by Chris Bodine
JPFO writer contributor, © 2014.
You
are miles away talking on your cell phone, oblivious to everything -
suddenly you feel a stunning blow to your head as a thug sets about
mugging you. Too late now as you fall to the ground, and, despite being
armed are unable to function as your wallet and phone are taken,
followed by a crippling blow to the ribs added for good measure. You
just didn't pay attention to your surroundings did you? Be very glad
your gun wasn't found.
The
principles of self-defense do not just cover unarmed combat and/or the
use of a firearm -- they have to ideally include the avoidance approach,
which has to be based on good situational awareness, thus actually
avoiding confrontation in the first place if possible - by far the more
desirable option! This is self preservation at its best, armed or not.
So, what is 'situational awareness'? Pretty much self explanatory
but it is a very important measure for literally anyone to adopt,
whether they carry or not or are black belt devotees. As most will know,
it has often been described with a color labeling for various
conditions, but it is worth running through these just as a reminder.
First is the white state where a person is essentially totally unaware
of their surroundings and events - the 'head in the sand' state, or
tunnel vision if you like. Then we have yellow which is probably the
ideal - a total awareness of surroundings but without any stress or
paranoia, just a basic broad alertness.
The
next stage we'll describe as orange, whereby there is the notion that
'something ain't right', or the famous 'gut feeling' -- generally this
not something to ignore and it is surprising how many people have an
element of "6th sense" without always realizing it.
Finally and predictably we finish up with condition red, which means
things are definitely serious and some action needs taken, the first
choice being whenever possible of course 'get out of Dodge'. The action,
whatever that may be and if inevitable, has to be geared ideally to
finding cover and maintaining distance if faced with an armed assailant.
"Condition white" can be literally dangerous, in particular if
someone is perhaps walking in a less than desirable area and radiating a
strong signal which can say to thugs "I am a victim, choose me". Those
who pray on others are very good at spotting potential victims but are
usually less interested when an individual seems alert and confident.
The "condition yellow" is not difficult to achieve and is highly
recommended as a complete way of life.
Point of interest -- almost everyone must have noticed when in a
large store, just how many people seem totally unaware and are just
fixated on their own leisurely wanderings. These are the folks who stop
on a dime with no warning when you are following, generally hog the
space in the aisles and seem to live entirely in their own world. "Total
White". Similar thing often walking on a busy sidewalk - it's almost
frightening how few people actually seem alert and aware. Don't be one
of those, stay sharp!
Those
of us fortunate to have all senses intact just need to learn to use
them better - the prime ones of course are vision and hearing. One thing
important to mention straight away is what can be called "task
fixation" - this could be anything from tying a shoelace to texting on
or using a smart phone -- attention is focused to the exclusion of the
local environment - not good at all as it presents a good opportunity
for any bad guys just waiting for opportunities.
Let
us look first at the visual aspect . Most folks with reasonable visual
acuity have good peripheral vision and this extends to all but 90° to
both sides. It is an invaluable and much underused faculty because with
minimal practice, it is possible to be looking ahead and yet be
processing the image information from both sides in quite some detail,
(despite definition obviously not being as good), but there is more to
be registered than is often realized.
Peripheral vision is best at detecting movement (something animals
depend on to avoid predators) but again, only if we allow ourselves to
fully interpret and consciously process the input. Thus, while going
about our every day lives, it is possible to be aware with minimal
effort of what is around us, and this way be able to spot something that
may seem out of place without making it too obvious.
When
it comes to not being a potential victim it can be important to not
necessarily look directly towards a perceived threat at first, because
that gives away one's awareness of said threat while applying thinking
time, and on occasions can actually spark confrontation with certain
types of individual who think you are being 'disrespectful' by looking
at them! That said, the situation can arise when a direct look - casual
in nature and brief - can actually signal to a possible attacker that
they have been seen - enough perhaps to make them less interested in
closing in.
Apart
from the peripheral vision there are some ploys worth using, in
particular in an urban environment. One classic is use of reflection.
Imagine being suspicious of people in the area or a general situation,
and you are able to stop and ostensibly do some 'window shopping' - the
ideal time to assess what the reflection shows behind you. Even car
windows can be useful as well. I know of one case where someone used
their Zippo lighter as a mirror to look behind without seeming obvious.
Now,
hearing and using that to good effect. One thing we have which is a
valuable asset, is the ability to use 'selective hearing' but, not
everyone develops their potential to the full. Most if not all people
have been in a crowd - public transportation, or a drinks party just to
mention two examples, and realized that they can switch attention
between different sound inputs. Most often this is employed when trying
to hear someone talking when background noise is heavy - other speech,
music etc. We may take this for granted but, with only a little practice
it is possible to consciously switch between inputs at will more
efficiently, selecting just the sound information desired and so pick
out something out of place.
MP3 players - use with caution! Someone listening to loud music
while walking, running, cycling - in fact any activity - is immediately
to some degree 'insulated' from the environmental sounds around them.
Quite enough to make hearing something like footsteps for example all
but unlikely. All senses sharp all the time is the desirable way to go
even when in a seemingly safe environment.
In conclusion, and to reiterate, avoidance of situations is by far
the most desirable approach to keeping safe and to this end, good
awareness of the environment is essential, without much effort. No
amount of skill with martial arts or a firearm is worth having to put
into play when there is a chance to escape. Stay alert and stay safe.
© Copyright Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership 2014.
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material on JPFO is copyright, and so it cannot be used or plagiarized
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