Situational Awareness

KELLYG said:
I think situational awareness is very important. I try to look around and identify possible threatening situations/people were ever I go. I also represent myself in a confident manner. I also make eye contact and speak with everyone with in a distance around me that lets them know that I have seen them as well. I also trust the little hairs on the back of my neck. If in a store and someone makes me feel uncomfortable I will hang back and wait for them to leave or leave before they do. I have left work walking across the street and saw some fellows hanging out and turned and walked back to work and got an escort. I think by and large people are oblivious or don't want to embarrass themselves by being perceived as paranoid. I would rather live with the title PARANOID than die because I was self consciouses.
Click to expand...
I especially like your last sentence. Too many people are concerned about "how it would look" instead of how it could help prevent something.
 
Big Don said:
Can situational awareness be taught? How?
I know mine is mostly fear of the other shoe dropping, paranoia, so to speak.
Not the best reason to know who is around me and what is happening in the vicinity, but, it has worked so far...

Seriously, how do you teach someone to be aware of their environment (Put, your hand down, Gore, we weren't talking about that!) without just instilling a sense of impending doom?
Click to expand...

Situational Awareness

What is situational awareness, and why is it important?


Situational awareness is basically the practice and habit of being aware of your surroundings.

It is important because most criminals are ambush hunters. If you are not aware of your surroundings, you are the perfect target. You will miss pre-threat indicators that would have given you an advantage over the threat when you lack a heightened awareness of your situation and circumstances.


As warriors it is our calling to be prepared; to watch for and address a threat before it is too late.

Lives could depend on it.


4 levels of awareness

What can you do to build situational awareness?


We will get to that, but first, we need to talk about the 4 levels of awareness.


1. Blind

2. Normal

3. Trained

4. Paranoid


When someone is at the blind level of awareness they miss everything that is happening around them. We all know people who are like this. It could be caused by their care-free personality, or their complete absorption in what they are doing, such as the person who bumps into someone because they were staring at their phone.


It is important to note that we change our level of awareness constantly. We do this based on our environment, our personality, our mental and physical state, and our perceived level of safety. This is NOT a bad thing! We need to be able to relax when it is time to do so.


The normal level of awareness is just that...


Normal.


Normal people exercise some degree of awareness, but it is not fine-tuned. Most people just go about living their everyday lives until a threat is noticed. At that point, they will escalate their level of awareness.


People on the paranoid level of awareness are trying so hard to "be vigilant" that they miss life. For example, a man on a date with his fiancée needs to "be in the moment" with his fiancée, not reading the body language of the man across the room. This does not mean that he becomes oblivious to potential threats, but that he is able to focus on the important, while keeping a level of awareness in case he was to need to act.


Pride in one’s abilities (often a false sense of ability, because the truly skilled warrior does not need to take pride in his ability, his is simply confident in it), or fear are the triggers for this paranoid level of awareness. Neither are healthy or beneficial.


Now we get to the best one!


The trained level.


This is a state of awareness is trained. It is the type of situational awareness CIA and FBI agents, navy seals, Mossad, and a bunch of other top-notch operators are trained to have!


How cool is that!?


What makes this level of awareness different from the paranoid level?


I'm glad you asked!


You see, this type of awareness is different in that it is not a constant effort put out by the observer. Instead,

it is a set of habits that have been ingrained on the subconscious level!


Here is an example:

Let's say that every time you take a drink of water you purposely make a loud "ahhh" when finished. You have to do this consciously until it becomes a habit. After several months you will no longer have to consciously think about making the "ahhh" sound. It will be an ingrained habit. It no longer takes any effort on your part. It happens subconsciously.


That is how you train situational awareness. If it is done correctly, you will try to instill just one situational awareness habit at a time.


After it becomes a habit on a subconscious level, you will add another one. You can continue this practice until you reach the level of awareness that suites you best.


The four levels of awareness can be summed up and remembered in this simple way:


Blind level = no situational awareness

Normal level = subconscious awareness

Paranoid level = Hyper awareness

Trained level = subconscious habits of awareness


Now I will give you some habits and drills you can integrate into your situational awareness training. Remember this is your journey. It is important that you choose your own path in how you advance. This is true of every aspect of martial arts. Situational awareness is no exception. Simply chose a habit to build and go for it!


Building Situational awareness

Here are some ideas to get you started;

• sit with your back to a wall

• sit in a location where exits are visible

• be extra careful at gas stations and ATMs

• learn to establish a baseline (A baseline is simply what should be normal in a given place and situation)

• regularly scan for threats

• look for threats outside before entering a building


Those are just a few ideas to get you started!


If you would like to learn more about situational awareness and take some tests to see how well your situational awareness is, I have made a playlist on YouTube for you!


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2V6RNj0PwVf-YICjGZoYj8DtN-Jgl9Lb


Check it out! The tests are really cool!

*Taken from the Total Combatives Warrior Week Course
Get the course free today!
https://www.totalcombatives.com/courses
 
I am simply sharing my lessons from my course to receive feed back on the material.

This is the first time I have shared it. I think it is beneficial to receive feedback from those who are already knowledgeable in these areas. Rather than just getting feedback from those who are learning for the first time through the course.

My motive is gaining beneficial feedback, not advertising!
 
Taipan said:
Situational awareness is one of the most important tools a martial artist has! Should the topic ever die?
Click to expand...
Is that just common sense?

You should

- love your parents.
- be honest to your friends.
- help the good to fight against the evil.
- be alert around your environment.
- ...
 
Kung Fu Wang said:
Is that just common sense?

You should

- love your parents.
- be honest to your friends.
- help the good to fight against the evil.
- be alert around your environment.
- ...
Click to expand...

Lol!

Very true!

Sadly to many people forget the last one!

The curse of the smartphone age!
 
Don't get me wrong I have friends that are FBI....but the majority of FBI agents aren't great at field work.

They are great at analyzing evidence and Intel, organizing, writing, presenting findings, etc... but most are out of their element in the field.
 
Big Don said:
Can situational awareness be taught? How?
I know mine is mostly fear of the other shoe dropping, paranoia, so to speak.
Not the best reason to know who is around me and what is happening in the vicinity, but, it has worked so far...

Seriously, how do you teach someone to be aware of their environment (Put, your hand down, Gore, we weren't talking about that!) without just instilling a sense of impending doom?
Click to expand...

You can do it if you understand the subject because you would understand the indicators of danger.

The problem is many indicators don't intuitively look like the threat.

So for me to be aware of a snake attack I don't necessarily look for a snake. Iook for long grass where a snake may be.

But that is not how most situational awareness training works.
 
drop bear said:
You can do it if you understand the subject because you would understand the indicators of danger.

The problem is many indicators don't intuitively look like the threat.

So for me to be aware of a snake attack I don't necessarily look for a snake. Iook for long grass where a snake may be.

But that is not how most situational awareness training works.
Click to expand...

I think it is a mixture of two things;

#1 positioning yourself rightly (away from the tall grass)

#2 observing when the snake is drawing near.
 
#3.
f0918f659257e7e795a73775faeef995.gif



I dislike snakes almost as much as skunks....almost.
 
CB Jones said:
Lol....

FBI agents....

Lol
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. I trained a kid here to pass his physical test, which he failed the first time, to get into the FBI Academy. Great kid. Full time Agent in Texas now. So....someone is attempting to steal my identity right now via my phone.

Fifteen different numbers have been texting me posing as various folks, companies blah blah. All with area codes from Texas. I text my buddy, he texts me back the number of the FBI office in Dallas and says to call them and tell them. This was on Friday.

So I call them. Tell them I'm a cop and a retired Federal Law Enforcement Officer. They were as useless as tits on a bull (like they've always been) The agent I talk with gives me the webpage of the Dallas FBI, tells me to fill out a form. The God damn web page link doesn't even work.

Later in the day I call the Honolulu FBI office. They were even worse, which I didn't think possible.

The FBI....some things never change.
 
Taipan said:
Situational Awareness

What is situational awareness, and why is it important?


Situational awareness is basically the practice and habit of being aware of your surroundings.

It is important because most criminals are ambush hunters. If you are not aware of your surroundings, you are the perfect target. You will miss pre-threat indicators that would have given you an advantage over the threat when you lack a heightened awareness of your situation and circumstances.


As warriors it is our calling to be prepared; to watch for and address a threat before it is too late.

Lives could depend on it.


4 levels of awareness

What can you do to build situational awareness?


We will get to that, but first, we need to talk about the 4 levels of awareness.


1. Blind

2. Normal

3. Trained

4. Paranoid


When someone is at the blind level of awareness they miss everything that is happening around them. We all know people who are like this. It could be caused by their care-free personality, or their complete absorption in what they are doing, such as the person who bumps into someone because they were staring at their phone.


It is important to note that we change our level of awareness constantly. We do this based on our environment, our personality, our mental and physical state, and our perceived level of safety. This is NOT a bad thing! We need to be able to relax when it is time to do so.


The normal level of awareness is just that...


Normal.


Normal people exercise some degree of awareness, but it is not fine-tuned. Most people just go about living their everyday lives until a threat is noticed. At that point, they will escalate their level of awareness.


People on the paranoid level of awareness are trying so hard to "be vigilant" that they miss life. For example, a man on a date with his fiancée needs to "be in the moment" with his fiancée, not reading the body language of the man across the room. This does not mean that he becomes oblivious to potential threats, but that he is able to focus on the important, while keeping a level of awareness in case he was to need to act.


Pride in one’s abilities (often a false sense of ability, because the truly skilled warrior does not need to take pride in his ability, his is simply confident in it), or fear are the triggers for this paranoid level of awareness. Neither are healthy or beneficial.


Now we get to the best one!


The trained level.


This is a state of awareness is trained. It is the type of situational awareness CIA and FBI agents, navy seals, Mossad, and a bunch of other top-notch operators are trained to have!


How cool is that!?


What makes this level of awareness different from the paranoid level?


I'm glad you asked!


You see, this type of awareness is different in that it is not a constant effort put out by the observer. Instead,

it is a set of habits that have been ingrained on the subconscious level!


Here is an example:

Let's say that every time you take a drink of water you purposely make a loud "ahhh" when finished. You have to do this consciously until it becomes a habit. After several months you will no longer have to consciously think about making the "ahhh" sound. It will be an ingrained habit. It no longer takes any effort on your part. It happens subconsciously.


That is how you train situational awareness. If it is done correctly, you will try to instill just one situational awareness habit at a time.


After it becomes a habit on a subconscious level, you will add another one. You can continue this practice until you reach the level of awareness that suites you best.


The four levels of awareness can be summed up and remembered in this simple way:


Blind level = no situational awareness

Normal level = subconscious awareness

Paranoid level = Hyper awareness

Trained level = subconscious habits of awareness


Now I will give you some habits and drills you can integrate into your situational awareness training. Remember this is your journey. It is important that you choose your own path in how you advance. This is true of every aspect of martial arts. Situational awareness is no exception. Simply chose a habit to build and go for it!


Building Situational awareness

Here are some ideas to get you started;

• sit with your back to a wall

• sit in a location where exits are visible

• be extra careful at gas stations and ATMs

• learn to establish a baseline (A baseline is simply what should be normal in a given place and situation)

• regularly scan for threats

• look for threats outside before entering a building


Those are just a few ideas to get you started!


If you would like to learn more about situational awareness and take some tests to see how well your situational awareness is, I have made a playlist on YouTube for you!


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2V6RNj0PwVf-YICjGZoYj8DtN-Jgl9Lb


Check it out! The tests are really cool!

