The main goal of self-defense is staying out of harm's way rather than running into it. John Steinbeck wrote, “This is the law. The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain, all else is supplemental.” Your brain is the weapon. Everything else is just a tool.
On the first day of SWAT school, the guy in charge said something I'll never forget, "We don't want shooters who can think. We need thinkers who can shoot." SWAT is about solving a complex, dangerous situation as peacefully as possible. Critical thinking is essential. There are a lot of great shooters who don't get selected for SWAT. There are extremely fit people who don't make it on SWAT. SWAT is seeking for critical thinkers who are fit and can shoot.
Protecting yourself and those around you should follow this same mindset. Anticipating problems and critical thinking are more important than having the latest and greatest gun and matching holster. Your ability to think through a situation and avoid danger will keep you out of most situations that may necessitate pulling your gun.
Self-Defense is really about ACCESS, DISTANCE & CONTROL.
ACCESS: What Access does an attacker have to you? They must bring the crime to you or you to the crime? How/Where can they do this? Sometimes denying Access is as simple as being with another person or in a group - or even just around other people who can see what is happening.
Access primarily occurs through relationships and casual acquaintances. Over 85% of violent crimes are committed by someone the attacker knows. 'Stranger Danger' is real, but rare. If you are ever violently attacked, it will most likely be someone you know. Being very selective on who you give "access" to you in life becomes very important.
An attacker, whether you know them or not, will need access to you and some level of control over you to harm you. The access could be confronting you in a dark parking lot with no one around and pointing a gun at you (to gain control) in order to rob, rape, or whatever they plan on doing.
Anticipating how an attacker, known or unknown, could have access to you - and then mitigating those situations - is the first line of self-defense.
DISTANCE is our friend. It delays or denies Access and gives us time to decide what to do next… call for help, get away, or set up to take control. In most dangerous situations, your goal should be creating distance between you and other person. Be aware of what's happening around you and create distance with any potential problems.
My wife and I were walking around an open air mall one night waiting for our movie to start. There are many crowded shops with a maze of narrow, winding roads cutting through area. We could hear an outburst of yelling up ahead of us, but couldn't see the source of the commotion. As we came around a corner, we could see a crazy guy walking towards us on the sidewalk. He was yelling and waving his arms around. We simply walked across the street and continued down the sidewalk. He went on his way and we went on ours without incident. Was he a real threat? I don't know… because we distanced ourselves and never had to find out if he would have tried harming us.
CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLES: If we cannot deny Access or create Distance, we must Control this situation and remove, or limit as much as possible, the opponent's ability to harm us. We do not get the pick the time or place we might be attacked. We probably won't have control over every aspect of the situation so we need to control the controllables. This begins long before the situation occurs.
We can control:
- Our situational awareness
- Our level of physical fitness
- Our training and preparation
- If we are armed (we do not always have control over this)
By controlling the controllables, we are better able to control chaotic, dynamic situations and quickly end the threat. Gaining control could be physically attacking our attacker and holding them down until police arrive, holding them at gunpoint or shooting them to end their ability to harm us or others.
Your ability to think critically and problem solve in real time is your greatest defense and protection. Think through potentially dangerous situation and plan how you would respond and deal with them. We call this the "What If" game.
Preparedness is nothing more than thinking through a potential problem and solving it before it happens or having plans in place for dealing with it. Your gun, knife, light and other tools are just hardware. Without the 'software' to control them, they won't be much good to you. Your brain is the weapon. Everything else is just a tool. Your body can never go where your mind has never been.