In my study of violence, through martial arts, combative systems and life experience working in security around the world, I’ve heard the term awareness, or situation awareness used ad nauseam.
The only explanations I was ever given, were anecdotal at best. Things like “be aware of your surroundings”, and “don’t walk down dark alleys at night”.
A while ago I saw the title of an article* by an instructor named Matt Jacques detailing what he called “The Blue Collar OODA Loop”. If you’re unfamiliar with the OODA loop, do yourself a favour and read up on it. Perhaps I’ll write about it later.
The title was what really intrigued me.
I was inspired by the idea of breaking down the concept behind a buzzword, and analyzing it for what it was.
So what I’ve attempted to do is the same thing with awareness.
Some of my observations will be things that are common among people who practice awareness, so bear with me.
The way I break it down, there are 4 levels of awareness.
1. Situational awareness, is a conscious perception of the events taking place within the range of any of my 5 senses, and discerning what is pertinent.
This can include tension due to politics, sports, religion or group dynamic.
This can include traffic flow, wildlife and any drastic changes in the environment such as changing lighting conditions. For example, the sun setting over a mountain range will bring darkness much faster than a sunset over the ocean.
2. Environmental awareness is best described as mental mapping of locations you are in or moving through.
General terrain conditions like ice and snow, sand, mud, or just really smooth concrete can pose a risk or hinderance in a fight or flight response.
Access and egress are obviously things we need to be aware of.
A saying I use frequently in other contexts is “people don’t know what they don't know.”
It’s important to understand what we don’t know. Unknown areas include anywhere that is not directly in out line of sight.
Anywhere that the layout or situation could have changed while our eyes are not on it.
Anywhere we have not already mentally mapped.
3. Physiological awareness is an understanding of what happens to the body when the brain perceives critical stress.
Experience is the best teacher of this, especially since frequent exposure can help to minimize the potentially debilitating effects of stress on the body.
As I’m wiring this, I’m about halfway through writing a piece on “Stress Inoculation”, so I’ll go into more detail there.
For our purposes now, it’s important to understand a few basic effects of adrenaline on the human body.
Keep in mind that none of these are universal, and they will affect people in varying degrees.
The first one is inhaling and holding the breath. As Mark Rippetoe says, “Air is support of the spine”, and the subconscious brain knows this. Therefore, when it predicts having to work hard, in this case to fight or flee, it does what it can to support itself.
Stopping breathing is detrimental to our self protection for many reasons. One of these is that one of the ways to render a person unconscious is to interrupt oxygen flow to the brain. It stands to reason that the less oxygen is being brought into the body, the easier it will be to interrupt the flow.
Additionally, the fastest way to mitigate the following fight or flight handicaps is to re-oxygenate the brain through deep controlled breaths.
Tunnel vision is a phenomenon that many people experience under extreme stress where their vision constricts to focus on whatever the immediate threat is, and cuts off a large portion of their peripheral vision.
If you’re reading this, I’ll assume I don’t need to explain why peripheral vision is a good thing.
Personally, the main issue I have with an adrenaline rush is shaking, mainly my hands, and a feeling of weakness in the legs. Once again, oxygenating the brain will reduce this symptom considerably.
The most dangerous effect of critical stress is difficulty making a decision.
Kelly McCann refers to this as a fugue state, or basically an internal argument between fight and flight.
I’ve seen it most often in minimally trained individuals who have enough training to know that something is about to happen, but not enough to react automatically.
There are dozens more way that the body can react to danger, but the overarching principle is that under stress, skills degrade.
4. Criminal awareness is important for many reasons, not the least of which is so we don’t end up in a gym in white pyjamas performing a set series of moves that have no bearing on real combat.
We need to understand the motivation behind criminal assault, and how it takes place in the real world.
When I teach a self protection course, I explain the difference between an ego battle and a criminal assault.
My wife Courtney came up with an analogy that I like to use.
We divide predators (I use the term predator because I’m assuming my students are here to learn to defend themselves, not to start fights) into two groups- Cats and Dogs.
The dog type predator is in it to gain status or territory.
The cat is in it for a meal.
The dog will be the guy yelling at you over a parking space or because you “looked at his woman”. He’ll almost always bark first and if you bark back, it’s on.
I spend very little time on dogs in my self protection courses, as they can usually be dissuaded by the involvement of a bouncer or cop, or by giving him the status or territory he wants, and not engaging in his game.
The cat however, is an ambush predator. He has no desire for a fair fight. He won’t draw attention to himself.He’s going to use surprise or deception to close the distance, so you don’t see his attack coming.
When you spot him, look for his buddy. In the human world, cats are more like lions than tigers.
You can count on one or all of the attackers being armed as well.
Again, he’s looking for a meal, not a fight. This is what I like to call “The Criminal Constant”.
In my courses I go into a lot more detail on these things, and as you can imagine, it’s a lot of information to take in.
The beauty of it is that the brain takes in this information without you having to do anything. If your eyes are open and your hearing is relatively intact, you’re already getting all of this.
The key is being able to discern what is useful, what is necessary and what to ignore.
The catch-all for awareness is if you get a bad feeling, leave. It’s that simple. Make an excuse, tell a lie, or simply sprint down the street tipping over fruit vendors in your wake. Just leave.
In understanding your environment, you’ll be able to identify your best route of escape.
Knowing what’s happening in your body will help you to re-oxygenate your body, think more clearly and make concise decisions, while your understanding of how criminals do what they do will enable you to avoid their deception and ambush.
I am always interested in feedback and constructive debate, so if this was informative or interesting, let me know your thoughts.If you disagree, or have something you would add to it, please contact me.
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. -Proverbs 27:17
Dan Bertin
*I didn’t read the article until I was finished writing this, and found out he is using the OODA loop in the context of awareness, so take the time to check it out.
http://www.breachbangclear.com/the-blue-collar-ooda-loop/
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