John Joseph
Member
- Joined
- May 5, 2016
- Messages
- 1,441
Practicing situational awareness all the time is a big plus in my book. It will help you avoid dangerous situations---not all, but some---and may throw off a potential attacker.
Not long ago I was in a strange town and took an early morning walk outside my hotel, because my own internal clock was off due to a different time zone. An unsavory looking character started following me quickly. He and I were the only pedestrians on that street and there was no vehicular traffic, I jumped into a covered parking garage, taking cover behind one of those columns holding up the second story, yet being in the shadow of the garage I could still observe my shadowy companion and ready myself for a fight. The guy didn't continue down the street which would have led him past my position (so he probably was a mugger after me, and not just late for work) But ran off. He'd lost the element of surprise and would have had to take on a "mark" he couldn't see and who apparently meant resistance. He had lost control.
There was no way I could have trained for that. Having the presence of mind to assess the situation, initiate a response without waiting to be a victim, and using what was available (cover, improvised weaponry, etc....) likely saved my bacon that time.
Next time will be different, but practicing situational awareness is a plus. A big plus.
As far as training with a firearm, the protocol I was taught relied heavily on consistency---whatever the scenario on the range, recognition, sight acquisition and trigger pull being committed to muscle memory through repetition, didn't change unless we were "injured" and practicing weak side.
Of course this was long ago. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore.
Not long ago I was in a strange town and took an early morning walk outside my hotel, because my own internal clock was off due to a different time zone. An unsavory looking character started following me quickly. He and I were the only pedestrians on that street and there was no vehicular traffic, I jumped into a covered parking garage, taking cover behind one of those columns holding up the second story, yet being in the shadow of the garage I could still observe my shadowy companion and ready myself for a fight. The guy didn't continue down the street which would have led him past my position (so he probably was a mugger after me, and not just late for work) But ran off. He'd lost the element of surprise and would have had to take on a "mark" he couldn't see and who apparently meant resistance. He had lost control.
There was no way I could have trained for that. Having the presence of mind to assess the situation, initiate a response without waiting to be a victim, and using what was available (cover, improvised weaponry, etc....) likely saved my bacon that time.
Next time will be different, but practicing situational awareness is a plus. A big plus.
As far as training with a firearm, the protocol I was taught relied heavily on consistency---whatever the scenario on the range, recognition, sight acquisition and trigger pull being committed to muscle memory through repetition, didn't change unless we were "injured" and practicing weak side.
Of course this was long ago. Maybe it doesn't matter anymore.