An Introduction to Tactical Self-defense

SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!

Hopefully never, but sometime in life there is the potential for all of us, men, women, children to face the threat of intimidation, assault, robbery. However, women face specific threats including everything ranging from dealing with an over amorous drunk, sexual molestation, sexual assault, rape, abduction. After attaining a basic level of skill women will be offered classes that will focus on the confrontation, attack situations they are likely to encounter. We will also give guidance on other issues such as stalking, domestic violence etc.

This Is A Work In Progress

“Quote the Law on Self-Defence in Lithuania.” The “Law on Self-Defence” is a grey area. However, the important thing to remember, “that if you have no other choice than to use violence, you have the right to use the appropriate amount of reasonable force, to meet the given level of violence being perpetrated against you in self-defence, and you must be able to justify this, if necessary, in a Court of Law.” (we need to describe the key words of the law). The use of violence by you must be seen to be the last resort and should only be employed if you can’t evade, escape, dissuade an aggressor from violence in a threat situation. What is vital to understand is that if you feel your person, a loved one or a member of the public’s life is in immediate danger of being attacked, you are entitled to strike pre-emptively, that is to strike first, using the appropriate amount of force necessary to stop an attack. For example, this doesn’t mean that you render someone unconscious and then stomp on their head and possibly kill them, this is obviously excessive force. Nevertheless, if you knock someone to the ground and they draw a knife you may feel it necessary to stomp on their ankle and break it so you can make a safe escape. The lawful use of pre-emptive force in self-defence is only considered to be justifiable when your attacker had the ability and opportunity to harm you and caused you to reasonably perceive you were in immediate jeopardy. What we teach is within the Law on Self-Defence (this all-needs clarification in relation to Lithuania).

Self-defence is not just about learning how to strike effectively or being able to escape from a hold, far from it. It begins with developing the right mental attitude, learning what precautions you should take to not become a victim, acquiring the awareness necessary to avoid potential trouble. Around 90% of successful self-defence is about knowing how to avoid violence in the first place, the remaining 10% is about learning the effective fighting skills necessary to stop an attack and escape to a place of safety. Therefore, some of the more theoretical components of self-defence will need some practice on your part and we will guide you in this. What we say, may seem a little complicated at first, but hopefully in time you will see that it is just common sense.

It is vital for you to have confidence in what is being taught, therefore you need to be aware of the following.

• The skills, tactics, techniques taught are tried and tested, built upon the experiences of past combatants, your instructors and others, who have employed them successfully in reality.
• Fear is the most important factor to overcome when facing a threat. In such situations it will make some panic and freeze, others may over or under-react leading to bad outcomes. Most people see fear as negative, just the opposite is true, fear will bombard your body with adrenaline, dopamine, speeding up your heart rate, flooding your muscles with oxygen to prepare you to fight or take flight effectively. This combined with knowing of what action to take in a threat situation will give you the confidence needed to prevail. 
• What is taught must be seen to be simple to learn, will be effective in any threat, attack situation you may face. 
• The skills we teach are consistent, kept to a minimum, easily employed in differing situations, in this way “less is more.” This is an important as it will shorten response time, allowing the individual to react fast and effectively.
• Dynamic scenario training we teach will reflect as close as possible the threat situations you are most likely to face, by understanding tactics, assaultive techniques which are employed by perpetrators.

Confidence in your instructors is important. Below is a brief history of the experience of your instructors in relation to self-defence.

Sport Karate is important today and it should be applauded as it has helped spread the positive aspects of Karate training around the world. My emphasis in study of Karate Do (“Do” meaning the “Way”) has been more traditional, that is to develop Karate as a means of self-defence and way of life.

From the early days my of training, I have had an interest in researching various military/civilian combative/self-defense systems. During the 1980’s I was being to be asked to teach Personal Protection to at-risk groups and individuals. I knew how to fight but my knowledge of dealing with real life threats situations was limited. So, in the 1990’s I commenced employment as door supervisor in the leisure security industry as well as some personal security work, to get first-hand experience of confrontational and violent situations and how to deal with them.

I worked in Royal Mail security for many years in the UK. This involved the secure movement of cash and valuables, as well as building security. In 1995 because of my knowledge and background, I was invited to consult on training programs relating to Situational Awareness and how front-line officers should react in the case of armed robbery, “tiger kidnaps” and hostage situations, as well as the security procedures needed to keep them safe.

The combined knowledge of training, teaching the Martial Arts and Personal Protection over many years, together with our real-life experiences of conflict we hope to pass on to those who attend our classes.

THE KEY FACTORS NEEDED TO KEEP YOU SAFE

Developing your physical skills in a class situation is of course vital when it comes to fighting for your life. However, there are other skills, factors you need to develop to keep you safe, preventing you from becoming a victim.

DON’T BE AN EASY TARGET

It is a fact that whether it is an unprovoked attack, a street crime or sexual assault, in most cases a predator will always look for an Easy Target. If you look like a Victim chances, are you are you will be seen as an Easy Target and are more likely to become a Victim. However, if you are seen to have a confident presence, always aware of your surroundings you will portray yourself as a Hard Target to a predator. The same holds true in the animal kingdom, a lion will always seek out a weak victim when stalking its prey, all they want is to feed themselves and don’t want to work too hard for it. Human predators are the same, they always target those who look like Victims, who are not aware and are easy to attack, the last thing they want is to have a struggle on their hands, they will want to strike quickly and quietly, in a way that does not attract attention. Put yourself in the mind of a predator for a moment, who would you attack, the individual walking down quite dark street alone, who doesn’t look confident, not aware, engrossed listening to music, or talking to someone on their phone. Or the individual who looks confident, always aware of their surroundings?

GUT FEELING

Always listen to your Gut Feeling or intuition to imminent danger as it is designed to keep us safe. You must never negate it; instead, you must embrace it and always act accordingly. Animals have an inbuilt intuition to imminent danger and there is no doubt that primeval men and women did also. While we live in a civilised society today, we still retain this primeval instinct, but because we don’t face the everyday dangers of primitive times, we tend to negate it. There have been many recorded instances of individuals feeling that something was wrong before an attack, for example about to walk down a quite dimly lit street or entering a multi-story car park, but dismissed it as nothing serious and consequently they were attacked. You must always remember that your intuition or Gut Feeling has your best interest at heart, it is telling tell you to “Take care, to be aware of the potential for danger.”

FEAR

Franklin D Roosevelt said “The only thing we have to fear is the thought of fear itself.” Fear is defined as “An unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.” In a life-threatening or dangerous situation, where an individual believes the threat is real, imminent and the ability to control the threat is insufficient, Fear will occur. In primeval days when man had to fight to survive, feeling fear and the effects it had on the body and mind was a natural common occurrence. Because we live in a so-called civilised society where the act of having to fight or run for your life is almost non-existent the feeling of fear is less tangible, unnatural. Because most people are unfamiliar with it, they see fear as something negative. Fear in its highest form triggers an intense reaction known as the Fight or Flight Reflex. It must be understood that when you are faced with danger you must make the decision to stand, deal with the danger and perhaps fight to survive, or flee as quickly as possible to a place of safety. Being taken by surprise some people freeze through shock just like a rabbit caught in the headlights of a car. Indecision is your worst enemy in an attack situation as fractions of seconds count, your training will take the effects of Fear, Fight or Fight Reflex into account, they must be seen as something positive and your best friend.

Everyone will experience Fear in a dangerous or life-threatening situation, a soldier in battle, a boxer stepping into the ring, a mother rescuing her child from a fire, someone escaping a terrorist attack.

Fear is a matter of perception and this perception can be changed if your training is taught correctly by focusing on instilling confidence in your ability to deal with an attack situation. Furthermore, by making a mental shift and recognising that Fear is designed to be used as a positive tool when facing danger.

