Developing Situational Awareness

For me this isn't a particularly complicated subject. Many years ago I was trained to routinely practice what an instructor called, 'What If Scenarios'; and I've made a game out of doing this, now, for many years. For instance I take the same walk back and forth to my vehicle almost everyday. So the game becomes, ....... 'What would I do IF I were attacked on the sidewalk?' 'What would I do IF I were attacked at the door?' Or. 'What would I do IF I were attacked in the hallway?' 'What would I do IF I were attacked by more than one person?' How about two or three persons; or how about where the best place to sit is inside a restaurant?

(Were you to saunter into a cleverly planned, triangulated ambush then your chances of getting out of it unscathed are pretty slim; and, sometimes, the only viable response is to quickly and accurately 'get on your gun'! A situational awareness skill that demands an ability to be able to seamlessly transition into a, 'CQB mindset', which is something that also needs to be regularly practiced.)

It's through the imaginative creation of self-defense scenarios like these that I have been able to identify the most useful personal reactions and possible uses of the best available cover as I move about throughout my daily environment. I try to always know the, 'When' and, 'Why' of my being vulnerable as well as to, 'Whom' and, 'How'. This has led me to realize that things like a curb can provide the only really hard cover in an otherwise open street! It's revealed to me, 'Where' I would hide and wait if I were to attack myself! This sort of personal awareness also helps me to keep other people away from my person, and makes me more difficult to approach.

Sometimes it helps to recognize that some street scenarios are (Ready?) either very difficult, or next-to-impossible to survive! 'What If Scenarios', I love them! It's always time well spent, too.

 

I think it's great that you brainstorm and visualize those what-if scenarios, but I am hoping that when you say that you "take the same walk back and forth to your vehicle almost every day", that you are changing up your routine at random intervals. Avoiding patterns and routines helps to counter any planning and preparation on the part of the bad guyz.

 

Nothing better than getting your butt in a sling and having an op go FUBAR to get a lifetime dose of SA. Or try working in a prison for a while. Everyone there would like to do you harm. That's where I learned to look up a lot. Also, learn to enjoy people watching. You'll learn all kinds habits and tics and strange behaviors. I made a game with the wife a few years back where we try to spot CCW holders.