You’ve seen the television trope where a young woman in heels leaves the well-lit streets in a bad neighborhood to venture down a dark alley. Unsurprisingly, she is caught off-guard by four tough-looking gang members who pop out from the shadowy path. The woman is attacked and robbed, or worse. Why did this happen? The audience watching tried to warn her. She didn’t see the self-defense red lights flashing for the last five minutes, and the writers also wanted her to get attacked for the plot of the episode.
Avoiding conflicts requires you to be aware of your surrounding, and this awareness must be a constant vigil. Four threat levels require a degree of awareness and intuition on your part. Intuition is your feelings or analysis of a situation based on non-verbal, emotional, and body-movement clues. Allow your brain to acknowledge these feelings so you can develop a better sense of danger. Such signals are the hairs that stand up on your neck, the spontaneous shiver, or the feeling that something is watching you. Do not dismiss these signals without evaluating the environment for threats.
Situational Awareness
Situational awareness is not a constant state of fear. Instead, know where you are going, where you are, and where you can go. Look at the people around you and the building floorplan. If someone dangerous came in the front door, where would you go? Did you park your car under a lamp with a bright light easily seen or in the dark corner of the garage? Knowing who and what is around you helps you in a dangerous situation, providing you with knowledge for a quick escape.
Trust Your Intuition
Humans, like all animals, have a natural danger sense. In modern civilization, we mute it with our perceived safety or social pressure not to appear skittish. Honor and hone your intuition about people, places, or situations. If it feels bad or wrong, leave. Your body has sensed something not obvious, so it is your brain’s job to scoot your butt out of danger. Don’t look for rational explanations for your ill feelings; leave the person or situation immediately.
The 4 Treat Levels
Here is how you can conceptualize your awareness. Imagine a traffic light with four lamps, each with a different color that measures your readiness. Here are the descriptions:
- Threat Level White is a state of unreadiness. You’re utterly oblivious to your surroundings—the perfect target for a predator looking for his next victim. You should be in Threat Level White only when you’re asleep. Never be caught in Threat Level White.
- Threat Level Yellow, you are relaxed but aware of your surroundings. You notice if anything is unusual or out of place. If anyone is planning to attack you, they will not catch you off guard. You should be at this level most of the time.
- Threat Level Orange, you are very alert. You’ve just noticed a possible danger, and you have begun to develop a tactical response plan. You realize you may have to defend yourself and can quickly shift into Threat Level Red.
- Threat Level Red. You use those practiced self-defense strikes, blocks, and kicks at this level. You realize the threat, have a plan, and if the attacker makes a move you do what you must do.
When the attacker aggressively attacks you, are you willing to use deadly force against him? You must know that answer now, don’t decide when you are under attack. Proper awareness and avoidance of threats can eliminate 90% of physical confrontations. While not as flashy as a jumping kick to your attacker’s nose, it is the preferred method of winning the fight – by not fighting. Your goal in self-defense is to win and get away with the least amount of bodily injury. Better yet, don’t get attacked by putting yourself in harm’s way.
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