When two-time national Judo champion Joe Saunders signed up for his first job as a crowd controller (bouncer), he had no idea how it would change his life or the direction it would lead him in. Despite an extensive martial arts background and a keen interest in behavioral psychology, Joe was exposed for the first time to the anatomy of real- world violence. He soon began to notice patterns emerging in the plethora of violence that engulfed his life for a number of years working in some of the wildest night clubs in the Greater Brisbane area, as well as moonlighting as a bodyguard for several high profile clients. A concern for the welfare of some of the waitresses working at a particular venue led to Joe formalizing these observations along with further study into a system of self protection that he could teach interested staff members. This was to become the beginnings of Proactive Self Protection.
It was not just the bar staff that Joe was concerned about, however. Dismayed at the quality of defensive tactics training provided to his co-workers, Joe began searching for an alternative. What was being taught did not work under pressure and resulted in too many well-intentioned bouncers resorting to pure brawling when things started to get out of their control. Drawing upon an extensive network of security instructors, martial arts instructors, state and federal police and corrections personnel, Joe began to put together a Defensive Tactics package that could be relied upon to work under real conditions. What he found was that the techniques were not the issue, but rather how they were trained. Absorbing influences from his Judo training and American Defensive Tactics gurus ISR Matrix, Joe developed a method of training and drilling techniques effectively and was soon teaching it to all the guards under his command. Since then his students have included current serving police, military and corrections personnel.
Joe does not take credit for everything that he teaches, as much has been adapted and adjusted from a long list of influences. Those with the most influence include but are not limited to Straight-Blast Gym’s ISR Matrix, Raymond Floro’s Floro Fighting Systems, Tony Blauer’s Blauer Tactical Systems, Deane Lawler’s R-SULT, Richard Dimitri’s Senshido, Gavin De Becker, Pressure Point Control Tactics, Tactical Self Defence, Judo, Brazilian JiuJitsu, wrestling and a plethora of other martial arts.
In June 2008, two and a half years of informal teaching was finally formalized in the launch of Progressive Defence.
“…to help all members of our society to better understand, predict, avoid and defeat violence in their day-to-day lives.”
ISR Matrix Law Enforcement & Civilian Tier 1 Instructor
Certificate IV Training and Assessment
Certificate III Security Operations - Executive Protection/Firearms specialist
Nationally Accredited
Tactical Self Defence instructor
Former professional bodyguard and crowd controller
2 x National Judo Champion
Security Firearms Instructor - Revolver, Pistol & Shotgun
