There may be an opportunity to purchase specialized equipment during this course. Details to follow in the logistics e-mail which will be sent out to attendees.
Logistics:
A logistics e-mail will be sent out to attendees separately prior to course.
DISCLAIMER:*Nothing in the course offering is intended to be used for unlawful purposes. Consult with your local laws prior to employing these techniques in the field. This is intended for lawful use ONLY. True North Tradecraft and its partners do not condone or advocate illegal activities.*
Covert Entry Concepts – Only Canadian Offering!
This course will teach Law Enforcement Personnel, Special Operations Forces, and Government employees and security professionals the principles of lock bypassing and making covert entries into buildings or properties.
This class is entirely hands on. From the moment you enter the course you will have tools in your hand and are working to exploit various locking mechanisms. Students will learn to recognize the vulnerabilities in existing hardware, how they are attacked, or sometimes even bypassed entirely. You’ll walk away with the skills needed to compromise most of the locks used in North America today. Students will be much better positioned to provide service in a variety of tactical areas: check welfare calls, search and arrest warrant service, establishing sniper positions, sneak and peak operations, surveillance operations, fire safe opening, and breaking and entering investigations.
Since the techniques taught in this class are largely nondestructive, agencies will also benefit by having a decrease in civil actions due to property damage.
The cost of the course is $865 CAD with a $200 deposit required to hold your place. If taken with Safe Dial Mechanics, the cost is $1150 for both.
Sat May 12: 0800hrs -late (dinner and a appropriately-themed movie to end the evening)
Sun July 30: 0800hrs – 1700hrs
Included Equipment:
Included in the cost of the course is a comprehensive set of high quality tools that you can use on the job or practice at home to maintain the skills you’ll build in class.
• High Quality 12 Piece Pick Set
• Set of covert jigglers
• Set of warded picks
• Bump Hammer
• Bump keys
• An e-z decoder
• Underdoor tool
***Team dinner scheduled and provided for Saturday night.***
DISCLAIMER:*Nothing in the course offering is intended to be used for unlawful purposes. Consult with your local laws prior to employing these techniques in the field. This is intended for lawful use ONLY. True North Tradecraft and its partners do not condone or advocate illegal activities.*
Over the weekend of 9-12 February, 2018, I travelled to Washington, DC & Alexandria, VA to train at District Combatives’ hosting of Ed Calderon (of Ed’s Manifesto), who was conducting a Mixed Skills module of training.
The trip down to DC from Toronto was relatively uneventful. I got in early on Friday and spent the day sightseeing and getting the lay of the land in and around the area where we would be training. I wasn’t sure as to what the training would entail, so with a map from the hotel front desk and my trusty feet, I learned the area around the training location and did some touristy things.
White House. One of the Secret Service guys gave me a great recommendation for breakfast 2 blocks away. He wasn’t wrong. Thanks Jerry!
The Spy Museum. You can’t not visit if you’re in DC.
J. Edgar Hoover Building. Home of the FBI and X-Files.
WW2 Memorial.
Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.
The Mall.
I ended Friday night at a small pizza place which made amazing slices and helped myself to three and a “Mexican Coke” (produced in Mexico, in glass bottles, using sugar, not corn syrup) to top it off.
REALLY good pizza.
Day 1
Saturday morning was smooth. I found my way easily to the training venue in the drizzle. When I arrived, I was warmly greeted by Ben from District Combatives and handed a pile of liability waivers. I was delighted to see a couple of familiar faces from previous training I had attended in the US and immediately took to catching up. I even met a few others whom I’d only known as Instagram followers but quickly bridged to friends. As the only Canadian in the room of almost 30, I felt humbled by the warmth and hospitality with which I was welcomed. At the front, Ed held quiet court with a few people I didn’t recognize. I took a seat and continued catching up with old friends and new.
When the room was packed and the time was right, Ben made introductions and we were immediately passed over to Ed who jumped right in. Throughout the first day ,we covered:
restraints,
irregular custody,
weapons,
awareness and movement principles,
custody work, and;
a homework assignment to make improvised weapons.
I’m being deliberately vague with the above as if I get into greater detail, I’ll be writing all night and also because it’s better to experience it first-hand for yourself.
There were several takeaways from the day, not the least of which were that I need to do more yoga, focus on Endemics and “always have an escape plan”. Sound advice for anyone.
The evening went well with food and drink around the corner and making new friends and sharing stories. I especially felt humbled that I spent a fair amount of time speaking with Ed himself about the various Mexican mythologies and esoteric symbologies used by criminal groups. Combining the entire evening’s discussions made for an educational, eye-opening and, at times, hilarious time. Let’s just not rehash the saga of Jaramillo…
Some of us now know of Jaramillo. We shall not speak of his fate.
Day 2
Entering the training location on Day 2 we were greeted at the door by metal detector and pat-down to see if we had absorbed and followed the previous days lessons and completed our homework. The resulting “found” and “not found” tables displaying weapons of various varieties was quite interesting.
