Part 2...
Too much stimuli and adrenaline can actually be toxic and open up calcium receptors in the hearts muscle tissues which in turn stop the heart from contracting correctly which leads to Ventricular Fibrillation in which the heart stops contracting and just dances around your body like jelly on a plate: See video for example
Now lets come on to the subject of personal safety:
This is one subject I am very passionate about so I would like to add my two cents if I may! Personal safety and security is down to common sense. It's all down to situational awareness, to begin with, followed by impact factors and your capacity and ability to respond to the threat.
Unfortunately, there are not a lot of areas left in our world where you are immune to threats to your personal safety. With increases in crime such as theft, rape, terrorism and assault, it is in our best interest to pay attention.
This post is not covering the entire subject of self-defence, it may give you some food for thought. It is also important to mention that whilst however no one is totally immune from possibly becoming a victim of a crime, learning how to be more alert and aware of your surroundings and keeping an eye out for signs of trouble is a good start.
As any good self-defence trainer will tell you, the best self-defence is to avoid the situation entirely. So let's get started, first, we are going to look at how the mind of criminal works and then compare this to the thought process of the victim:
The mental process of a criminal are broken into three simple steps:
1. First, a target is selected
2. A plan is made
3. The crime is committed
A victim is at a disadvantage because they have to go through a four step process:
1. They have to be aware of their surroundings 2. They have to evaluate the situation 3. They have to think of a counter plan 4. Finally, take action on the plan.
As a potential victim goes through these four steps, they are running through the phases of the “personal safety spectrum”.
This system is a simplified version of the “Cooper Colour Code” which is named after the person who developed it, Colonel Jeff Cooper of the United States Marine Corps, the colour code was designed to teach US Marines about maintaining mental readiness and how to respond to threats based on severity and exposure.
The personal safety spectrum, which is what I am going to be talking about is a more simplified version designed for personal safety awareness:
Here is the list of the conditions “phases” of the personal safety spectrum:
1. Condition
Grey: In a safe place such as your home, and are not concerned with your surroundings.
2. Condition
Yellow: When you are outside driving or walking down the street, you should be in Yellow condition. You should be taking in information, assessing risks. The reason you upgrade from condition grey to yellow is because you have left the comfort of a controlled environment, such as your “home” and as such have a greater need to pay attention to the environment around you.
For example:
You are proceeding down a sidewalk, a person approaches and asks “what time is it”? At this point, most people will look at their watch, this is actually a common distraction technique used to cause inattention to your surroundings.
3. Condition
Red: In this condition you should be ALERT, look at the person/threat and decide what you will do and your decision, the act upon that decision. Once you are ready to act, you upgrade to Condition Green.
4. Condition
Green: When you see an individual approaching you and decide you don’t wish contact, change your direction by moving away from the individual.
5. Condition
White: This is a state of panic and you don’t know what to do.
So you can see, that it pays to be alert and aware of your surroundings as you may never know what may be around the corner. For example, if somebody approaches you, there are four things you need to be thinking about:
1. Hands: Where are their hands and what are they doing with their hands. 55% of our communication is through body language, for example: if someone makes a fist, chances are they are going to hit someone with it. But if they don’t have anything in their hands, then you should start looking for the second thing which is weapons.
2. Weapons: Guns, Knives or anything within that person's reach that can be used against you. Also known as a weapon of opportunity.
3. Friends and Associates: Is the person alone or is he in a group? Remember that many crimes are committed in pairs.
4. Escape: Finally consider your options to escape, where are you going to run to, are you boxed in, are you blocking the exit of the suspect? Remember that cornered criminals are more likely to use violence, so keep this in mind when considering an escape route.
Non verbal pre-attack indicators:
Humans like animals give out non verbal unconscious signals to display intent and emotions such as compassion, love, anger, hostility. These signals, leaked out of the unconscious facet of the criminal mind and displayed via body language.
This video shows a few pre attack indicators to watch out for:
Guard your personal space, When approached by someone whom you do not trust always try to keep him/her outside of what is referred to as your “Intimate space”, simply put, keep strangers who approach you and you don’t trust at an arms length. There are three kinds of Spaces you need to be concerned with when it comes to personal safety:
1. Intimate Space: 0-1.5 Feet (The only people you should allow into your intimate space are people you trust such as your friends and family)
2. Personal Space: 1.5 Feet – 4 Feet (This is the ideal range to deal with strangers, it makes it difficult for someone to try and grab your clothing, or throw a punch. You should always try to maintain a distance out of “arms reach” when dealing with strangers you may feel are a threat. This space should allow you enough of a gap to quickly run through the four steps to be able to protect yourself.
3. Social Space and public space: 4 Feet – 12 Feet ( This is the distance you should aim to keep from people in public, remember that even at 4 Feet, you are still maintaining the “Arms length” distance from a potential threat.
Observation: This is a very important skill to learn and develop, not only will help keep you safe, it can also help when completing a FIR and if you notice anything out of the ordinary during your day to day activities such as a suspicious car or package, or even an unusual smell coming from something unexpected you can report it to the authorities.
https://www.samaa.tv/video/2017/02/cctv-footage-of-gun-attack-on-police-van/
Three simple rules:
- Stay Alert: Referred to as Situational Awareness
- Avoid Risky Situations: No need to be a Hero
- Trust Your Instincts: If it does not feel right…avoid it
Responding to an Attack or Robbery:
Robbery: First, decide if you are being robbed or attacked
If you are being robbed…do not resist
Give the robber what he or she wants
Remember…your goal is to avoid injury
Do not carry anything of value that you are not willing to lose
Second, if you are being attacked…decide NOW how you are going to respond: Safety in these situations is a personal choice, because only you can decide how to respond
Points to Consider if Being Attacked
- What is the intent of the suspect?
- Determine if a weapon is involved
- Is there one suspect or two?
- How do you normally respond to threats?
- What is your physical ability?
- Where is the suspect trying to take you?
- Do you really want to go(fight)?
If you don't know any real self-defence and have never had any martial arts training I would strongly recommend looking into Tony Blauer's SPEAR system. It is a very good bridge skill and is taught to police all over the world:
Other good self defence martial arts include Karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu & Krav Maga,
although I cannot vouch for the quality of trainers in Pakistan.
JUST REMEMBER WHATEVER YOU DO, YOUR GOAL HERE IS SURVIVAL
After an Attack or Robbery:
- Do not feel guilty or embarrassed
- Go to a safe place to report the crime
- Preserve all physical evidence
- Call the police IMMEDIATELY
- Remember…you can do everything right and still become the victim of a crime
In Summary: Remember that there are five colour codes of mental awareness/response in the personal safety spectrum. It is very important that you keep in mind that awareness and avoidance are the best self-defence strategies. If you can avoid the risk, it is better than mitigating or managing the impact later on.
Maintain an awareness of your surroundings, “if it doesn't feel right” trust your instincts and do not hesitate. If you cannot avoid the situation, then mentally prepare, have a plan and execute with full conviction and purpose. Practice these skills on a day to day basis when travelling to and from work or going shopping, ultimately, the more aware you are, the more likely you will prevent an attack.
(c) Rescueranger 2020 - All Rights Reserved -
LONG POST INCOMING:
