SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
As the country opens up and major holidays continue to approach, many people will increase their shopping. During this time it is important to remain vigilant. During this time larceny, burglaries, fraud, domestic violence, and sexual assault will be on the rise. This means Situational Awareness will be your friend.
What is situational awareness?
Situational Awareness is total awareness of the current environment that you are in. This means you are aware of time, your space, and your movements in relation to people, animals, and objects. With situational awareness, you can avoid direct impact from these factors and avert a dangerous situation.
In today’s world, we have so many distractions. I’m willing to bet, access to social media via our smart phone is our #1 distraction today. According to Hootsuite, 3.1 billion people are
using social media today. The average American spends just over 2 hours per day on social media. This mean you may see some people walking, riding public transportation, or even DRIVING with their faces in their phones. Just look around you, how many people can you see looking down at their smart phones right now? Those people you just counted are potential victims. They are potential victims because their distractions are blocking their ability to be fully aware of their current environment. They are totally unaware of who might be approaching them; that huge spill that’s in the middle of the floor, that spooky dark corner they are approaching without caution, or that weird looking guy entering the restaurant. They will never see the threat coming.
It is very important to understand, when you are out in public to keep your distractions down to a minimum. Understand that predators are looking for an easy kill, searching for the vulnerable and the weak. If you appear to be alert and vibrant, using 360 degrees awareness, chances are you won’t be on the menu.
Remember, action will always be faster than reaction. In the world of self-defense, you must understand you will be reacting to the threat. You will already be losing precious seconds reacting to a threat that’s already in motion. Situational Awareness is our only saving grace and our best weapon when it comes to personal protection. It will help us see the threat from a mile away. Heck, we probably might have enough time to come up with a solid plan to avoid the approaching threat.
Now that this is out of the way, if you are reading this guide out in public, please pause and continue reading when you are in a safe environment. (Excerpt from The EDC Guy Academy Presents the Quick Guide to Everyday Carry for Self Defense)
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS COLOR CODES
Before we take a closer look at the color codes, credit must go to Colonel Jeff Cooper, a pioneer in the gun fighting world. We will look at four colors Colonel Cooperhas set out for us, White, Yellow, Orange, and Red.
Your degree of situational awareness at any one given time can be measure by color codes. Ill explain each one in detail.
WHITE- You are totally unaware of anything going on around you, heavily distracted by other unimportant things like your smart phone. You are the ideal victims for criminals.
YELLOW- This state of mind is optimal for everyday tasks. Here you are totally aware of your environment. You are looking for immediate obstacles or potential threats as you move around corners and blind spots. Although you are aware you are calm but still cautious.
ORANGE- You have identified a potential threat. Your mind has switched to a highly elevate sense and you are prepare to exit, take cover, or fight if need be. The phrase "something is wrong with this picture, stop!" may come to mind.
RED- You are in immediate danger. You have entered fight or flight mode and your heart is pumping out of your chest. Your plan to leave or take cover is now a reality. You are ready to fight for your life because you have no other choice.
I hope as you continue to shop and prepare for the holidays, you keep these color codes in mind. Even after the holidays, as things get back to normal, we should be aware of these color codes. Yellow is the most efficient code we should be in on a regular basis. In yellow, you are alert yet not paranoid. REMEMBER, BE HARD TO KILL AND NEVER DIE!
