Hard Target Security Group, Tallahassee

A former marine, Jason Knowles has spent a decade on SWAT teams and executed fugitive apprehensions and high-risk property searches. Today he helps soldiers, law-enforcement officials, and civilians expand their firearm and self-defense skill sets at Hard Target Security Group. In classes, Knowles and his team demonstrate how to safely wield weapons from basic handguns to shotguns and cover topics such as home defense and the proper use of pepper spray. They also teach their students how to capitalize on the startle-flinch reflex in their the S.P.E.A.R. self-defense system, a strategy for close-quarters combat. Outside their facilities, the team assesses the security of valuable assets—such as homes and yachts—or furnishes its clients with security cameras and thermal-imaging technology.