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ASK THE EXPERT
STRATEGIES FOR PERSONAL PROTECTION: OUTSIDE THE HOME
  
No one should want to be in this situation. Here's Heather demonstrating a draw of her S&W M-66 2.5 inch .357 Magnum. The Bianchi grips are made to cover the hammer to prevent snags on clothes, purses, etc.
HGR STRATEGIES: PERSONNAL PROTECTION
OUTSIDE THE HOME
Finding one’s self in a situation where you are scared to death, scared to the point that you think you may die or be severely injured, is not comfortable to anyone. As with any “accident investigation”, facts leading up to the incident often reveal several factors, or links, of a chain of events. Rarely is it just one thing that changes our lives. It’s usually a small thing, followed by another, and another. Today we’ll address several proven strategies to help “break the chain of events” that you may inadvertently set your destiny into a tail spin.
Awareness of your environment and the real or potential threats that may be present or near of one of your most valuable tools to stay safe.
The military taught us to program our lives for combat, by setting “Color Zones”. Red being Danger, Orange = Caution, Yellow = alert, Green = relaxed, White = sleep. The NRA has transformed that into words to describe your level of alertness. They are Unaware, Aware, Alert, and Alarm.
UNAWARE: You are not paying attention to your surroundings. Being asleep qualifies. Daydreaming, heavy concentration such as driving or working on projects causes us to loose situational awareness of our surroundings. Alcohol, drug use (legal, over the counter, and illegal), illness, fatigue, are all factors that make us loose sight of surroundings. Probably one of the most recent publicized is the use of cell phones while driving. When doing your daily operations, can you think of who is standing around you without looking? If your driving, what kind and color of car is behind and aside of you? At the Stop Light, did you get right on the bumper of the car ahead of you, or did you leave a safety zone between you?
Answering “NO” to any of these means you would be open to a surprise attack, and your response time would be much longer, if any at all. Did you know, an average man, standing straight up with a knife in his hand, can charge you 20 feet away and stab you in 1 to 1.5 seconds? Are you ready to defend yourself?
AWARE: You are in the State of Aware when you are conscious of your surrounding and those persons around you. You are using some of your senses (sight, hearing, smell, and touch, for a few lucky a 6th sense of unknown or unclassified sense). You may be lead into trouble by ignoring or reducing your sense with headphones while jogging, cell phones while walking / driving, etc.
Did you know the average attention span of an adult is 11 minutes, an exceptional adult is 17 minutes. We use this in training to keep your attention in class, but you can also train yourself to refocus every few minutes with techniques like looking around and identifying people, objects, and making a note of their activity, how they’re dressed, the color of their clothing etc. It’s hard, but you can train yourself.
ALERT: At this state of alertness, you have identified a potential threat to your security. This could be potential or hypothetical threats originating from one or many sources. You are walking down a street that is normally busy but now it’s vacant. You’re approached by a stranger asking for a light, a cigarette, the time, directions, etc. You sense an uneasy feeling. You are On Alert. This is NOT a confirmed threat. Not everyone asking for directions is out to rape or rob you. Not every panhandler is a criminal. From the onset of feeling ALERTED, you must take 2 immediate steps. First: formulate 2 or 3 plans to act accordingly. It’s always quicker to act than to react. This step usually means EVASION (getting away from the potential threat) or EVADE (escape a threat). The plans must include “if he attacks me I will … “ and “if he attacks this is how I will respond”. Depending on the response of the potential threat, you may have to shift from escape – evade to a defensive posture. Why more than 1 plan, if you’ve played chess or checkers, Strateego, etc. you know the behavior of others may not be predictable. EVASION SHOULD BE THE FIRST PRIORITY, ALWAYS. If force is required, you may have the chance to escape when the threat is neutralized.
Second: Set a triggering Threshold. If he crosses that spot I activate my plan. If he reaches into his pocket, if he pulls a weapon … etc. The THRESHOLD causes your plan to go into effect and moves you to the next level of awareness, ALARM.
ALARM: In this state a formally potential threat is now considered an actual threat and has crossed the thresholds you established. This is where your planned response is implemented to counter a threat. You will likely feel a high level of fear for your life or that of serious bodily injury. Evasion is your first choice, but since WOLVES TRAVEL IN PACKS (so do gangs) it’s not always possible to escape or evade. Another Threshold can be established by Yelling for someone to call the police and warning the threats that you are armed and will defend yourself. The mere presentation of a firearm may drive them away. If it’s very small handgun they just may laugh at you. Be aware of the wolves as they may try to circle around you. Keep your eyes moving and your back covered (wall is good). Remember, this is where it’s as real as it gets …. Extreme Threat Response in imminent. Follow your State guidelines with the Use of Lethal Force. But most of all, BE A SURVIVOR. REFUSE TO BE THE VICTIM. It is better to be judged by a jury of 12 than carried at a funeral by 6.
In summary, be Aware. Plan Ahead. Avoid known dangerous areas and people. Take additional training in self defense, and make sure it covers the psychological aspects of combat. Don’t make yourself a target. Avoid “daily habits” like jogging the same path everyday, driving to work the same way everyday. Mix it up … enjoy the jog or drive. And as the old western Zane Grey gunfighter says, Never piss off seven people when all you have is a six shooter. ;))
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