An Invitation to Sonoma County Parents
Dear Parents,
Our world is changing.
There seems to be this plague of evil seeping into every area of our lives.
The last 3 years have been filled with violence. Destructive rioting, school shootings and countless new “threats” have emerged. There’s even been a series of “games” where people inflict violence on each other and record it for entertainment.
Recently, after hearing about various events in our county, I did a search and found this from January.
As I dug deeper it only got worse.
These are just a few of the headlines I found from the last few months in our community:
- A student was stabbed during class Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, at the west Santa Rosa school
- A 15-year-old Santa Rosa teen admitted in Sonoma County Juvenile Court Monday that he stabbed a fellow Elsie Allen High School student
- The Sonoma County Office of Education said a “credible” threat posted on social media by a student’s father caused two schools to go into lockdown.
- Violent home invasion in Sonoma leads to two arrests
- Petaluma Police officers arrested a man Friday night after he reportedly attacked someone near a pedestrian over-crossing
- Violent rampage in a Rohnert Park Walmart. Suspect allegedly began his attack just after 2 p.m. in the store’s electronics department
- Suspect sought in violent robbery targeting senior – Windsor, Ca
- Oct 4, 2025 – Sonoma Co.: Stabbing, Carjacking Suspect Arrested After Manhunt Prompts Windsor School Lockdowns
I was shocked to see how many violent crimes have happened in our area in just the last few months.
If you ONLY read the news, you would think our community is under attack. Violent encounters have occurred everywhere from our schools to shopping centers.
I don’t share these to “scare” you. This is the unfortunate reality of our world today.
An unspeakable level of acceptance of violence and harm to others is permeating every aspect of our society. Sadly, this is not new news.
What can we do about it?
Four years ago, I became an instructor for active shooter events. The more courses that I taught the more I couldn’t shake the thought that, although this training was good, it wasn’t enough, and I began to study real violence.
Then, through a mutual friend, I was introduced to Martial Arts legend, Coach Tony Blauer. The creator of the SPEAR System® and world’s largest self-defense training library.
He is an internationally renowned coach to over 2,000 self-defense & martial arts instructors, 6,000 law enforcement & military agencies and 100,000+ students worldwide.
If Steve jobs revolutionized the cell phone by creating a handheld computer anyone could learn to use.Tony Blauer revolutionized real world self-defense by creating a training system that anyone can learn to use.
In the fall of 2023, I got the chance to connect with Tony. This is where he told me about his SPEAR System® Instructor Certification and the Be Your Own Bodyguard® course he created for civilians.
He told me that his mission is to make every human as safe as possible in a world where there are more violent crimes happening every day. He challenged me to look at my own area and said that I would see why he trains everyday people to be their own bodyguard”
I asked him the next logical question that you’re probably thinking of right now…
How can I be ready of for these crazy scenarios we see?
This is how…
Educate & Prepare.
This is what I did and became a certified SPEAR System® Instructor and authorized to teach the Be Your Own Bodyguard® Course.
I learned that by educating yourself on the psychology of fear, the principles of violence and foundational skills of self-defense you can become a true GUARDIAN for your family.
The ability to protect yourself or a loved one is the single greatest skill you could possess.
Which is why I’m so passionate about making sure the people around me are PREPARED to PROTECT themselves and their families. Especially, if they ever find themselves in a situation like the ones listed above.
Prepare and Protect.
What exactly does that mean??
Preparation is one of the most effective ways to defend against violence.
It’s one of the reasons why there is no other course or training like Be Your Own Bodyguard®. The BYOB course isn’t about tactics, tricks or cool moves that you see on YouTube.
The foundation of the course is built on teaching you to reconnect with your intuitive primal instincts, become a master of situational awareness and de-escalate violent situations. The program includes an effective verbal de-escalation system and the most raw and direct approach to personal defense.
Developing these skills will give you the psychological tools needed to avoid violent situations and effectively remove your family from them if you are to ever find yourself in one.
You’ll literally be safer in a day. This is what it means to be prepared.
The second part of the equation is to develop the skills to PROTECT.
What’s cool is that you already have a built-in, factory installed, human self-defense system.
You just need to learn how to weaponize. Don’t believe me? Try this…
Imagine that you were sitting minding your business at a baseball game when suddenly something came flying into the stands.
How would you react?
You probably put your hands up like the photo here, right?
It’s called the “startle flinch”
Your pre-programmed, built-in, factory installed human self-defense system.
Tony calls it your “Biological Airbag”
An airbag because it’s an unconscious response that automatically deploys when your body perceives an immediate threat.
How cool is that? You already have a built-in system to defend yourself. All you have to do is weaponize it.
The Be Your Own Bodyguard® Course is the only self-defense system uses real science to teach civilians how to weaponize the startle flinch. It’s the only self-defense system 100% based on human physiology and natural biomechanics.
In other words, this is REAL LIFE self-defense.
This isn’t “Try this really cool move if someone ever comes at you from behind”. That doesn’t work.
The whole BYOB system is focused on how you can use your pre-programmed physiological responses to your advantage when dealing with real violence.
As Coach Blauer says, if someone violently approaches you and your family there are only 3 things they will ever want.
- Property
- Body
- Life
The Be Your Own Bodyguard® course will give you all of the tools you need to PROTECT all 3.
My Invitation To You! Come to join me in helping make you and your family safer.
On January 24th, 2026, we will be hosting the Be Your Own Bodyguard® course at Live It Up Wellness in Santa Rosa and you’re invited to join us.
Read all of the details and history of Coach Blauer’s revolutionary training system below. If you have any questions regarding the course please contact us.
Due to the depth of training that you will experience going through this course the spots are VERY LIMITED.
We only have a total of 12 slots available for the January 24th date. As of now, 2 of those spots are already taken and the rest will go fast.
If you’re still able to access the registration form below then there are spots available
We hope to see you in January preparing to protect your family
John & the Team at Chevalier Training
Meet The Creator Of The Be Your Own Bodyguard® Course
Coach Tony Blauer
Coach Tony Blauer has been in the martial art, self-defense, defensive tactics, and combatives industry for over four decades. 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 lead 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.He developed the world’s first impact-reduction scenario-based training equipment, called High Gear which revolutionized force-on-force training for police, SWAT, and military organizations.
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.
Coach Blauer’s programs have influenced over three decades of trainers and coaches as well as most contemporary reality-based martial artists. He resides in California with his wife, kids, and dogs but still travels extensively working with individuals, corporations and government organizations around the world providing solutions for training, performance assessment and credentialing. His companies are dedicated to enhancing the mental and physical safety of everyone they help train.
“Tony Blauer will be remembered as one of the great pioneers who propelled us forward to the next evolutionary step in Warriorhood.”
Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.) Director, Killology Research Group
What You Will Learn In The Course:
- The Situational Awareness Reframe that anyone can use to quickly assess their surroundings even with very little training
- How to develop better awareness so that you will subconsciously assess new scenarios
- The importance of fear in your life and how you can weaponize it and use it to your advantage
- How to recognize real danger from imagined so that you can always keep a level head
- Fear management in a crisis – the most important part of the course that we teach.
- Human Weapon system principles and how to weaponize your human airbag system
- How to hack self-defense and quickly learn what will actually help you in real life
- How to use your built in physiological responses to defend yourself in real life
- The first SPEAR System Fundamentals, the most effective real life self-defense system ever made
- The #choosesafety blueprint because the #1 way to avoid violence is to de-escalate when possible
- The science of personal protection & how using physiology, physics, and psychology can save your life
