Ep 153 - Why Most Training Fails Under Extreme Pressure

About this episode

This episode discusses the challenges of training security personnel to respond effectively under extreme pressure, featuring insights from Tony Blauer.

Incidents like the Bondi and Westfield attacks demonstrate that extreme violence can happen anytime, anywhere, without warning. And in most cases, security personnel will be the first to respond. In this episode of the Security Insider podcast, we speak with Tony Blauer—CEO of Blauer Tactical Systems and founder of the SPEAR System—about “amygdala hijack”: the survival-driven takeover that can bypass cognition and degrade complex performance in fractions of a second. We unpack the startle–flinch response, why “technical” training often doesn’t transfer to real incidents, and how scenario-based training can be engineered to shorten reaction time and improve decision-making under extreme stress. If you run a security business and want training that holds up when it matters—this is the blueprint. For more podcasts like this one visit www.asial.com.au

People in this episode

Guest: Tony Blauer

Topics covered

• training
• extreme pressure
• security response
• decision-making
• scenario-based training

Keywords

• amygdala hijack
• startle-flinch response
• technical training
• reaction time

Mentioned in this episode

Products: the SPEAR System, Blauer Tactical Systems, SPEAR System

Places: Bondi, Westfield

More episodes of ASIAL Security Insider

• Ep 157 - Supply Chain Under Siege: What Australian Security Leaders Must Do Now · May 12, 2026 · 38 min
• Ep 156 - Crisis Communications for Security Leaders: What to Say When the Pressure Is On. · April 17, 2026 · 37 min
• Ep 155 - US-Iran Escalation: What Australian Security Leaders Need to Know · April 8, 2026
• Ep 154 - Managing Insider Threats · March 29, 2026 · 51 min
• Ep 152 - Mental Health In Security Part 2 · February 15, 2026 · 58 min
• Ep 151 - Mental Health In Security Part1 · February 1, 2026 · 1 min