Top , found. Bottom, not found.
Banana…
We debriefed and had a chuckle over some stuff (the legendary banana shank and, we even had Tactikey represented!) and then moved right into improvised weapons & Shankology. We covered:
Improvised weapons,
targeting,
knife work (inside and outside),
urban movement fundamentals and;
various hood rat shit.
By the time we ended on Sunday afternoon, I felt overloaded with new information and lessons learned. So much had been fed to us that it would take me weeks to digest it all.
On a side note, I had come from Toronto (snowy and -10C) to Washington (drizzle and +10C) and was contacted by Air Canada that my flight was cancelled and I had been re-booked to the following morning. This threw off my plans back home, but I made the most of it and spent the evening out for dinner again with Ed, Ben and several others from the course. Many chicken wings and drinks later, we broke off and headed out.
My time over the weekend both training with Ed and Ben as well as socializing with them made me happy to have attended and to get to know them.
Ben (of DC Combatives) and I. What a great guy.
Ben was very welcoming and Ed was a wealth of information and selfless in his sharing of knowledge. So much so that I invited him to come to Toronto this year and to put on a similar seminar. It would be an honour if he can make it work with his schedule.
Ed and I. At the end of the weekend we were given the opportunity to choose a card. I asked for Ed to choose. This is what I got. “El Diablito”. Very humbled. Thank you.
***IF/WHEN WE HAVE A DATE, WE WILL POST IT IMMEDIATELY HERE ON THE BLOG AND ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA*** (Give us a follow so you don’t miss out!)
I am very happy to have gone and would recommend attending a seminar from Ed if you are able. The training was excellent and the information covered was wide and relevant. If you live in the Washington, DC area, do check out Ben and DC Combatives as the types of violence mitigation methodologies he teaches are grounded in reality and effective. If he was in Toronto, I’d certainly train there.
Thank you to both Ed Calderon and Ben Drader for having me as the lone Canadian at the training seminar.
For further information about the topics and training seminars covered here, see the links below:
Recently I completed the Behavioural Profiling and Situational Awareness online course produced by Emergence LLC and presented by Yousef Badou.
Mr. Badou is a US Marine veteran (with 3 tours in Iraq) who contributed to the development of the behavioural profiling programme used by the USMC.
As an introduction, I thought it was a concise overview of the principles of behavioural profiling and situational awareness.
Developing awareness of the Baseline.
A lot is covered in the ~1 hour online course (especially for the cost, at $9 USD). For someone new to it, it really opens up a window into the world that your senses disregard if you’re not in tune to your environment. For the practitioner, it is a good review from the ground up of basics, reframed from another perspective. He states that if he can, through imparting his knowledge, give you even an extra second (or more) of advantage to act, he will have given you an edge in surviving an event. This is all predicated upon becoming in-tune with the environment around you and feeling the baseline.
Seeing what stands out even when it’s not obvious can give you that extra second to act and increase your chances of survival.
Mr. Badou’s examples and delivery are engaging and spot-on. Such as the recognition of “pre-incident indicators” are all learnable and actionable. Though a large portion of the material he covered was a review to me, I did like the way he explained some things I hadn’t heard before – the concept of “File Folders”, for instance and how they affect one’s decision making processes.
Seeing the threat early is like seeing in the future.
The entire overview hit the salient points while providing easily understandable context for each. Broad topics covered are:
Introduction to Behavioural Profiling (with physiology and psychology backgrounders)
File Folders and Denial (as well as anomalies and perception)
Fear and Brain Errors (including the Limbic system), and;
Final Thoughts
Mr. Badou references a few different additional sources for further reading in the form of Patrick Van Horne’s Left of Bang, Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear and Dave Grossman’s On Combat – all excellent primary sources for this type of material.
I recommend giving Emergence LLC a look and trying out their introductory offering. I am also looking forward to further modules they will be putting out – such as Observable Behaviours and Behavioural Indicators.
Till next time, stay warm, stay safe and stay crafty.
On the weekend of 28-29-30 July, 2017, True North Tradecraft hosted the first-ever offering of The CORE Group’s Covert Entry Concepts course in Toronto. We had 9 students, an excellent venue, great food and of course, fantastic training. (To read my review of the course I attended in Maryland, click here.)
Training materials before.
Training materials, after.
Friday evening saw the group meet up, make introductions and immerse themselves in Street Thief, a mockumentary based on a thief. Though not “real”, it did accurately illustrate how an actual thief does what they do, ideas for protecting against such things and using the same methodologies in conducting security assessments and Red Team-type attacks. That, coupled with some yummy pizza (no Hawaiian, you’re welcome Rob) made for a good evening.
Mmmm..pizza.
Starting bright and early on Saturday morning, we hit the ground running getting into the principles of physical security, locking mechanisms and the basics of attacking them. This was framed within the construct of proper evaluation and approach vectors for attack and assessment.
The tools.
Thanks to The Lucky Penny for providing scrumptious snacks and endless coffee to get us started and keep us going.
Freshly baked and delivered food and coffee made a huge positive impact on all of us.
The entire day was fast and furious. We hit on a vast breadth of topics and brought it all to practice very quickly. The students were introduced to various locks and their corresponding pick and bypass tools.
Checking out a tubular lock pick.
Wafer locks, pin & tumbler, dead bolts, combination locks, padlocks, warded locks, etc. The pace was fast but students picked-up the skills quickly and began to progress through to more difficult locks. After everyone felt they were getting the hang of it, we moved right into impressioning and key casting.
Key impressioning. Money for nothing and your checks for free.
Key casting. Delicate but really interesting if done correctly.
Saturday had some tasty lunch too…
Rob enjoying a fine Canadian poutine. Now he has a standard to measure all others by.
The rest of the day was spent discussing elevators and their uses in Red Team operations and physical security, safes and other miscellaneous related content.
We finished off the evening as a group at a fantastic nearby Mexican restaurant where the food was excellent and the tequila and mojitos flowed.
Mmmm…guac and tequila.
So much food. So good. Cheers all!
Sunday, though rough for some more than others, continued the same high tempo. We dove right into more elevator stuff and more impressioning challenges.
One challenge was who could impression a key properly before anyone else.
The second was the T-Rex Challenge. Picking a lock while a electronic muscle stimulator is hooked-up to one’s forearms. It’s a laugh for all.
Those arms are shaking. Doesn’t matter how tough you are, it was crazy.
That winners of each challenge got some stuff from our friends at Delta 2 Alpha Design (The Lolly and The Mark, and stickers, each.)
After we all stopped laughing and got feeling back in our arms, we carried on to lock bypassing, familiarization with various tools and techniques associated with it and giving them a trial run.
One of the students using an Under Door Tool to rescue someone (Rob and another student) from the bathroom.
We then transitioned to removing/replacing tamper-evident seals. A very delicate operation to say the least, this portion of the day was slow-going and painstakingly irritating when impatience wrecked it all. That said, it was very interesting in its method and application. We also discussed security posturing, use, strength and limitations of seals and tamper-evident devices along with best practices.
Making tamper-evident not-so-evident. Steady hands.
To round out the weekend, we finished on a high note with restraint escapes. Dealing in escaping unlawful custody while restrained by handcuffs, nylon zip ties, duct tape and cord. The more you know, the better prepared you will be.
Aftermath of zip tie escape.
Tools of the trade.
One of the most important parts of the learning was the manner in which it was delivered. Rob’s easy-going and humorous nature, coupled with his expansive knowledge and professionalism made for a relaxed yet powerful learning environment. He is an exemplary instructor and trainer and is so giving of himself and his knowledge. That and he couldn’t get over how no one carried guns. Yay Canada. It all makes a huge positive difference.
As with all experiences of this kind, there was so much more we covered and were exposed to that it simply wouldn’t do it justice to speak to here. There is only so much you can read about or learn from on YouTube before you hit a wall. Well-delivered, quality, in-person training has no substitute. I recommend this training to anyone interested in these skills. In the end, an excellent group made an excellent class. Congratulations to all.
Certificate. It was all worth it.
We are excited about how everything went that we are already planning our next offering. Keep tuned to the Blog (and Instagram and Facebook) for more details.
Thank you to Rob and to all others who helped make this happen and make it great (See below) and thank you to all who attended.
(*all images courtesy of Kennedy Tactical Concepts – I had my hands full) (*for more information on KTC and training, click here).
This is part 2 in a series documenting my involvement in the Kennedy Tactical Concepts Masterclass. Part 1 is available here.
Session 2 with TJ was on Wednesday July 26th at the Night Owl on College St., Toronto. (The usual spot).
Again, the environment was pleasantly realistic as we headed to the basement level of the Night Owl. We even had a band setting up while going through the techniques.
This week’s topics of practice were as follows:
Combative Control Positions/positioning;
Combative Control Transitions and;
Takedowns (in combination with #1 & 2).
As with the previous format, TJ began with introductions, an overview of what we would be covering for the night, a warm-up, and then we got right into it.
The realistic environment makes for a better appreciation of the realities you would be facing. A bar, stools, a stage, musical instruments, concrete walls and of course, a dirty cement floor. Though the Combative Control Positions and Transitions were not striking per se, they were very dependent on speed, agility and technique. After an hour of practicing and building upon each technique, we moved on to takedowns.
Starting slowly at first, we quickly moved to full-speed with follow-throughs. The result was fluid takedowns with a high degree of comfort in executing the movements. We also worked on improvising all the techniques of the night against larger and smaller opponents as we were all of differing heights.
Of course, I was sporting my awesome shirt from www.tacticalbeaver.co Yes, you should Fear The Beaver.
Solid training. The next day I was sore as hell, but at least I wasn’t bleeding on a bar floor. I’ll be at the next one. Stay tuned and Stay Crafty.
