Most Programs Teach Techniques — SAFE Teaches What Actually Works Under Stress

10X Your Impact as a Self-Defence Instructor — Teach What Saves Lives in a Single 4–5 Hour Class.

Most people won’t train for months or years —
but they still deserve skills that hold up under pressure.

SAFE Certification shows you how to teach what real people
remember when fear hits.

Ready to Talk About Becoming SAFE Certified?

Share a few details about your background and goals, then choose a time to talk through whether this certification is the right fit.

Can't find a time that works? Email me directly at [email protected]

200,000+ people trained across 12+ countries since 1994.
As featured on Global TV & The Toronto Star.

Built for the People Who Will Only Train Once

Most Programs Assume Your Students Will Come Back. SAFE Assumes They Might Not.

Traditional self-defence and skills programs are designed for students who train week after week. SAFE Certification is different — it’s built around the reality that many of the people who need you most may only ever attend a single 4–5 hour class, and they still deserve skills that hold up when fear hits.

SAFE Is For You If...

You want to keep people safe — not overwhelm them with drills they’ll forget.

  • Your students often attend only one workshop, and you feel the responsibility to get it right in that single class.
  • You’ve taken multiple certifications but still wonder if you’re giving real confidence or confidence that may collapse under stress.
  • You aren’t satisfied teaching prevention and conflict for just a few minutes before moving to physical techniques.
  • You work with women, teens, survivors, or other vulnerable groups and want a trauma-aware way to teach self-defence.

How SAFE Certification Helps

SAFE gives you a proven framework you can use immediately — in your very next workshop.

  • Teach using a simple Prevention → Conflict → Physical structure that matches how regular people actually learn.
  • Build 4–5 hour workshops around real-life needs, daily habits, and the environments your students actually move through.
  • Simplify physical skills into principle-based responses even anxious or inexperienced students can perform under fear.
  • Teach in a trauma-aware way that supports survivors without overwhelming or re-triggering them.

You don’t have to abandon what you already teach. SAFE fits into your current system — and strengthens it for the people who only train with you once.

Inside SAFE Certification

Prevention, Conflict, Physical — A Framework You Can Teach in Your Very Next Workshop

SAFE doesn’t give you more techniques — it gives you a clear, trauma-aware structure for teaching real-world skills to one-class learners: what to cover first, what to skip, and how to ensure the most important skills stick when fear hits.

Module One

Prevention: Stop Problems Before They Start

Teach awareness, intuition, and everyday boundaries in a way normal people instantly “get”.

  • Build classes around students’ daily environments — not idealized dojo scenarios.
  • Make red flags unforgettable using scenarios and stories.
  • Help people make safer decisions long before danger turns physical.
Module Two

Conflict: Options Between “Do Nothing” and “Fight”

Simple, real-world verbal and exit strategies that reduce escalation — not add to it.

  • Teach what to say, how to say it, and when silence is safer.
  • Manage adrenaline so students don’t freeze or panic.
  • Easy-to-teach exit strategies for crowded areas, workplaces, parking lots, and public spaces.
Module Three

Physical: Simple Responses That Work Under Fear

A minimal set of principle-based actions anyone can perform — even scared, shaky beginners.

  • Replace technique overload with movements proven to work under stress.
  • Build confidence without creating unrealistic “fight your way out” expectations.
  • Integrate physical skills with prevention & conflict so students get the full picture, not just the fight.
Woman aware of being followed and calling for help
Prevention
Conflict resolution book by Chris Roberts
Conflict
Self-defence certification action shot
Physical

Certified Instructors Worldwide

What SAFE Certified Instructors Around the World Are Saying

Instructors and graduates from multiple countries share how SAFE Certification has changed the way they teach — and how their students respond.

Richard Dimitri on SAFE Certification

World-renowned self-defence expert shares why he trusts SAFE’s approach to teaching those who need it most.

Why Craig Chose SAFE Certification

UK instructor explains how SAFE helped him move beyond techniques and teach prevention-first self-defence.

Malissa’s Certification Experience

How SAFE helped Malissa build confidence, practical skills, and the ability to teach life-saving strategies in her community.

More From SAFE Certified Instructors

These are just a few messages from SAFE Certified Instructors reflecting on how the program changed their teaching and their students’ results.

“SAFE International offers simple, easy-to-implement self-defence for every woman and every man. In just four hours, people leave with practical tools they can actually use. As one of only two SAFE Instructors in Germany, I love teaching women at eye level — from woman to woman — and helping them move through the world more safely.”

Petra Zalfen-Harzheim

SAFE Certified Instructor (Germany)

“Chris has a unique training style — detailed, practical, and delivered with a hilarious sense of humour that makes the days fly by. Being certified by SAFE has made me feel safe, strong, and smart when defending myself, and I’m honoured to teach this program to school children abroad. I’m so grateful for the knowledge and confidence SAFE has given me.”

K

SAFE Certified Instructor

“Great experience. Chris is a wealth of knowledge. I was challenged to think about situations I had never considered before, and I learned something new about people and about myself. Thank you, Chris.”

Leanne Erickson Huvenaars

SAFE Certified Instructor

“I’ve been in the self-defence industry for years and this program has had the biggest impact on my professional outlook. Before, I focused mostly on techniques. SAFE shifted my attention to conflict resolution, de-escalation, awareness, and mental preparedness — the real core of self-defence. It’s changed how I teach and how I handle high-stress situations, both on the mat and in everyday life.”

Markus Andersson

SAFE Certified Instructor

“SAFE opened my eyes to how overwhelming too many techniques can be — not just for beginners but for instructors too. Learning about Hick’s Law and option overload really resonated. The material on mindset, trauma, and why people come to learn self-defence changed how I see my students. The pre-confrontation content alone was worth the investment. I’m very appreciative of Chris sharing his knowledge to help us save lives.”

Alex

SAFE Certified Instructor

“The instructor training at SAFE is more than an enrichment — it’s a fundamental new perspective on self-defence. In Krav Maga and combatives, violence prevention often plays too small a role. SAFE finally fills that gap. Chris helps you put the person, their experiences, and their needs at the centre of training, instead of just imposing a concept on everyone. For me as a trainer, it was a benefit in every way.”

Emanuel Socher-Jukic

SAFE Certified Instructor

Start Your SAFE Certification Zoom Chat

Tell me a bit about your background and who you’d like to help. Once you submit the form, you’ll go straight to a page where you can book your Zoom call at a time that works for you.

SAFE offers multiple certification paths — we’ll help you choose the best fit during your Zoom chat.