Self Defence Habits

The Habit of Self Defence

Extensive research has been undertaken on habits, a very interesting observation is that once formed, they require little focus or energy to run as they effectively run on autopilot.

By developing just a couple of safety habits you can enhance your self defence by making sure your are staying safe on autopilot. leaving your energy for better things/ 

Two Habits worth developing are

Trusting your Instincts

Millions of years of evolution have worked very hard to get you to this point

A key of our evolution past was our ability to spot and react to danger. Cues are picked up in your brain and processed by your survival instincts, they communicate through feelings such as uneasiness or anxiety, we give them name such as Intuition or gut instinct.

One of the great things about modern life is these instincts are not needed as much, but this can lead to a dulling effect, as our survival instincts fail to differentiate between an angry boss or customer and a charging bear, in their simple view of the world these situations are life threstening

Running away from an awkward customer or fighting back against an angry boss isn't an option so we have learned to suppress and dampen these feelings, this may keep you in your job but can mean you fail to pick up on real threats of harm

Silent Alarm System

Practice the habit of treating your instincts as a silent alarm system, sometimes the alarm might be a little oversensitive but just once it could save your life.

Assess the feeling in the context of your situation and take action if necessary, for example if you think you are being followed, look directly at the person, let them know you see them or stop and take a taxi, anything that changes the pattern.

Start listening to and trusting your instincts, they might be a little sensitive but you are around because of them and they know and see more than you.

Colour code your day

The Military have spent an enormous of time energy and money to improve awareness and alertness. One of the methods they have used to develop awareness is the concept of color coding your state of readiness.

The colour codes used are

White

Unaware and unprepared, We are preoccupied and on autopilot oblivious to our surroundings.

This is the state of readiness and awareness that tends to attract predators as they can most likely overpower us with surprise and aggression before we can react.

Yellow

Calmly alert, there is no specific threat or danger, but the possibility that you might have to act in your own defense exists. This is the state you should strive for when outside of the safety of your home and especially if in unknown place or with people you don't know.

In this state you are monitoring your environment and prepared to defend yourself if necessary

Orange

Condition orange is when a possible threat has been identified, you identify a potential threat and accept that you may have to act in your own defence, This can mean anything from simply leaving as quickly as possible to physical action. You have set the key decision point for you actions

Red

Your are engaged in physical actions to protect self. You focus must be escape as soon as possible or disablement of the attacker if necessary, you will do whatever isnecessary to ensure you safety

Black

Represents a a breakdown in you ability to operate, this may show up as freezing, panic or irrational behavior. This is typically associated with heart rates of greater than 175 per minute and when the state goes directly from white or yellow to red.

Evolution developed habits to allow us take care of life's essential functions on autopilot, so we could focus on greater things.

Start to develop Safety Habits so you can concentrate on the better things in life.