The powerful mind/body alarm reaction created by Fear, will immediately produce in the body what is known as an adrenalin dump and dopamine generating, increasing:

• Precipitous increase in pulse, blood pressure and respiration.  
• Increase in speed.
• Increase in strength.
• Pain threshold increased.

The mental effects are:

• An increase in reaction time.
• Time Distortion. This is when events seem to go into slow motion.
• Tunnel Vision. A decrease in peripheral vision focusing on the threat in hand.
• Auditory Exclusion. Related to tunnel vision, loud sounds are often unheard.

SITUATIONAL AWARNESS SKILLS

Situational awareness is the ability to perceive, understand, and effectively respond to one’s situation and was originally developed for the military. However, because of its effectiveness it has now been recognised as a successful decision-making strategy for a variety of organisations which involve the protection of human life and property including law enforcement, aviation, shipping, offshore oil, nuclear power, health care, as well as in business.

For us Situational Awareness Skills or SA is a means of recognising a threat situation enabling you to deal with it effectively. SA is our first line of defence in any threat situation. Observing a potentially threat in its early stages will give you the time to decide whether to avoid or escape to a place of safety, and if this proves to be impossible, to prepare yourself to take pre-emptive action necessary to keep you from harm. If you have no SA skills you will be seen as an Easy Target by a predator allowing you to be surprised and overcome in a confrontation or attack situation. It must be stressed that SA skills will not make you paranoid but will instead instil confidence.

THE OODA LOOP

An important tool we use in understanding SA is the OODA Loop. It was created by John Boyd based on his experience in Thailand as a US fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. He realised that a decision cycle of “Observe, Orient, Decide, Action” takes place in a threat situation as in an aerial combat and that the ability to rapidly and accurately acquire and act on information is vital. Most importantly he concluded that an individual who can process this cycle quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly and/or more effectively than an opponent, can thereby get inside their decision cycle to act quicker and gain the advantage necessary to defeat them.

Since its creation the OODA Loop has become an important concept for use in training of police, security, military, personal. Here we look at how we can adapt it for developing our SA in relation to self-defence.

DEVELOPING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS

To develop your SA skills, it needs a little work on your part. You are already on your way if you have interest in the world around you and are a people watcher. Over time SA will become second nature. However, first you must develop the ability to observe your surroundings, especially regarding anything that looks out of the norm, an anomaly relating to your situation or people. Second, is to have the ability to orient or analyse what you observe enabling you to perceive if this is something that requires a decision to be made. Third, is to make the decision on what action is needed if necessary. Forth, is to take appropriate action.

Here is how to train your SA skill or OODA Loop, especially in relation to a threat you may face:

1. Observe. Develop the ability to observe your surroundings every time you are outside your home or secure location. By observe we mean not only to use your eyes but your ears. Be relaxed and try to be interested in everything you see and hear. Always observe a 360-degree radius of what is going on around you, first close range, then mid-range followed by long-range, not forgetting to observe people, traffic and what may be above, or below. You see so many people these days with the heads down wrapped up in their own thoughts, talking on their phones, listening to music. We’re not saying this is wrong, however from a self-defence perspective if you are not aware of your surroundings and the potential threats to look for, you will be seen as an Easy Target by a predator, easily caught off guard and overwhelmed with little or no chance react.
2. Orientate. Try to analyse what you notice. “Why is that man running up behind me?” “Why is that woman struggling to get into that house?” “Why has that car got its hazard lights on?” “What is that banging noise in the distance?” “Are those people arguing in the distance?” “Who is shouting and why?” The same goes for when you’re travelling on public transport, driving, shopping, in a restaurant/bar etc. What is important in relation to self-defence is to recognise if anything is a threat or there is the potential for harm. Many people are observant but fail to effectively analyse what they observe.
3. Decision. You must now decide if any perceived threat is real or not. If the threat is real, it is vital you make an immediate decision on what appropriate action to take to keep you safe, either by avoiding a threat or harm, escaping to a place of safety or to prepare to take pre-emptive action.
4. Action. Once a decision is made you must take immediate action.

