Anti Knife Crime by Mark Davies

In 2006 Mark Davies was invited by Alex Johnstone MSP to perform a presentation at the Scottish Parliament on his experience of violent crime, & his Cutting Edge programme. He received cross party support, including the support of the justice minister Cathy Jamison. The day after performing his presentation Mark was the first martial arts instructor to be mentioned by name in a motion put before Parliament.  After the birth of Mark & Jacqui's baby boy Eli, Mark had to put his Cutting Edge programme on hold due to Eli having serious health problems that took all of Mark & Jacqui's attention. With the terrible spate of very public murders performed by young people armed with knives during early summer 2008, Mark decided to go ahead & roll out his programme. Mark is putting his updated programme to the government again, & is hoping for further official support for his efforts.

The cutting edge programme was created by Mark Davies after some experiences he had whilst working running security in nightclubs. Whilst working at under 18's events Mark would make sure that every single person entering the venue was searched for drink, drugs or weapons. Youths would attend these events not just from the local area, but from much further afield. Very often the security staff would find someone carrying a weapon, & that person would be detained for the police. While they were waiting for the police to arrive Mark started talking to the young people who had been carrying the weapons. Some of the youths were stereotypical 'little chavs', & would just shout swear & threaten him. They weren't interested; they had been totally captured by the whole 'gang culture thing' already. Even some of these little 'hard men' could be reached though with a bit of perseverance. The majority of those found carrying though were not 'chavs' or 'neds'. They were intelligent decent kids who were scared to death of the little hooligans that they knew were carrying weapons. Many of them had been threatened or even attacked with a weapon, or they knew someone who had been the victim of some form of armed attack.

Mark would ask them why they felt that they should be carrying a weapon into a nightclub. He would ask them if they had thought about what would happen to them & their lives if they lashed out with their weapon in fear or anger. None of them had thought things through, they were so scared of the criminal element amongst their age group. Mark would then explain to them just exactly how terrible the scene is when a weapon is used, that it wasn't clean & easy like in the movies. He would explain to them what their weapon would do to another human body. He would explain to them exactly what it would do to their life, & the lives of everyone around them; including the people who were associated with the person they used the weapon on. The effect was almost always startling. The person who had been carrying the weapon woke up to the enormity of what they potentially could have done. They suddenly realised that they weren't Jack Bauer, & that the real world wasn't like TV. None of them wanted to carry a weapon after that. Mark ran into several of the kids that he'd spoken to under those circumstances in later years. All of them remembered it, & thanked him for taking the time to speak with them rather than just giving them a hard time.

The experience that really kicked Mark into action wasn't anything to do with work though; it was an experience as a dad. Marks son Ross came home from school & was quite shaken up. When Mark & his wife Jacqui asked Ross what was wrong it turned out that a pupil at his school had been carrying a knife in school, & had threatened him & his friend with it outside the school. At the time Ross was TEN YEARS OLD. After hearing about this Mark decided to take his expertise as one of the UK's top martial arts instructors & his experience of violence at first hand; & to create an education programme to try to keep this sort of thing (or worse) from happening to someone else's child.

The cutting edge is a presentation based workshop. As a Martial Arts Instructor, Special Forces Instructor & former Door Supervisor Mark has a great deal of 'street cred' with young people. They can relate easily to him, & with his achievements they look up to him. The concept behind The Cutting Edge is simple- Mark introduces his audience to 'the truth behind carrying a weapon'. He uses his own experiences to show them what a weapon will do to a human body, & how terrible it is. He explains to them exactly what will happen to their lives, their families’ lives; & the lives of their victims’ family. He makes sure that they understand in no uncertain terms the consequences of using a weapon. For older secondary school aged youths he has actual images of knife wounds to show them that it isn't like they see on TV or in their video games. They see firsthand the damage that a second’s rage or panic can cause. His obvious firsthand knowledge of the subject shines through.

Its very little use simply telling young people who fear for their personal security enough that they take to carrying a weapon- "Don't carry a weapon" without giving them some alternatives. As one of the worlds foremost authorities on personal protection Mark gives them some simple hints & tips of staying safe by being proactive & avoiding trouble, rather than being re-active & trying to fight their way out of problems.

There are very few people out there who have the specialist knowledge that Mark Davies has attained. He has a deep understanding of how violent crime occurs & its causes from working in environments where he had to deal with societies predators on a daily basis. He has a deep understanding of what a knife & other weapons are capable of, because he is an experienced & qualified instructor of several blade-arts. He has had to deal with knife attacks on many occasions, & understands what the youth of today face.

Mark Davies is available to present his programme to schools or youth organisations. He is also available for consultations or interviews regarding knife crime or personal safety. 

As well as The Cutting Edge Mark can supply effective & intelligent personal safety training to schools & youth organisations to boost the self esteem & personal security of their young people, so they don't feel the need to carry weapons to feel safe.

Mark can be contacted via email at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Or he can be contacted by phone on 01241 876391 or mobile 07740 982508