The business of VIP protection
BY ROME JORGE LIFESTYLE EDITOR

A TESTAMENT to a person’s importance is unwanted attention. VIPs fearing for their lives know this all too well. For the industrialist fearing death threats from striking workers or abduction by kidnappers, the politician campaigning in the realm of warlords and rebels, or the whistleblower in danger of being silenced with bullets and bombs, dire necessity compels them to seek VIP protection.

But often, very important persons who are under threat value trust over any martial training. They’d rather have a lifelong friend by their side than a hired gun. Despite dangers, some persons countermand his protector’s advice. Worse, many VIPs misuse bodyguards as chauffeurs, helpers, status symbols or goons.

That’s where Krav Maga Philippines VIP protection services come in. Krav maga, a practical fighting discipline developed in Israel specifically for combat, eschews the mysticism of tradition of martial arts and the showy complicated moves that people forget when fear and adrenalin take control. Instead, krav maga emphasizes gross motor skills—simple instinctive movements—that work efficiently under the most stressful real life circumstances. Standards are rigorously maintained and techniques constantly updated by touring instructors for the International Krav Maga Federation. Bjorn Karlson of Sweden notes, “Usually a fight is less than 5 seconds. It [krav maga] is designed to work as close as possible to your natural reaction. So it’s suitable for people who are not trained in anything at all because this is not really a martial art; it’s just self-defense.”

Krav Maga Philippines applies this same practical approach to VIP protection. They educate both bodyguard and VIP. Though they are not at liberty to reveal their clienteles’ names, Kenneth Asuncion, managing director of Krav Maga Philippines and entrepreneur, notes that it includes many businessmen and some politicians.

What a bodyguard is not

Asuncion explains, “The problem is that most often the VIP needs to be reeducated on what a bodyguard job is and what they really do. They have different concept of what bodyguard is.” Ascuncion has turned away would-be clients who seemed to bent on misusing their VIP protection.

“VIP protectors are not maids. That’s the misconception of a lot of people. How can somebody protect you when they’re holding your shopping bag or driving your car?” he asks, adding, “In my own personal experiences here, I feel that sometimes it’s the status symbol. I also don’t understand the uniform scenario of bodyguards. It’s just like putting the targets in their head and saying that these are the people who are protecting me.”

Being unpredictable and keeping would-be assailants guessing is key to putting them off balance and preventing them from attempting an attack. Like VIP protectors themselves, would-be attackers are also anticipating their opponent’s movements and strategizing based on the information at hand. “It’s like a chess game,” Karlson comments, explaining that criminals will only make their move when they can minimize the risk to themselves. He notes that would-be assailants “also don’t want to get hurt. They also want to go home to their families at the end of the day.”

Karlson and Asuncion also make a distinction between bodyguards who act more like bouncers for deterrent and crowd control, and true VIP protectors who can blend in inconspicuously with other people, constantly lookout for possible threats, formulate contingencies and take command of the situation. “There are different layers of protection,” notes Asuncion.

“I advice them of how many or where they could get bodyguards locally. To upgrade them, I would get assistance or different program and training for them,” says Asuncion. Besides training in krav maga, Asuncion also refers clients to experts in other fields such firearms technique, thus offering a complete package.

Ordering around the boss

Asuncion reveals what he teaches to both VIPs and their protectors: “The VIP has to be educated so that when the threat level is up, he is no longer the boss. His bodyguard is now the boss. Where he is being led, what to do, he has no choice but to follow. We’re talking about expertise here. The person you hire to defend you is doing his job and now you have to trust him 100 percent.”

“The VIP may get hit or slapped by his own bodyguards depending on how shocked or stressed he is because chances are, most of them are not familiar facing threats. So there’s a chance that they would freeze, they will not be able to move,” he explains.

He notes, “It’s harder if they’re bigger and it’s harder sometimes if they’re female and the bodyguard is male. There are certain techniques that I can teach them on how to handle elderly VIPs.”

Oftentimes, Krav Maga Philippines needs also to train the bodyguards themselves. Asuncion explains why:
“Most Filipinos entrust personal protection to people they know. And it’s not necessarily people in military or police officers. These are usually people they’ve worked with, grown up with. I respect that. I can work with that because I think the highest priority of any client is trust. That’s where I think training them is very beneficial. If you do not trust professionals, then you have no choice but to have them trained because having somebody stand beside you is not protection.”

The right stuff

A VIP protector works in a constant heightened state of alertness. “If a client is an engineer visiting a construction site, you have to wonder what laborer is standing so close doing nothing with a big hammer or why a man in a barong is out of place,” he examples.

A bodyguard must also endure all sorts of conditions for his client. “It’s working late at night and waking up early. If your client is out in the sun all the time, so will his bodyguard,” Asuncion notes.

It also helps to be female. Asuncion reveals, “There a large market for female VIP protectors.” He explains that VIPs need to protect their whole families including their wives who can be very beautiful. Jealous husbands prefer female bodyguards for such circumstances.

To be a bodyguard takes more than martial skills; one must know when to shut up, when to stand down and when to wait.

Asuncion explains that a bodyguard, being constantly within proximity of a client, is often privy to confidential information. He notes that a VIP protector must know when to give his client some personal space and privacy without compromising his safety.

Karlson stresses, “A bodyguard must be self-confident. There is no room for insecurity. A bodyguard with something to prove will get the client in trouble. Bodyguards must remember that they are presenting their clients.” Asuncion notes that when bodyguards harm or abuse other people unnecessarily, all people remember is the name of the client, not the bodyguard. Karlson adds that an untrained person, when confronted with a threat, assesses if he can deal wit that threat. But a bodyguard self-assured in his skills will instead ask, “Do I really need to do this?”

Asuncion and Karlson both emphasize that a VIP protector must be patient. Asuncion notes that most of the time, the life of a bodyguard is absolutely boring. Karlson emphasizes, “If a bodyguard is doing his job, then nothing happens.”