PRE-INCIDENT INDICATORS

AND ASSAULT CUES

Relative to self-defence is your ability to recognise what we call pre-incident indicators and assault cues is what will save you from harm or worse.

PRE-INCIDENT INDICATORS

Pre-incident indicators are odd movements made by an individual/s who is acting out of the ordinary, or suspicious behaviour given the situation and will come in the form unusual body language indicators, sometimes called tells. Cumulatively they add up to an unlikely, contrived, or suspicious situation and are consistent with predatorial behaviour. One pre-incident indictor may be nothing, two should have your close attention, three or more needs your complete attention as you are probably in an emerging threat situation that may result in an attack.

Here are some pre-incident indicators which may be displayed by individual/s in a threat situation:

• Nervously scanning the environment looking for people who may be observing them, looking for CCTV cameras and a possible escape route.
• Looking out of place by trying to disguise their face/s wearing a hoody, sunglasses, a hat pulled low.
• Avoiding eye contact but looking at you furtively.
• Being out of place considering the situation.
• Individual/s trying to conceal their presence in a doorway, behind a pillar etc.
• Looking agitated, sweating.
• If you lock eyes they look away.
• Correlating their movement to intercept you.
• Pretending to talk on phone to get into position to threaten or attack.
• Overt or vailed threats.
• Always be aware and do not dismiss that your Gut Feeling may be picking up on subconscious pre-incident indicators.

ASSAULT CUES

Assault cues also come in the form of body language indicators, sometimes called tells, that indicate an attack situation is evolving or imminent. One or two assault cue/s will usually result in an attack; in this situation you must take immediate pre-emptive action.

Here are some assault cues which may be displayed by individual/s preceding an attack:

• Quickly looking around to see if anyone is watching.
• Grooming hair or beard, scratching nose, nervous behaviour.
• Anxiety fidgeting around waistband or pockets may be a sign of a concealed weapon that is about to be employed.
• Beware of hidden hands as they may be holding a weapon.
• Clenching fists.
• Rocking on the balls of feet.
• White cold clammy face.
• Dipped chin shrugged shoulder for protection.
• Blading the body
• A fixed look with emotional intent.

Lt Col. JEFF COOPERS COLOUR CODE SYSTEM

Jeff Cooper fought in World War 2 and the Korean War, where he was involved in irregular warfare. He developed the Colour Code System for the military to inspire self-assessment and vigilance. He believed that having a Situational Awareness and a Combative Mind-Set is just as important for success in battle as physical skill or conditioning. He later modified it and applied it to the realm of personal protection as a very effective tool in employing the concepts of Situational Awareness and the OODA Loop in the simplest, efficient way possible. Today his system is still taught in military, police, and security circles.

By learning to observe your environment, to constantly evaluate it, and reacting appropriately to what you perceive, you will achieve a large degree of control over your circumstances. This means you need to learn to transition up and down a scale of awareness/alertness, so that you can match your level of readiness/action with any threat level you may encounter or the situation and circumstances change around you. This sliding scale takes you from a state of relaxed awareness of your situation, to analysing any potential threat, to a condition of being ready to instantly take the appropriate action to keep you safe, using colours as mental triggers.

Being Situational Aware and the use of a Colour Code System is not designed to make you paranoid, just the opposite, it is to instil in you, confidence while you go about your everyday life. The chances of you ever having to deal with a threat are almost none, but it can happen. Being Situationally Aware, having a simple effective action Plan, being trained to deal with differing threat/attack situations you will have a much greater chance of staying safe.

We have adapted this concept to the self-defence tactics we teach. We have kept to the essence of the code but have changed the colours to what most people know and understand, the traffic light system.

CONDITION WHITE

Being unaware of your surroundings and the people around you, you will be unprepared to respond to a possible threat/attack. You will portray yourself as an Easy Target, a Victim to a predator. If attacked the only thing that may save you is luck and the inadequacy of an attacker. Your main enemy is always reaction time when under attack, in Condition White you will be surprised, needing several seconds to even realise what is happening, you will probably panic and be easily overwhelmed. The only time you should be in Condition White is at home behind locked doors or in a secure location.

