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Over the years I have preached and prodded my students to be aware of their surroundings. I have covered, in articles here and elsewhere, the importance of identifying a threat before a incident begins, and responding in a deliberate way rather than a reactive and defensive manner. From the feedback I usually get, this seems logical and most agree that being pre-emptive is more likely to protect us than starting from a position of disadvantage.
The next question that usually comes up is, “how do you know if you’re right?” Fair enough question. Imagine that you are in a dark parking lot at a mall and a scary looking guy suddenly begins to walk in your direction. He hasn’t said anything but he seems to be heading your way. Your car is the only one in the lot and you are too far from the building to head back that way without looking frightened or breaking into a dead run. You mentally start preparing yourself for the inevitable confrontation. You evaulate your options, his size, weight, any signs of weapons or confederates. You have, by this time, worked yourself into a nervous bundle and all of your self defense training starts bombarding your brain with blocks and parries and counterstrikes and makeshift weapons and angles of defense and pressure points and … he walks right by continuing on his way. As you get in your car and try to will your heart to slow down, you wonder how you could have ever defended yourself in such a rattled state. The sad truth is that you probably wouldn’t have been very successful.
Predators generally work on instinct. That is, they quickly size up their victims when an opportunity presents itself. When they get the impression that they may not be able to prevail, they will move on to an easier target. You will be quickly forgotten as a new target is located. As a defender, on the other hand, you probably will have put your brain into information overload and instead of being psychologically prepared for battle, you have become a computer in need of being defragmented. What does the predator have that you don’t? I believe it is the faith in their ability to size up their victims and trust their intuition. Therein lies the skill that can often tip the scales in their favor.
In his bestselling book “Blink”, Malcolm Gladwell writes about rapid cognition. He shares many examples of how in the first few seconds of a new experience or meeting someone, our brain forms a series of conclusions. We may not be able to put those thoughts into words, but the feelings generated are very profound and remarkably accurate. Whether based on prior experience or that mysterious “intuition” that we hear about, we just ‘know’ some things. If we had to put those feelings and justifications into words however, we would be hard pressed to explain them. In fact, we would more than likely begin to doubt our original assessments. We have always been taught that knowledge is power. Therefore, the more information we possess the better we should be able to make the correct decisions. Obviously that is not always the case. When we practice a new skill, we may find it awkward and clumsy in the beginning. After many repititions it becomes easier and eventually we can automatically perform the skills with hardly any conscious thought at all. There is a brain/muscle connection that has been formed which tends to override the thought process. You just react or respond a certain way.
Another strong believer in trusting our intuition is the author of “The Gift of Fear” and it’s follow up, “Fear Less”, Gavin De Becker. It is often the first thought that gets immediately suppressed by us because we haven’t given it the appropriate amount of study and mental debate. We may experience fear of the unknown, but since we can’t figure out it’s origin, we quickly suppress the feelings as being foolish. If it turns out that there actually is a threat, we are often caught in the middle of our mental deliberations and no longer prepared to respond. Sometimes, the thought of appearing foolish or paranoid will put us in more peril than just going with out “gut instinct” and taking the necessary precautions. The worst that can happen is that we actually do appear foolish, which is preferable to the alternatives.
So, back to my original scenario. You make a quick visual assessment. You scan the immediate area and decide that you will not be caught off guard, but continue on your way. Sometimes just looking aware and alert is enough of a deterrent to the instincts of a predator that no confrontation is initiated. If it turns into something more serious, you are in a much better defensive position. Train, learn to read body language and increase your chances of survival. Intuition is not that mysterious, but it is a survival tool we are born with. Get to know and trust yours.
The next question that usually comes up is, “how do you know if you’re right?” Fair enough question. Imagine that you are in a dark parking lot at a mall and a scary looking guy suddenly begins to walk in your direction. He hasn’t said anything but he seems to be heading your way. Your car is the only one in the lot and you are too far from the building to head back that way without looking frightened or breaking into a dead run. You mentally start preparing yourself for the inevitable confrontation. You evaulate your options, his size, weight, any signs of weapons or confederates. You have, by this time, worked yourself into a nervous bundle and all of your self defense training starts bombarding your brain with blocks and parries and counterstrikes and makeshift weapons and angles of defense and pressure points and … he walks right by continuing on his way. As you get in your car and try to will your heart to slow down, you wonder how you could have ever defended yourself in such a rattled state. The sad truth is that you probably wouldn’t have been very successful.
Predators generally work on instinct. That is, they quickly size up their victims when an opportunity presents itself. When they get the impression that they may not be able to prevail, they will move on to an easier target. You will be quickly forgotten as a new target is located. As a defender, on the other hand, you probably will have put your brain into information overload and instead of being psychologically prepared for battle, you have become a computer in need of being defragmented. What does the predator have that you don’t? I believe it is the faith in their ability to size up their victims and trust their intuition. Therein lies the skill that can often tip the scales in their favor.
In his bestselling book “Blink”, Malcolm Gladwell writes about rapid cognition. He shares many examples of how in the first few seconds of a new experience or meeting someone, our brain forms a series of conclusions. We may not be able to put those thoughts into words, but the feelings generated are very profound and remarkably accurate. Whether based on prior experience or that mysterious “intuition” that we hear about, we just ‘know’ some things. If we had to put those feelings and justifications into words however, we would be hard pressed to explain them. In fact, we would more than likely begin to doubt our original assessments. We have always been taught that knowledge is power. Therefore, the more information we possess the better we should be able to make the correct decisions. Obviously that is not always the case. When we practice a new skill, we may find it awkward and clumsy in the beginning. After many repititions it becomes easier and eventually we can automatically perform the skills with hardly any conscious thought at all. There is a brain/muscle connection that has been formed which tends to override the thought process. You just react or respond a certain way.
Another strong believer in trusting our intuition is the author of “The Gift of Fear” and it’s follow up, “Fear Less”, Gavin De Becker. It is often the first thought that gets immediately suppressed by us because we haven’t given it the appropriate amount of study and mental debate. We may experience fear of the unknown, but since we can’t figure out it’s origin, we quickly suppress the feelings as being foolish. If it turns out that there actually is a threat, we are often caught in the middle of our mental deliberations and no longer prepared to respond. Sometimes, the thought of appearing foolish or paranoid will put us in more peril than just going with out “gut instinct” and taking the necessary precautions. The worst that can happen is that we actually do appear foolish, which is preferable to the alternatives.
So, back to my original scenario. You make a quick visual assessment. You scan the immediate area and decide that you will not be caught off guard, but continue on your way. Sometimes just looking aware and alert is enough of a deterrent to the instincts of a predator that no confrontation is initiated. If it turns into something more serious, you are in a much better defensive position. Train, learn to read body language and increase your chances of survival. Intuition is not that mysterious, but it is a survival tool we are born with. Get to know and trust yours.
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