*Taken from the Total Combatives Warrior Week Course
Get the course free today!
https://www.totalcombatives.com/courses
Click to expand...
some of those are bordering on paronia, if you have to sit with your back to the wall to guarantee safety, you should really leave and go some where less wild west, thats the first lession of situational awareness

second learn to recognise a #### a mile off, which is a slight exaggeration, a quarter mile is quite doable, its very very doable in a bar or club, and avoid or leave particularly if there are a few of them

be concious that the way you dress can single you out as a target, if every one elsea looks like they are sleeping rough and you look like a wall stret trader, you have possibly strayed in to the wrong place,

dont wave your thousand dollar iphone or 3000 dollar watch or bulging wallet about if you want to go home with it

never carry more cash than you can afford to loose, never have all your money and cards in the same place, particularly if your far from home,

if someone steal your hand bag with your keys in it, they almost certainly have yoyr adress as well, which may also be so if they take you coat from a coat rack
 
Last edited:
Taipan said:
Besides!

Situational awareness is one of the most important tools a martial artist has! Should the topic ever die?
Click to expand...

Or you could make a new topic, as is standard etiquette on forums. Especially since you're not answering the original question, but posting your own article so you can get clicks on your site.

For someone talking about situational awareness, you didn't have much when you made this post.
 
jobo said:
some of those are bordering on paronia, if you have to sit with your back to the wall to guarantee safety, you should really leave and go some where less wild west, thats the first lession of situational awareness

second learn to recognise a #### a mile off, which is a slight exaggeration, a quarter mile is quite doable, its very very doable in a bar or club, and avoid or leave particularly if there are a few of them

be concious that the way you dress can single you out as a target, if every one elsea looks like they are sleeping rough and you look like a wall stret trader, you have possibly strayed in to the wrong place,

dont wave your thousand dollar iphone or 3000 dollar watch or bulging wallet about if you want to go home with it

never carry more cash than you can afford to loose, never have all your money and cards in the same place, particularly if your far from home,

if someone steal your hand bag with your keys in it, they almost certainly have yoyr adress as well, which may also be so if they take you coat from a coat rack
Click to expand...

I don't think it's paranoia to sit with your back to the wall. It should just be a habit you have. I agree that you shouldn't be in a place that doing so is absolutely necessary. However, you are missing one of the important reasons we study martial arts... to be prepared.

You see, even a man at church could benefit from setting up like this, for even there snakes can come.

Situational awareness is a habit we should take everywhere. Even those who typically rest at the blind level exercise some level of awareness around dangerous places.

If we are aware even in the peaceful places, then we have the ability to help keep those places peaceful.
 
Taipan said:
I don't think it's paranoia to sit with your back to the wall. It should just be a habit you have. I agree that you shouldn't be in a place that doing so is absolutely necessary. However, you are missing one of the important reasons we study martial arts... to be prepared.

You see, even a man at church could benefit from setting up like this, for even there snakes can come.

Situational awareness is a habit we should take everywhere. Even those who typically rest at the blind level exercise some level of awareness around dangerous places.

If we are aware even in the peaceful places, then we have the ability to help keep those places peaceful.
Click to expand...
no its paroniod, unless there is an obvious threat, in which case leave, your highly unlikely to be attacked with out warnibg whilst sitting in a shop enjoying your vanila lattee and reading your paper, it far more likely that they will try and lift your bag or phone whilst your distracted, they can do that if your also distracted surveying the place for danger

situation awareness, means beibg aware of the actual situation, not unnecessary worry over the extremly unlikly, dont put your phone on the table
 
Last edited:
skribs said:
Or you could make a new topic, as is standard etiquette on forums. Especially since you're not answering the original question, but posting your own article so you can get clicks on your site.

For someone talking about situational awareness, you didn't have much when you made this post.
Click to expand...

Look Skribs...

I'm new to forums. I mean no disrespect. I thought (being new to blog etiquette) that the right thing to do was to use an existing post if the topic was already taken.

From my mistake I have learned.

Now let me ask you something, are you actually on here to gain insight and give others the same, or are you here just to be one of those idiotic forum bulldogs that bark and growl at every post?

We all are learning.
 
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