In matters of safety, it’s important to sort things out. To set a framework and limits.
Who I don’t train
I don’t train fantasists looking for a role to play, nor anxious people looking to my courses as an outlet for their own insecurity. This isn’t a judgement, it’s a framework. My courses touch on the use of force, reading threat, reflexes that, poorly transmitted or poorly received, can do real damage. I can’t afford to arm, even mentally, someone looking to prove something to themselves rather than to hold a position.
My courses are aimed exclusively at responsible professionals, meaning people working under a triple constraint:
- They represent an institution or organisation, they wear a uniform,
- They have a mission they cannot depart from,
- They are accountable: to a superior, a hierarchy, sometimes a judge.
Why this triple constraint changes everything
This isn’t an administrative detail. It’s what sets a responsible professional apart from anyone else when facing a tense situation.
The uniform removes anonymity
You don’t react the same way when you know your action will be seen, reported, filmed, and associated with the institution you represent. This visibility imposes a restraint that an isolated individual doesn’t have to observe — and it’s precisely this restraint that we train.
The mission removes the escape route
A responsible professional can’t flee a situation simply because it’s uncomfortable: their role obliges them to face it, within a precise framework. This is neither heroism nor recklessness, but a professional obligation, which demands acting rightly, not forcefully.
Accountability removes impunity
Every action taken can be questioned afterwards (by a superior, a hierarchy, sometimes a judge). This perspective fundamentally changes the nature of the action: you never act in the moment without knowing that, one day, you’ll have to explain it.
It’s this combination — representation, duty, accountability — that immediately excludes the thrill-seeking fantasist and the anxious person seeking reassurance. Both would, consciously or not, try to escape one of these three constraints. The responsible professional, on the other hand, accepts all three before even starting training.
The field of possibilities is narrower, the use of force far more constrained. It’s also more interesting, and above all, more human.