The KNOW FEAR Podcast

My wife will tell you: I hate change.
But when change serves the mission?
When it makes the world safer?
When it honors 40+ years of building something that matters?
I’ll change. Stepping into the fear loop 😬👊
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TB
(Scroll the decades in the pics)

When I was 15, my mother asked me, “Are you going to be a lawyer or a doctor?”

Sitting on the floor, stretching, flipping through a Bruce Lee magazine, I looked up and said,
“I’m going to develop my own martial system like Bruce Lee and teach self-defense.”

She smiled, patted me on the head, and said, “Okay, dear. We’ll talk about this when you’re older.”

That was 1975. By 1979, I was already teaching full-time.

My martial arts journey began in 1973, but my vision was always bigger than just teaching self-defense—I wanted to make people safer.

In the early days, one of my students lost a fight. He got beaten in a bully-versus-good-guy showdown I’d been coaching him for months to handle. It hit me like a gut punch. I felt like I’d failed him. That moment planted the seed for scenario-based training.

I dove deep. I studied violence. I studied fear. I experimented relentlessly.

That journey led me to uncover the connection between the startle-flinch response and our survival instincts. Over time, I realized that the relationship between physiology, physics, and psychology was universal. It didn’t matter what style you practiced—human behavior and biomechanics were the great equalizers.

From that discovery, a new approach to self-defense emerged.

Instinct. Intuition. Intelligence. These weren’t obstacles; they were assets.

Years of experimentation led to what I call the SPEAR System®: Spontaneous Protection Enabling Accelerated Response.

Qui Docet Discit. Latin for “He who teaches, learns.”

For 41 years, I’ve been teaching non-stop. And every time I start a class, I thank the students for their trust. Without them, where would I be? What would I do? That’s the truth.

And here’s another truth: I realize now that I was creating the self-defense system I wish someone had taught me as a kid.

I’m almost 65 now, but the other day, I found a picture of my 15-year-old self working out in my basement—swinging nunchakus, surrounded by Bruce Lee posters.

There’s still a part of me that’s that kid, working on a dream.

🙏

I got this deep, thought-provoking question from our student, Daniel—another example of how our training isn’t just physical; it gets into the psychology of fear and action. Let’s dive in:

“Coach, if there is no courage without fear, then there has to be vulnerability to experience fear—a person has to be willing to feel. Therefore, would you agree that there is no courage without vulnerability? Brené Brown got CEOs, Special Forces, and Navy SEALs to say there is no courage without vulnerability. Can I get you to say the same thing?”

Here’s my take…

That’s a great question. And while I respect the sentiment behind it, my answer depends on how we define vulnerability.

If we’re talking about emotional vulnerability, as Brené Brown often describes—being open to risk, uncertainty, and emotional exposure—then I wouldn’t frame courage that way in the context of self-defense.

But if we’re talking about tactical vulnerability—the recognition of a threat, risk, or danger—then yes, acknowledging it is crucial. Because until you recognize your vulnerability, you can’t access courage.

But here’s what I always come back to from my KNOW FEAR® program:

👉 “You cannot be brave if you’re not afraid.”

Fear is the trigger for courage. Courage isn’t about being fearless—it’s about acting despite fear. In a real-world confrontation, hesitation or denial of fear can be deadly. Acknowledging fear doesn’t mean weakness—it means awareness. It means readiness. It means you’re primed to act.

This is where my philosophy diverges from Brown’s. In my world—self-defense, survival, and real-world confrontations—the key isn’t emotional vulnerability.

It’s about using fear as fuel.

👉 F**K FEAR.

Face it. Understand it. Control it. Know it.

Vulnerability in this context isn’t about openness—it’s about situational awareness, recognizing danger, and making the right move when it matters most.

So while vulnerability may play a role in certain forms of courage, in self-defense and fear management, the real equation is this:

👉 Fear recognized + Fear managed = Courage in action.

Click this link and grab a T-Shirt: https://blauerspear.com/spear-store/know-fear-shirt

Coach B

When sudden violence erupts, your Central Nervous System overrides your Cognitive Brain.

You lose access to complex motor skills.

The techniques you’ve drilled? Your brain can’t find them until you overcome the initial surprise.

For 40 years, I’ve studied this gap—and created a system that works WITH your biology, not against it.

When you learn to weaponize the flinch and ethically weaponize fear, you become a human weapon.

Grab my HUMAN WEAPON SYSTEM.

10 lessons • 80-page manual • Lifetime access

LIMITED TIME: SAVE $250
Use code HWS250 at checkout.

Valid until midnight Dec 1, 2025 — new orders only.

👉 Link here: https://blauerspear.thinkific.com/courses/HWS10

Don’t forget the code HWS250 to save $250.

Trusted by military, law enforcement & martial artists worldwide.

For decades, I’ve had the privilege and honor of serving those who serve. I’ve been around warriors for over half my life — men and women whose courage, integrity, and resilience always make me want to be better.

The last five+ years have been strange. Division, chaos, cancel culture, confusion — it’s been one of the most bizarre and polarizing stretches in modern history. It’s affected every part of our society, but few people talk about how deeply it’s impacted our protectors — especially those in uniform.

