Manage your state.
Explore how composure, attention and reflection support your decisions.
THE INVISIBLE EDGE
Close Personal Protection / VPP Foundations
Presence is a skill.
Judgement is the edge.
Build your foundation in Close Personal Protection through Variable Protective Postures. Learn to connect preparation, people and movement with the decisions a protective role demands.
US$997Founding Practitioner access
12 modules / 60 lessonsOnline at your paceAssessed practitioner pathway
Developed by Lucas Atkins. Former Australian Federal Police Prime Ministerial Close Personal Protection Officer, specialist trainer and founder of Novert Group.
The professional foundation
Learn the craft.
Understand the decisions.
A protective role asks more of you than knowing where to stand. You need to understand the person you protect, the environment around them and how your own behaviour affects both.
The Invisible Edge brings the foundations of CPP together with the VPP framework. Preparation, movement and communication become connected parts of the same protective task.
Understand the person.
Develop communication and presence around the individual you are there to protect.
Read the conditions.
Connect what you observe with your preparation, positioning and next action.
Variable Protective Postures
Three postures.
One protective purpose.
VPP gives you a framework for considering how visible your protective presence should be, and why. The task and conditions guide the posture.
Build fluency across Overt, Covert and Novert while keeping the Protectee at the centre of your decisions.
Overt
A recognisable protective presence, used deliberately where visibility serves the task.
Covert
A less conspicuous presence, with attention to how protection fits the setting.
Novert
Protection integrated into the environment, requiring continual judgement about whether the posture remains appropriate.
Inside the program
Twelve modules.
A connected foundation.
Sixty lessons take you from the core doctrine through people, movement and planning to assessment and integration.
Open each stage to see the modules. Workbooks and reflection prompts help you examine what the ideas mean in practice.
Modules 01 to 04The Protector and the posture
01 / Introduction to Variable Protective Postures
Begin with the doctrine and its relationship to established close protection practice.
02 / Protective Mindset and Emotional Regulation
Examine your own state and how pressure affects attention and judgement.
03 / Protectee Psychology and Communication, Part 1
Understand the person at the centre of the protective task.
04 / Posture Theory: Overt, Covert, Novert
Explore the purpose and demands of the three protective postures.
Modules 05 to 08People, environments and movement
05 / Situational Awareness and Threatagility
Work with context, behavioural baselines and changes in the environment.
06 / Protectee Psychology and Communication, Part 2
Develop communication that adapts to the Protectee and the situation.
07 / Movement, Spacing and Spatial Control
Study positioning, formations and movement in relation to the protective task.
08 / Novert Operations and Behavioural Disguise
Explore how protective presence can be embedded in an environment.
Modules 09 to 12Planning, decisions and integration
09 / Pre Operational Planning and Intelligence
Connect advance work, routes, venues and information to planning.
10 / Disruption Protocols and Protective Decision Making
Examine decisions when conditions change and the original plan no longer fits.
11 / Ritual Debrief: Pattern Awareness, Drift and Operational Clarity
Use structured reflection to examine patterns and performance.
12 / Integration and Course Completion
Bring the learning together in assessment and your Personal Doctrine Statement.
Learning with accountability
Show your understanding.
Build your doctrine.
The assessment pathway asks you to engage with the material, examine your reasoning and bring the learning together. Completion involves more than reaching the final video.
Learn and reflect.
Work through the lessons and formative assessments, supported by module resources and reflection prompts.
Develop your evidence.
Complete the knowledge examination and applied portfolio work required by the program.
Integrate the learning.
Submit your Personal Doctrine Statement as part of the final assessment pathway.
Certified Novert VPP PractitionerA Novert Group credential awarded on successful completion of the program’s assessment requirements.
Founding Practitioner access
The training.
The tools. Your progress.
A structured program you can return to as you continue developing your approach to protective work.
- 12 modules and 60 lessonsThe full online VPP Foundations program.
- Workbooks and practical resourcesReflection prompts, templates and field tools.
- Assessment and practitioner credentialFormative learning and the final assessment pathway.
- Study at your own paceWork through the online lessons around your own schedule.
- Lifetime access and future updatesReturn to the material as your experience grows.
- Priority consideration for future pathwaysAdvanced and in person opportunities remain separate from this enrolment.
Choose the right starting point
Your experience.
Your next step.
The full foundation / You are here
The Invisible Edge
For people building toward close protection, or those wanting the complete VPP foundation across mindset, people, planning and movement.
Explore your enrolmentFor qualified CPP practitioners
Human Terrain Mapping
A focused program for practitioners who already have their CPP foundation and want to develop the psychological and social layer of protective work.
Explore Human Terrain MappingThe person behind the program
Operational experience.
A teacher’s perspective.
Lucas Atkins protected two serving Australian Prime Ministers during his AFP career and later trained specialist officers. He helped develop Papua New Guinea’s close protection capability for APEC 2018.
His career spans protection, specialist training and operational leadership. Through Novert Group, he brings that experience into the development and teaching of Variable Protective Postures.
Before you enrol
Questions, answered.
Do I need previous close protection experience?
The Invisible Edge starts with the foundations. It suits people building toward protective work, as well as experienced practitioners who want to study the full VPP framework. Come prepared to work through the lessons, reflect and complete the assessments.
How is this different from Human Terrain Mapping?
The Invisible Edge covers the broader CPP foundation and VPP framework. CPP Human Terrain Mapping is the focused route for people already qualified in CPP who want to develop the psychological and social layer of their work. Explore Human Terrain Mapping.
How is the program delivered?
The program is entirely online and completed at your own pace, with 12 modules and 60 lessons. You can study from wherever you have a suitable device and internet access. Work through the material at your pace, allowing time for the resources, reflection and assessment.
What does Founding Practitioner access include?
You receive the full online program, workbooks, practical resources, the assessment pathway, lifetime course access and future updates. Study at your own pace. There are no live sessions or scheduled calls with Lucas included.
What does the credential represent?
Successful completion of the required assessments leads to the Certified Novert VPP Practitioner credential issued by Novert Group. It records achievement against this program’s requirements. It should not be presented as a security licence or a guarantee of employment.
Is an intensive included?
This offer is for the online program, completed at your own pace. Priority consideration for future advanced pathways is not a place on an intensive. Any future in person training would have its own arrangements.
How long do I have access?
The current offer includes lifetime access and future updates. You can revisit lessons and resources as your experience develops.
Where can I check the refund terms?
Review the Refund Policy and the terms shown at checkout before enrolling. Ask us if you need anything clarified.
A free place to start
Threatagility
Field Card.
Start with the foundations of everyday awareness. This free PDF introduces ideas from Threatagility to help you notice your surroundings and consider your next move.
- Explore four principles of awareness.
- Follow the Threatagility Flow Model when something feels off.
- Learn a simple approach to reading a room.
Free PDF. Enter your name and email on the next page to receive it.
Begin The Invisible Edge
Build the foundation.
Develop your edge.
Study the craft, examine your decisions and build a more deliberate approach to protective work.
Discuss the program with usThe Invisible Edge
Founding Practitioner access
$997 USD
- 12 modules / 60 lessons
- Resources and assessment pathway
- Online learning at your own pace
- Lifetime access and future updates
Review the offer and terms before completing your enrolment.
