When someone is trying to break down the doors to your humble abode, many homeowners think there’s not much they can do to defend themselves or their property.
Visit sport-tr.bet for more information.
It’s certainly a sentiment GTA homeowners may feel with home invasions increasingly in the spotlight .
Families expect to feel safe within the confines of their home and they should continue to feel that way if an intruder tries to force their way in.
Enter Home Invasion Protection , the brainchild of mixed martial arts instructors Steve Hyatt and Frank Visconti of Point Blank Martial Arts , who created a defence seminar to address the growing concern of people who want to stay safe if a home invasion occurs.
The co-founders felt there were no comprehensive training programs out there, specifically ones geared toward home invasion safety.
“We set out to create a program that brings everything together, from home fortification strategies all the way to self-defence tactics,” he said with Home Invasion Protection’s monthly seminars also combining practical safety planning.Addressing community concerns
Hyatt and Visconti said they’ve heard concerns from community members about home invasions in their areas. Specifically from homeowners of small stature concerned about how they could defend themselves and their family against one or multiple attackers.
In one instance, a mother of one of their martial arts students approached them to learn how she and her husband could protect themselves and their family after a break-and-enter happened not far from where they lived.
“I always stress violence is never an option unless it’s the only option,” Hyatt told the Toronto Sun . “You don’t ever want to be in a situation where you have to physically defend yourself.
“The first step should be deterrence: Making your home a less appealing target to reduce the likelihood of an incident happening altogether. From there, you can progress to learning how to respond if you’re ever faced with a violent situation.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Not just about self-defence
While students learn defence techniques at the seminar, that’s just one aspect of the program. Participants also learn aspects such as establishing a safe room and learning extraction drills, which are concepts that are personalized to the layout of each person’s home.
“What we do is guide attendees through how to assess their own space and think critically about it. From there, we introduce work through how to set up a plan and be able to respond effectively under pressure,” said Visconti.
Concepts such as extraction drills — learning how to remove occupants from a home if staying put isn’t an option — aren’t about memorizing steps, but understanding how to make quick and confident decisions in their own environment, Hyatt said.
“This way, attendees have a framework they can apply to their own home and leave the seminar with something that feels practical, personal and usable at home,” he said.
For Home Invasion Protection, it’s not about teaching students to throw themselves into a dangerous and unpredictable situation. The objective is to provide homeowners with the skills and tools necessary to neutralize a potential attacker should the situation arise.
Hands-on learning
The best kind of education is one that’s practical.
Hyatt and Visconti aim to make their seminar as engaging and hands-on as possible with participants learning through a combination of group and individual instruction and partner-based practice with other students.
Even with more theoretical training concepts, Visconti said the focus is to keep things engaging and interactive for participants.
One interactive element of the teachings is bringing in protection dogs for a live demonstration so participants can learn about an added safety layer by neutralizing an attacker on command.
“Ultimately, the goal is to get participants out of their seats, moving, thinking and learning to respond in real time, so they walk out of the seminar feeling more prepared and capable,” said Visconti.
Grassroots effort
As of now, Home Invasion Protection holds monthly seminars. The co-founders said they’ve received a lot of positive support from the community, seminar attendees and those who search out what they’re doing online.
They hope to host seminars more frequently as demand grows.
“It’s a grassroots effort. We’re not a large organization that’s hosting these panels to try to sell people security systems or whatever,” said Hyatt.
“We’re just two people who want to help others feel safe in their homes and have the confidence to safely navigate a situation nobody ever wants to be in,” Visconti added.
More info can be found online at homeinvasion.com.