CONDITION GREEN

The instant you leave your home or secure location you must trigger a mental state of relaxed awareness, Condition Green. You’re not expecting to meet a threat but are aware of people and the world around you. You are alert, confident, portraying yourself as a Hard Target, and difficult to surprise.

You can remain in this mental state for long periods of time. If you are Situationally Aware, anything, or anyone that is seen to be out of place, unusual, out of context, should be quickly assessed. It must always be remembered that a predator will attack when the situation favours them and it is bad for you. If it’s not a threat you should dismiss it. If you perceive it to be a potential threat, you should start preparing mentally to deal with it, escalating one level on the scale, to trigger the mental state Condition Amber.

CONDITION AMBER

Condition Amber should mentally trigger in you a higher state of awareness/alertness and preparedness. The difference between Green and Amber Condition is you now focus on analysing what you perceive to be a possible threat, determining if there are any pre-incident indicators, being aware that one pre-incident indictor may be nothing, two should have your close attention, three or more needs your complete attention as you are probably in an emerging threat situation that may result in an attack. If you determine that the threat is real you must decide without hesitation which action Plan to initiate depending on the type of threat you face and the situation. On seeing an assault cue, you must immediately escalate to the highest level on the scale, to trigger the mental state Condition Red.

If you decide the threat is not real you should de-escalate your mental state back to Condition Green.

Remaining constantly within the Condition Green and moving easily into and out of Condition Amber is simply a state of mental awareness that must be practiced until it becomes second nature.

CONDITION RED

Condition Red should now mentally trigger your Fight or Flight Response to use the strength fear produced in you to either Fight or take Flight.

If you make the decision to Fight you must immediately take pre-emptive action of Surprise, Aggression, Speed, utilising the necessary reasonable force to disable your attacker/s so you can escape to a place of safety and call for help. Only when you feel safe should you de-escalate your mental state to Condition Green.

If you decide to take Flight that is escape, you must use the strength your fear produces to take the pre-emptive action to escape to a place of safety, however this can be gamble. Only when you feel safe should you de-escalate your mental state to Condition Green.

The most important means of surviving an attack is neither a weapon nor the martial skills, the primary tool is in having a Combative Mind-Set. The Colour Code System helps you think in a threat situation and not panic. As the level of danger increases, your willingness to take certain actions must increase. If you ever do go to Condition Red, the decision to take immediate pre-emptive action has already been made, that is your mental trigger has been tripped, you must now act decisively without hesitation.

COMBATIVE MIND-SET

Having a Combative Mind-Set is your best weapon in an attack situation. Mark Twain once said “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,” yes, physical size is an advantage, still what is more important to prevail in a fight is your determination, fighting spirit. Those self-defence systems that do not train their students to deal with the emotional shock of someone who is so filled with anger they want to do you serious harm or worse in a violent situation will be negating reality. This is why reality-based scenario training which reflects the aggression, violence you will face and how to prevail is vital. Reality teaches us that the individual who strikes first with force in a fight will usually win. In some ways the word self-defence does not embody the Combative Mind-Set needed once it becomes clear that you can’t evade, escape, dissuade an aggressor and you will have to fight to protect yourself or a loved one, instead of thinking defensively you must think offensively and be prepared to take pre-emptive offensive action to prevail. Having the right Combative Mind-Set can be summed up by the words of Clint Eastwood in the movie “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. Cause if you lose your head and you give up, then you neither live nor win. That’s just the way it is.”

We are all good people and the last thing we want is a physical altercation. Therefore, if someone wants to harm you or a loved one you have the right to be Angry. Anger is the key to initiate your Rage and Combative Mind-Set. The key is to utilise the strength that Rage and Fear produces to fight for you but at the same time not to let them overwhelm you, you must still maintain the ability to think clearly, tactically, this is difficult to achieve under a high level of stress but it can be attained through the right training. When it comes to being attacked you must develop the ability to switch on, trigger your Condition Red, Fight or Flight Response, Rage in an instant, like a light switch.

