PROUD TO SERVE KANSAS CITY!!

I’m Victoria Crowder. I am not a military official. I am not a martial arts bad ass.  I am not an athlete.  I am however a security professional, a cancer survivor, and a fighter. I am a mom. I am passionate about teaching people how to find wellness and create Safer Lifestyles.

I spent ten years as Agency Director at MTM.  I worked hard teaching young women to build profitable businesses in fashion while maintaining personal safety and dignity.

Then, I left the fashion business to work in security with my Dad with the objective of helping everyday people feel protected and safe.

When I was ready to strike out on my own, I built a career around teaching people how to use creativity to find self expression and wellness.  Author Steven Pressfield said “The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” I’ve learned that I walk between the artist and the warrior.

When I became a Mom, it all came together.  We build lives full of love, and creativity, and relationships. We build homes and families and want to protect them. After a co-worker went berserk and threatened  us all,  I wanted to embrace the tool of self defense so the people I am in charge of can feel safer. Then, I wanted to share what I’d learned with my kids as I sent them into the world.  I wanted to reach as many families as I could to help strengthen our homes and communities with awareness, connection, and safety.

I have a truckload of qualifications in teaching marksmanship, tactical shooting, and close quarters combat. I’ve taught weapons combat to everyone from cops and marines to housewives and co-eds, but the thing about guns is this:  you will ALWAYS have to REACH for your weapon.

As a practitioner of real self defense: you ARE your weapon.  That’s the advantage I was always looking for.  The Self Defense mindset can fix bad relationships, it can make you a better mom… it can catapult you toward true wellness… That’s what I seek to share.

After 2 years of research and training, I became a C.O.B.R.A. self defense instructor.  Most self defense systems are adequate, but I chose C.O.B.R.A. Defense because it is within reach of anyone who wants to learn – all ages, all skill levels, all fitness levels.  Everyone has a warrior strength inside them should they ever need it. The Fighting Forward Self Defense mission is to help people find it.

Thank you for taking the initiative!!!

Formal bio:  I began work in the security industry with Phillips Security under the tutelage of my Dad, a Special Forces veteran and my grandma Sandy, a Salina KS county Sheriff.  In 1988  while interning with the Chamber of Commerce in Economic Development, I joined Nationwide Detective Agency where I trained in Specialist Protective Services.

After a 5 year run as a debater for UMKC, I dropped out of college and built my first business in 1992 as the Director of the MTM Agency providing trained personnel for companies such as Worth Harley Davidson, KSHB tv, L’Oreal cosmetics, and Hallmark. I served as the Assistant to the Director of Security at Armour Home for a decade before launching my own company The Fearless Studio. I used my successes teaching people to use creativity to find wellness as I began looking for other ways to empower people.  As the world turned crazier and more unpredictable, I knew a return to my security roots was the answer.  I sought the best training and a great team. Fighting Forward Self Defense was born.

In addition to being a founding partner in Fighting Forward Self Defense, I serve as Site Security Advisor & Solution Strategist for Southwest Communications.

Special Certification:

C.O.B.R.A  Defense licensed instructor – Gold certification

Co-founder and Security Strategist at SITAC Group

Kansas City MO Police Department Level 1 Self Defense

Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dept Homeland Security JS-US007 Level 1 Antiterrorism Awareness

Certificate of Achievement
POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certified Basic Tactical Handgun Instructor

FEMA certified Active Shooter Response Protocol – Instructor

COBRA certified Active Intruder Response Plan Instructor CIN#386

FEMA certified Workplace Security Awareness Protocol Instructor
POST  (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certified Basic Handgun Operations Instructor

NRA Winchester Pistol Qualification – Basic Practical, ProMarksmanship, Marksman, Marksman 1st Class, & Sharpshooter
Well Armed Woman – Instructor Candidate

SRT – Precision Marksmanship Training – Completed

Dark Angel Medical – Direct Action Tactical Trauma Response – Certificate Achievement

Gary Norris is a former EMT who served as President and Vice President of the West Platte School Board for 25 years where he set standards of excellence in  educational policy and district safety. As the founder of the Game Hill Hunting Club, Executive Director of US Sporting Clays Assn National Championships 1988 and 1989, and former Director of the KC Trap Range, he has spent decades in firearm safety and training.  As a certified NRA Instructor, and certified Tactical Handgun Instructor, Norris brings a rich teaching history to each firearms client.  In addition to serving as a FEMA and Homeland Security certified advisor for Active Shooter School and Workplace Safety in both the public and private sector he is the co-founder of the S.I.T.A.C.Group (Security Initiatives and Threat Assessment Coalition) providing training for Law Enforcement, Security Guards, and the private sector.

Advanced Qualifications include:

POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certified Basic Tactical Pistol Instructor
FEMA certified Active Shooter Response Protocol – Certificate of Achievement
FEMA certified Workplace Security Awareness Protocol – Certificate of Achievement
POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) certified Basic Handgun Operations Instructor
Precision Marksmanship – Certificate of Excellent Achievement

NRA certified Instructor – Basic Pistol, Tactical Handgun, and Long gun
NRA certified Range Safety Officer

Dark Angel Medical – Direct Action Tactical Trauma Response – Certificate Achievement

USCCA –  Certified Instructor