Shawn Baker's Story

Shawn is a 6th degree black belt in Ketto Ryu Ju-Jutsu and has been studying martial arts for 25 years. Shawn is a control tactics instructor and is a certified instructor in police defensive tactics, officer safety, ground fighting, and knife defense. Shawn is a Level 1 GST (Gracie Survival Tactics Instructor) and currently working toward Level 2 certification.

Shawn is one of a few people in Canada to be certified as a Close Quarter Combat Instructor by Gunnery Sergeant Hans Marrero (USMC, Ret.), the former Chief hand to hand combat instructor of the United States Marine Corps. Shawn is a member of I.L.E.E.T.A-International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association and served as a Law Enforcement Officer for over 30 years.

Shawn is certified Use of Force Analyst and Realistic De-Escalation Instructor through the Force Science Institute. He is also a certified hypnotist through Omni Hypnosis Center in Florida. He uses his knowledge to help people harness the power of the human mind to enhance the physical and mental capabilities of the people he trains.

With his experience and knowledge, Shawn identified deficiencies in existing training programs. He has advocated tirelessly for revisions to training programs so that officers are taught effective techniques.

The CTSS program brings those techniques to security professionals and anyone working in a security-related field. I truly believe my motto, “There is no such thing as tough –only trained and untrained.”

-Shawn Baker

Founder / Instructor

In 1986 I started my martial arts training and I received my 1st Degree Black Belt in 1992. Also in 1992 I got my first Law Enforcement job as a Peace Officer for the Summer Village of Seba Beach.

As part of the training I attended the training program at the Solicitor General Staff College which 1 week was for control tactics and self- defense. I remember being very disappointed in the control tactics I learned. The techniques taught were very basic and if any level of resistance were applied they were useless. The instructor would cover up this lack of control by saying “Things go down differently in the street. If something doesn’t work you just do what you have to do to survive.”

I knew that I knew a lot more than the instructor so I approached the department head of the training department and showed him the skills and reality based techniques I learned. I eventually became the Control Tactics Instructor at the Solicitor General Staff College and began teaching the skills and techniques I knew worked well even if the bad guy offered a lot of resistance. To this day I still train and certify Peace Officers in reality based self- defense control tactics and officer safety.