Meet Tobias Ford —owner, coach, instructor, and principal consultant of Ekenosen Tactical Athlete Consulting. After nearly three decades as an athlete in some capacity, Tobias knows what it takes to keep his edge sharp. As a traditional athlete, Tobias participated in both high school and collegiate level competitive sports (soccer, cross country). As a career-based tactical athlete, he served twelve years in the US Army with tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently in his tenth year of the fire service, with four of those years being spent as a member of technical rope rescue, swiftwater rescue, and TEMS (SWAT medic) special operations teams. Additionally, Tobias possesses a notable training background in martial arts and defensive tactics, including disciplines such as Kai Shin Jeet Kune Do, Armas Kali, Pekiti Tirsia Kali, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Submission Wrestling, C-Tac, Vehicle Centric Defensive Tactics, and TRICOM Close Quarter Combatives. Over several years, he has had the privilege of training under the tutelage of highly regarded experts and mentors and continues to actively train under their guidance today.

Throughout his life-long journey as an athlete in some capacity, Tobias learned quickly that being able to perform optimally at any given time takes dedication to maintaining high levels of skill, physical fitness and health, nutrition, recovery, sleep, movement and mobility, stress management, and mental preparedness. All of it takes time, awareness, and discipline that only comes through making small, intentional, consistent actions —daily— in order to form long lasting, sustainable habits. This concept has been a cornerstone throughout the majority of Tobias’ life journey. It is a universal principle that he understands to be applicable to anyone seeking self-improvement, and is now an integral part of his coaching methodology.

Tobias’ initial prompting to start a business came during the latter third of his military career. As his time in service was coming to an end, his desire to serve continued to grow. His transition into the fire service helped to satiate that desire in some ways, but the need to do more, and to give more only increased. What that looked like for him exactly was not yet clear, but he knew that it meant an “emptying of himself” (ekenosen) into the purpose of serving others (Philippians 2:2-8).  It meant taking the entire sum of who he was, what he’s obtained, and what he’s learned, and pouring it into improving others’ well-being. Fast forward to 2023, and a small business endeavor that began in 2017, has evolved into what Ekenosen Tactical Athlete Consulting is today. A platform through which Tobias pours himself into sharpening the tactical athlete’s edge, helping to transform them into more capable versions of themselves—for themselves, and for those they are called to serve and protect.

Tobias attributes much of his success and the best parts of his development to his largest influences, mentors, and instructors. Though not an exhaustive list, these include his late father Walter V. Ford, his late brother Walter D. Ford, his three daughters Miranda, Maddison, and Makinze, Sifu Alan Baker, Guro T Kent Nelson, Sensei Erik Paulson, Guro Dan Inosanto, retired SGM Bryan Hise, retired SGM Jerry Mike, retired SFC Ernest Soria, and above all Jesus Christ.

Ekenosen Tactical Athlete Consulting is primarily an online service based out of Georgia (United States).