We’ve lost too many good ones — not just to war, but to politics, pressure, and burnout. Some walked away because they refused to comply with something experimental, or because they wouldn’t take a knee, or be coerced into something that went against their conscience. It’s tragic because the world needs more protectors, not fewer.

While Veterans Day is reserved for our military, I want to take a moment to also acknowledge those in public safety — law enforcement, fire, and EMS — who share that same spirit of service and sacrifice.

So today, I want to do more than say thank you. I want to say we see you. We honor your sacrifice, your courage, and your willingness to stand for something bigger than yourself — even when the world seems to be losing its mind.

To all the men and women, past, present, and future, who have stood guard, who continue to stand guard, and who will stand guard — thank you for defending not just our freedoms, but the idea of courage itself.

And remember…

“If you can read, thank a teacher. If you can read in English, thank a soldier.”

That’s one of my favorite quotes and a reminder of the victory of World War II — and the price of freedom that made it possible.

Happy Veterans Day.

Coach Blauer

In the 80’s, while creating the KNOW FEAR®️ program, I taught students how to convert fear to fuel by shifting anger to indignation.

This reframe is both important and potent.

‘Indignation’ is a special type of anger...

‘Indignation’ is the ‘how dare you?’ anger that redirects the focus ‘to the threat’ instead of ‘on the act’.

This is so subtle but so potent.

Coach B

1985 – four decades ago I realized that the only way I’d ever be able to defend myself is if I understood four things:

What did I fear?
How do I conquer those fears?
How do ‘real’ attacks occur?
And, how do I defend against those real attacks?

The “truth” I discovered was never in bigger muscles or accumulating techniques. The truth—yours and mine—was in understanding behavior, psychology, biomechanics and violence.

Sounds simple, right? So why has this obvious process eluded most self-defense and martial art systems?

Most training doesn’t address the realities of serious, aggressive resistance, which is the only time you’re in real danger. Presumptuous training strategies are partly to blame.

But here’s the bigger truth: preparation is everything.

At the end of the day, it’s you and you alone responsible to make the call, to trust your instincts. During confrontations, responsibility must be read as response/ability: one’s ability to respond.

What is preparation? It’s the truth filter you view your safety through. If that ability to respond is inadequate—you fail. Preparation is about conscience and accountability.

Coach Bear Bryant said, “The will to win compares little with the will to prepare to win.” I’ve observed lots of ‘will to win,’ but rarely the preparation to match.

How can you ensure your survival? You can’t. But you sure can enhance it.

Real survival training addresses three arsenals: the emotional, psychological and biomechanical. Here’s the truth: How you think affects how you feel. How you feel affects how you think. Both influence how you move. Your emotional system controls psychomotor skill more than most realize. The mind navigates the body. Until you control your mind, you won’t control your body.

Survival training is not complicated. Real fighting—street survival—has little to do with technique or martial arts. Street survival is about attitude, preparation and integrity during training. Learn to discern fact from fantasy. Commit to the truth and pursue excellence.

You must live with what you do and don’t do. The truth is in the training.

Coach B

HICKS LAW IN THE NEWS: I wrote a different version, same concept, but through the lens of the martial arts/self-defense filter, if you’re law-enforcement, military, public safety, there’s a version for you and if you’re a martial artist you got your own version 👊

Go to this Substack link: https://tonyblauer.substack.com/ to read the one that suits you most

Coach B

How many of you teach self-defense?

A complement to what you’re already teaching…

I know there’s a ton of experience in this group, and I have something I’d love you to consider.

Have you thought about adding the SPEAR System® to your curriculum?

What we teach seamlessly integrates with and compliments your martial arts and self-defense - it doesn’t replace anything you’re doing.

👉Our methodology trains trainers to educate their clients on the neuroscience of violence.

👉Learn to scientifically and intelligently reverse engineer scenarios to create realistic experience and stress inoculation.

👉Learn a proven system to manage fear through our Know Fear®️ system

Check out our new affiliation program.

It will add a new dimension to your coaching and teaching.

It’ll help you grow your school, reduce attrition, and elevate and differentiate yourself in a noisy marketplace where everyone claims to be teaching the best self-defense.

Do your research here: https://blauerspear.com/spear-cert

The last course of 2025 is November 15 and 16th lots of time for you to jump in. It’s a live weekend event but it’s taught online and it’s freaking amazing.

Coach B

SPEAR System® Level 1: Fundamentals Certification — Blauer Spear System This is a professional upgrade for instructors serious about helping their students manage fear, danger, and real violence.

If you teach self-defense, you know the challenge: more schools competing for the same students, and keeping them engaged is harder than ever.

And, have you noticed…everyone teaches self-defense now?

So how can you differentiate and elevate yourself in a noisy and crowded marketplace??

The SPEAR System® gives you that edge.

Research-backed neuroscience. Decades of real-world application with military, law enforcement, and governments worldwide. A proven system with brand equity you can leverage.

Our program is often misunderstood, we don’t replace other martial arts, we complement what you’re already teaching. Adding the SPEAR provides something distinct that helps you attract more students and keep them longer.

One certification left this year.

November 15-16.

Do your homework on us and click this link: https://blauerspear.com/spearl1-apply.

Check out what we’ve built and who we’ve worked with.

Coach B