Another reason it is vital to control Rage and not to let overcome you is that you must use only the right amount of reasonable force that falls within the Law on Self-Defence, too much excessive force and you may be prosecuted ending up in prison. Nevertheless, if you are being attacked there will be no time to dwell upon the consequences of your actions as fractions of second count and indecision can get you seriously hurt or worse. Remembering that your goal is to only use the right amount of force to stop an attack and escape to a place of safety. Again, what is important here is reality-based scenario training that takes all these considerations into account. Of course, if you are a person with a good moral compass and sound principles you will be able control your Rage and actions.

PRE-DETERMINED PLANS A, B, C, D.

Having a pre-determined plan is essential. Here are four simple, effective plans that must be incorporated into your self-defence training which can be immediately called upon if facing a threat.

PLAN A. EVADE

I am in Condition Green and Situationally Aware. I observe one or two pre-incident indicators from a distance that I consider to be a potential threat and my Gut Feeling is telling me “Take care, be aware of the potential for danger.” If possible, I will, evade the area completely moving to a place of safety.

PLAN B. DIFFUSE

Most attacks, street crimes, sexual assaults will be initiated by some sort of confrontation. I’m in Condition Green and Situational Aware but for some reason find myself in a situation where a confrontation takes place or dispute has occurred, for example being involved in a traffic accident, someone accuses me of jumping a que. If the individual/s involved start to get angry or upset and I observe one or two pre-incident indicators, my Gut Feeling is telling me “Take care, be aware of the potential for danger,” I will trigger Condition Amber. Assessing the situation, I initially use non threating defensive body language, verbal skills to diffuse the situation, I will also determine if attacked that I can escape or if this is not possible then I must fight, preparing myself mentally Plan C or Plan D. If I possess a pepper spray, I should have it close and ready to use. If the situation cannot be diffused and deteriorates further, the individuals becoming aggressive, exhibiting further pre-incident indicators I will use more robust body language and strong verbal commands to try and take control to back off the aggressor/s. At the same time preparing myself that if I perceive an assault cue, I will trigger Condition Red my Fight or Flight Response to use the strength my fear produces to fight for me or escape.

Only if the situation can be diffused, the threat has disappeared or I feel that I am safe, will I de-escalate my mental state to Condition Green.

PLAN C. ESCAPE

Most attacks, street crimes, sexual assaults will be initiated by some sort of confrontation. I am in Condition Green and Situationally Aware with no perceivable threat in my vicinity. However, for example walking down a street, upon turning a corner, or exciting a building I observe an individual/s who seem to be focusing on me, exhibiting one or two pre-incident indicators. I now trigger Condition Amber my Gut Feeling telling me “Take care, be aware of the potential for danger.” Assessing the circumstances, if the individual/s moves to engage me and I find myself in a situation where a confrontation takes place, I initially use non threating defensive body language, verbal skills to diffuse the situation, I will also determine if attacked will it be possible to escape or not, if I decide to escape, I must prepare myself mentally to do so. If I possess a pepper spray, I should have it close and ready to use. If the situation cannot be diffused and deteriorates further, the individuals becoming aggressive, exhibiting further pre-incident indicators I will use more robust body language and strong verbal commands to try and take control to back off the aggressor/s. At the same time preparing myself that if I perceive an assault cue, I will trigger Condition Red my Fight or Flight Response to use the strength my fear produces and pre-emptive action to escape. Preferably by employing my pepper spray to first incapacitate my attacker/s. If I do not possess a pepper spray but feel that I can outrun my attacker/s to get to a place of safety and call for help I must do so, nevertheless this can be gamble.

Only if the situation can be diffused, the threat has disappeared or I have escaped to a place of safety, will I de-escalate my mental state to Condition Green.

PLAN D. FIGHT

Most attacks, street crimes, sexual assaults will be initiated by some sort of confrontation. I am in Condition Green and Situationally Aware with no perceivable threat in my vicinity. However, for example walking down a street, upon turning a corner, or exciting a building I observe an individual/s who seem to be focusing on me, exhibiting one or two pre-incident indicators. I now trigger Condition Amber my Gut Feeling telling me “Take care, be aware of the potential for danger.” Assessing the circumstances, if the individual/s moves to engage me and I find myself in a situation where a confrontation takes place, I initially use non threating defensive body language, verbal skills to diffuse the situation, I will also determine if attacked can I escape, if this is not possible then I must prepare myself mentally to fight. If I possess a pepper spray, I should have it close and ready to use. If the situation cannot be diffused and deteriorates further, the individuals becoming aggressive, exhibiting further pre-incident indicators I will use more robust body language and strong verbal commands to try and take control to back off the aggressor/s. At the same time preparing myself that if I perceive an assault cue, I will trigger Condition Red my Fight or Flight Response to use the strength my fear produces to fight for me. I must immediately take pre-emptive action of Surprise, Aggression, Speed, utilising the necessary reasonable force to disable my attacker/s so I can escape to a place of safety and call for help. If I possess a pepper spray, I will employ it first to incapacitate my attacker/s before using physical force.

Only if the situation can be diffused, the threat has disappeared or I have escaped to a place of safety, will I de-escalate my mental state to Condition Green.

A REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE

You’re A lady, it’s late in the evening and you’ve left friends in a restaurant to go home, it’s a 15-minute walk to get to your car. You are in Condition Green You observe a man in the distance standing in a dimly lit doorway on the same side of the street as you; you ask yourself why he is there, for what reason, pre-incident indicator 1? You mentally trigger a higher state of awareness/alertness and preparedness Condition Amber, you trust in your Gut Feeling that something is not right and cross the street still heading for your car; observing the man he now comes out of the shadows and correlates his movement with yours to intersect your path, pre-incident indicator 2. At this stage you need to decide if you observe any further pre-incident indicators you are prepared to initiate Plan D Fight or Plan C Escape depending on what you decide is the right action to take, if you have a pepper spray it should now in your hand, ready to be employed. He looks around quickly to see if there is anyone else nearby, pre-incident indicator 3. He looks nervous, starts running at you aggressively saying “I’m going to have you” assault cue 1, you mentally trigger Condition Red, your Fight or Flight Response to use the strength fear produced in you to either Fight or take Flight, escaping to a place of safety and to call for help.

All these behaviours are pieces of the pre-incident indicator, assault cue recognition puzzle. It should of never of got this far. Being aware in the first place and recognising a man acting suspiciously was good. However, our advice would be on experiencing your Gut Feeling telling you “Take care, be aware of the potential for danger,” to head back to the restaurant and ask a friend to walk to your car with you taking a different route Plan A Evade. Remember that evasion in a threat situation must be your first course of action and you should always listen to your Gut Feeling.

CORRICULUM

THE FOUR PILLARS OF PERSONAL PROTECTION

Be Aware

Be Secure

Be Prepared

Be Safe

BE AWARE

Theory

Lithuanian Law On Self-Defence

Don’t Be An Easy Target

Gut Feeling

Fear

Situational Awareness

OODA Loop

Pre-Incident Indicators And Assault Cues

Colour Code System

Combative Mind-Set

Pre-Determined Plans

Force Continuum

Women’s Self-Defence

Threat Management

BE SECURE

Physical Security

Home/Place Of Work

Your Car

Public Transport

On Foot

Travelling

Women’s Self-Defence

BE PREPARED

Physical Altercation

Unarmed

Confrontation

Taking Control

Index Positions

Distancing/Timing

Plan A, B, C, D.

Speed, Aggression, Surprise (SAS)

Power Striking/Incidental Striking

Ground Defence

Combative Principles

Women’s Self-Defence

Armed

Peper Spray

Knife

Firearms

Weapons Of Opportunity

Weapon Disarming

BE SAFE

Be Aware, Be Secure, Be Prepared Will Keep You Safe

Additional Aspects Needed To Be Safe

First Aid

Fire Safety