Close Protection Training

The Importance of Being a Well Trained Female Bodyguard

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The last 5 years has seen female bodyguards grow in popularity and their pay increase to in some cases surpass our male counterparts.   Many principals (clients) that are in showbiz, royal families or even politicians are interested in hiring female bodyguards for their safety. Thousands of dollars are paid in contracts between security companies who provides females bodyguards and V.I.P’s.  However, because there is such demand, many of these are under trained and put into place just to provide a body, yet they insufficient experience and training.


Because of the high demand in female bodyguards and the difficulty to find and hire trained ones, many security companies are hiring female who just have a related experience but not specifically bodyguard training. What is the problem of hiring a female that has an experience as police officer or a private investigator or being a martial arts athlete instead of a female who has passed through a specific bodyguard training and certification courses?


In order to answer that question we have to explain what does a  female bodyguard course consist of? Some of the topics the student is train in are:  Armed and unarmed combat, on her own or covering the V.I.P.  Police officers are trained to cover themselves and return fire, but a bodyguard has to learn not to cover herself but to cover her principal’s body. Our instinct tells us to cover ourselves in dangerous situations. It requires many hours of practice to overcome it and learn automatically to cover someone else with your own body.


A female bodyguard will be trained in risk analysis and management, anti-terrorism, body language, how to identify and react in explosives devices, organization of event security, self defense techniques, First Aid, how to react in hostile behavior, driving skills, media management, walking drills, armed and unarmed combat, etc.


Everyone has an experience in his own field. A police officer in law enforcement, a private investigator in investigations, and a martial artist is an athlete in fighting. If you have heart problems you wouldn’t choose a plastic surgeon instead of a cardiologist, even though they are both doctors.


In my previous work experience I had to work in a team with colleagues that didn’t have the needed bodyguard training. So, I had to pay attention twice and cover their back. But who was there to cover my back? I knew that I couldn’t rely on them and feel safe, if anything happened they would not be able to react professionally. Why? Because no one has trained them how to appropriately provide protective services.


If you are a female who want to work in security industry, take a minute and think seriously of the importance of being trained. Your previous related experience will help you but by its own doesn’t  make you suitable and ready to work as a bodyguard. You can find many bodyguard courses available. Whatever you choose for your professional training be sure that is from a certified body.  This means that their curriculum has been validated, given attention to and reworked in some cases to meet some standards.


ATHENA Worldwide and ATHENA Academy(TM) promote courses and female bodyguards around the world with the first centralized formal location for the promotion of females in the close protection industry. We are the answer to many who would like an all female training staff in the areas of – Child Protective Services, Nannyguard(TM), Bodyguard Training, Urban Awareness and many other female self defense issues.

Most that have a desire to learn how to provide protective services really enjoy their training, they look forward to it and embrace the challenges.  If you have the desire to make protective services a career as a female bodyguard, then contact ATHENA Academy by going to http://www.AthenaAcademy.com and learn how to get started.  A counseler will be assigned to you as you work through your training to help you get the most applicable education for the services you would like to perform.


Denida Zinxhiria, CPSS

7 Basic Principles for a Female Bodyguard

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The 7 Basic Principles for a Female Bodyguard

We all in the security industry know that no one of us can offer 100% security to a client. For Athena Academy members it is necessary to follow and practise some simple basic principles in order to be able to reduce a potential attempt to a minimum percentage. Being well-trained, prepared and aware makes a female bodyguard able to carry out her duty.

1) Avoid  Routine

Routine can be deadly as a bullet. Many studies in attempted cases have proved that even the best team of bodyguards has failed when some of the team members have been vulnerable to routine. Someone who is following the same programme every day can be easily predictable from his enemies. We can mention Ronald Reagan’s assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, while he was leaving the hotel entrance, as one of the most well-known cases that failed cause the routine. (http://photosthatchangedtheworld.com/reagan-assassination/)

Someone who is planning to attempt an attack on your principal will study your team. He will note and study your daily programme. The routes you are following. Your reactions, even your escort techniques in order to find the weak points that will give him the opportunity to act against you.

So, what a female bodyguard can do in order to avoid routine? You can use different routes, entrances, and exits when you are in escort with your principal. Surprise your enemy by exiting from another entrance or using different routes. Change the techniques you are following when you control his car, office, home, and even people from time to time. Also when you are following different techniques not only is difficult for someone to study you but also gives him to understand that he is messing with a professional and he will have to think it twice.

2) Use Common Sense.

You don’t have to be an expert in physics or science or have a BSc degree in order to be succeeded as a bodyguard. What you always will need is to use common sense when dealing with situations.


3) Always Be On Alert

A principal’s safety is dependent upon his bodyguard’s professionalism. So although he is the target, you as his security team are the first who will be monitoring and the one that will accept any attack. By being always alert and having in your mind, you will be able to pay more attention to faces, facts and places. Do not ever allow yourself to believe that your job is safe. You have to take the necessary measures to protect yourself first and by extension your principal. You are there cause there is a risk factor. If you have to be in front of a bullet that means you have failed in your job, you haven’t predicted the incoming threat and avoided it.

4) Stay On Track

You have done this through your training and the necessary education of being a bodyguard. So, you are able to adopt your own way and technique of how you will work. Follow an orderly on how you work but also allow in some cases and situations new ideas and techniques. Remember we want to avoid falling into the trap of the routine.

5)Be Suspicious

As a security team member, you should have a higher level of suspicion toward people. When you are in a crowd everyone can be a potential threat. In order for your enemy to come closer to you and your principal he can adopt every ID that you can imagine. He can be a photographer, visitor, fan, waitress, etc. What you need to do is to pay attention and see if someone is behaving accordingly to his ID. If something doesn’t look normal to you take a moment to investigate the person. Is better to spend more time and effort and be sure to have a risk behind your back. Always trust your gut. We all know how women trust their 6th sense. As a female bodyguard use that sense of yours. If you don’t like something search it more.

We can mention here a very famous case in which the disaster was avoided because of the excellent job of the ElAl security officer at Heathrow Airport on April 17, 1986. He was on duty and has to check Anne Marie Murphy, a 32-year-old Irish woman who was six months pregnant and was carrying without her knowledge explosives under a double panel in her suitcase.

http://www.shabak.gov.il/english/history/affairs/pages/anne-mariemurphycase.aspx

If we think about it, how many would suspect a 32-year-old pregnant woman? The ElAl security officer did it, while he was interviewing her he found something suspicious, and his suspiciousness save the life of 395 passengers and crew.

6) Take Necessary Initiatives

Sometimes you will have to take over initiatives during your services that are outside of your duty in order to prevent any threats. Don’t be afraid to do it, just have in mind to act with responsibility, professionalism and respect toward your colleagues and people.

7) Maintain Good Communication

Remember as a female bodyguard you are not responsible only for your principal and your team’s safety but also responsible for your acts that may damage his image. Is very important to keep a respectful level of communication with people you are dealing with such as the paparazzi, media, fans and supporters. Who can forget cases like Nicole Kidman’s bodyguard beating a paparazzi almost near to death (http://www.theinsider.com/news/727571_Nicole_Kidmans_bodyguard_beats_photographer_black_and_blue), or when Barbra Streisand had to intervene and stop the fight between her bodyguard and a paparazzi in the streets of Paris (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yuLmc_kP1g&feature=related). Although your primary is your principal’s safety that doesn’t mean that you can break the laws and use violence toward others in order to make your job easier for you.

And of course, we can’t forget the importance of good communication between you and your colleagues. You are in the same team offering services for one common achievement, your principal’s safety.

Denida Zinxhiria