By: Clark - Carryconealed.net

This was posted on our Forum just recently and we found it very appropriate. In almost every case where robbery, rape or other violent attacks occur the bad guys are looking for easy targets.

"I had a home invasion attempt on my neighbor. My dogs were going nuts and I stepped out of the house to see three gentlemen running across my neighbor’s yard. One was holding a bat; another was holding something that looked to be a gun in his hand. The small car they jumped out looked like a street racing car, with a bag over the tag. I shouted “What are you doing in my neighborhood?” They did not stop. I shouted again “What the @#$%#$%#$%#$%$%  are you doing in my neighborhood?” The trio then stopped and looked at me. While the trio were looking in my direction, I put my hand on my concealed .45 Springfield Arms 1911 and asked again; “What the #$%$%$$@@ are you doing in my neighborhood?” They finally got the universal body language of preparing to draw as language was not working. They ran to the car and slowly drove by in front of my house.  I stepped back behind my truck so I could draw and fire from cover should they start firing.

The police were called and they responded within 5 min. My CCW permit was presented to the police and they took down the description and direction of the gang members. The police were very professional, and were grateful for the information. They ran off looking for the gang members.

The learning points: (1) The ultimate goal is not to get into a gun fight; (2) Bad people may not understand English, but they do understand when someone is able to protect themselves; (3) Situational awareness is often forgotten and people need to think about possible situations before they happen and; (4) The police are one of our greatest assets, but they have limitations and can not always be at the scene of a crime." Posted on Carryconcealed.net forum.

In martial arts training we are taught to be constantly moving and assessing the opponent. We can not go through our day to day lives in this heightened state of awareness without taking away from our quality of life. Author David Kenik writes in his book “Armed Response” that there are different levels of awareness and has an insight on how we should proceed in our day to day activities.  He covers the range from those that are totally unaware to those that are on a constant state of readiness. The book “Armed Response” describes the “relaxed alert” as the best scenario for our busy schedules.

We would recommend taking the “relaxed alert” mode and add “Situationally Aware” together. We have been teaching that there are two kinds of people in the world; those that survive and those that do not. The survivors will react to a violent attack quickly and with a planed response.  The ability to react quickly can be happen naturally to some people, but it can be a learned response for those that have gone through life totally unaware.  Take several extra steps when you’re out and about.

    1: Before leaving your home, have a plan of your route and stopping points.

     2: Try to look around in a 360 view at all times.

     3: Have a plan if some one tries to attack you at different times during your outing.

     4: Keep your hands free so that you can use keys, phone, mace, or CCW if needed.

      5: Get eye contact with those around you. Bad guys do not like eye contact.

Practicing with being “Situationally Aware” will take some effort, but it may save your life and it will bug the bad guys when they realize that you are watching and are not going to be an easy target.