The other night my buddy Mike, a few bourbons in, was commenting on how he reads my blog and was saying something about how one of my last ones, "was all like, look, assess, kick your ass!”   Though not the exact verbiage for a concept that I teach, what Mike did stumble upon, however, is a methodology in alignment with what some attackers use when selecting their intended victims, sometimes referred to the predatory "interview process."




The type of attack- think predatory meaning the person wants something from you and plans to take it from you or harm you with the intent of not getting caught.  The process leading up to the attack being different than a situation of irrational, emotionally fueled anger, i.e. a road-rage event where the person could be less concerned with getting caught because of the attack being emotionally charged.

Look- whether or not the intended victim is aware, there is a phase where the attacker is looking them over.

Assess-upon looking the person over, an assessment is made as to whether or not to attack.  This could be predetermined or have variables factored in.  Predetermined meaning, the next person walking down this alleyway is getting mugged.  Variables to be considered by the attacker: how likely is it that I will get caught? Is she an easy target? Lacking awareness, head down, fixated on phone, alone, not physically imposing.

Kick your ass- if the decision is made to attack you, the attacker may attack you immediately without warning or may utilize some dialogue to set up the attack.  The dialogue could be deceptive in nature, such as a distraction, or aggressive and demanding.  The physical attack is not intended to be a back-and-forth ordeal like on TV or the movies.  If you take a look at predatory attacks captured on CCTV with a broad span of the area, you will see that things happen fast.  When the decision is made the bad guys are in-action and moving with ferocity and aggression, potentially with weapons or multiple attackers if the resources are present.  A criminal who does not want to get caught or hurt is not looking for a fair fight. Lee Morrison discusses these stages as: an elongated stare, the attacker attempts to make contact, then ambushes or attacks out of deception.

One of your front line preventative measures against this model of behavior is your situational awareness, which is how you take in information and analyze the world around you.

Be particularly in tune with your awareness in locations where attacks are more frequent, for example, areas that people come and go from easily: gas stations, ATMs, convenience stores, bus stops, metro stations, parking lots. Other areas of particular concern areas just off the beaten path: streets, parking lots, and structures that are right off of higher traffic areas, where someone could more easily attack from a more discrete area with less risk of getting caught.

Awareness tips:

Pre-planning:  with today’s world of GPS, Google maps, Google Earth, etc., it is easier to assess new places that you have to travel to and get an idea of the layout prior to your arrival. 

• Where could you park that’s close to your location and appears to be safe relative to where you are going?  
  
• What is the best route for walking from that metro station to the building you need to get to?  
  
• If you have to grocery shop at night: ladies, consider asking the grocery bagger to walk you to your car.
  

In the moment: assess your immediate environment.

• Are you in a high-crime neighborhood?  Is this area sketchy?
  
• Is it dark outside? 
  
• Do you see anyone that makes you uncomfortable-for example: someone looking at you more than or differently than the norm, or that gives you the creeps.
  
• Look for things that give you a bad vibe or require more investigation
• If you get an unsettling feeling and you have the ability to remove yourself, get out of there!
• When getting away prior to contact is not an option you may have to escalate to other measures which could be verbal or physical depending on your situation

A little bit of planning and thought ahead of time goes a long ways towards keeping you safe and preventing situations that could be avoided by staying in tune with your world.

Train smart, keep learning, & stay safe,

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense

One of my coaches, Malcolm, made a great point at our women’s self-defense class recently.  

“No is a complete sentence that does not require justification.”

We always have a verbal component to our self-defense courses where we put everyone through a few gray-area verbal/social situations.  In one variant of the scenarios an individual comes up (non-aggressively) to engage you and ask for money.

You have to respond appropriately with the intent of disengaging from the person and going on your way using the 3E’s of being Elusive- Empathy Excuse Exit.

As with saying “NO” it can be uncomfortable at first, but it’s extremely useful practice and it is something you WILL USE.  So how can you build upon this practice for free in your own time?

Practice saying and meaning “NO!" when the opportunity is presented!

Malcolm mentioned that you can practice saying and meaning NO when a telemarketer tries to sell you something you don’t want!  When it’s someone in your social circle it is a good idea to be polite in your response, but when someone is pushing their boundaries on multiple unwanted call attempts (for example, a cable company that rhymes with Sox and a consumer review site that rhymes with Shmelp), say,

“NO.  I’m not interested.” rather than, “Sorry, I’m not interested.”  And when they ask again, say NO again, affirmatively.

I’ve gotten so good at saying “NO” that I’ve graduated to electronic recording telemarketers.  Now I have to push random buttons to then get connected to a human to say NO, stop calling.

Keep thinking, keep learning, keep training,

Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense