Mark “Six” James is the founder and executive director of Panther Protection Services, LLC, a full service protection agency which provides security consulting, threat assessment, executive protection, self-defense training and firearms instruction. A seasoned executive protection specialist, James has over 25 years of firearms, martial arts and celebrity and executive protection experience. Here, he offers tips on how women can protect themselves from physical harm and why every woman should have a copy of his book, Common Sense Self-Defense: A Woman’s Self-Defense Survival Guide, in her library. –yvette caslin
How did you start teaching self-defense to women?
As a bodyguard, defensive skills are an inherent part of the job. I had a number of clients who asked me if I would teach their wives and daughters some defensive tactics since they did not have the luxury of having either me or my team with them 24/7. As a father of a recent college graduate, I knew first-hand the sense of exposure I felt when I dropped my daughter off at her dorm room her freshman year, even knowing she had more defensive skills than most young ladies her age. As a father, brother and son, I have always had respect for ladies and a severe distaste for anyone who tried to take physical advantage of women.
What is the essential message of the book besides self-defense?
A woman doesn’t have to be a victim. Threat avoidance and recognition are your greatest assets. Abductions, rapes and other assaults occur during the course of women going about their daily lives. Their vacations, restaurant visits and activities on school campuses are being violently interrupted by aggressors determined to take advantage of them. I wrote Common Sense Self-Defense to help empower women by giving them proven self-defense strategies that don’t require years of special training to understand. The book highlights techniques that women can take to the street immediately. Criminals aren’t putting off hurting people, so my book helps women employ potential life-saving strategies right now. While it is often said that self-defense is a mindset, the mindset without situational awareness and practical defensive skills is a hallucination.
Why is this book important for all women, not just women in domestic-abuse situations?
An astounding number of women are met with unwelcomed physical encounters at points in their lives. It’s unfortunate that bad things happen to good people everyday. News of abductions, violent assaults, home invasions and rapes are reported daily in metro, suburban and rural areas. No communities are exempt from assaults on women. Our live training seminars and my book, Common Sense Self-Defense: A Woman’s Self-Defense Survival Guide, was released to give women immediate, effective strategies that may help save their self-esteem — or perhaps their lives.
I hope that by shedding light on some overlooked realities, women will see the value of my personal defense training in much the same light as insurance: You file small claims periodically to help with nuisance problems, but the greater value is having coverage in the event of a major catastrophe.
Purchase a copy of Common Sense Self-Defense: A Woman’s Self-Defense Survival Guide by visiting www.amazon.com or www.pantherprotectionservices.com.
