WWYD threads got me thinking

[ARperson]

I don't post in this forum much (at all), but peruse sometimes. And after a conversation with my husband and reading all these "what would you do" threads, I got to thinking about mental preparedness.

How many of you actually visualize shooting in self defense? Or at least drawing and pointing to belay the attack.

I find myself constantly playing through situations in my head. When we're at a restaurant. When we're at the local home improvement store. When we're driving.

I've only been in three situation where things even got remotely close to needing the firearm. The first was when my husband and I were showing a unit to a potential renter. The person hadn't showed up yet and 3 big dudes came walking up the street and and turned up the walk to the house with the excuse that they wanted to see the unit. My husband met them at the front door and told them they would have to schedule an appointment. They kept coming and it wasn't until his hand moved to his hip that they backed off. Meanwhile, I'm drawing my firearm and moving to a safe position to both avoid any fire they aim in our direction and get out of hubby's way.

Second time, I didn't even really confront the bad guys since the perps were more concerned with getting away after we caught them trying to steal our temporary license plate. But in that neighborhood, we didn't know what to expect.

The third time, hubby answered the door to a guy asking for someone who didn't live in our house. Knowing that so many home invasions start like this, my heart was pounding. Thankfully, it appeared the guy really was lost, but.....

And there are always the strange noises in the house (especially with 4 cats who refuse to stay off the kitchen counters and refrigerator) that get your blood flowing.

I think my reactions to the above situations were helped because I do think about what actions I would take under different situations. Specifics. Details. While I've never actually visualized shooting anybody, I have considered the steps I would take to get to that point.

Hopefully, though, I will never have to act out my mental pictures.

 

[Bob F.]

AR: Yeah, I visualize scenarios often. And, like you, have learned from what's been posted here. Usually armed at home w/ my CCW or close at hand. Big Dog early warning system! No real worries, live in semi-rural area. Nobody ever comes to our front door. Last time was last winter when 18-wheeler hung up outside during snow-storm.

Tonight it's sleeting and not one, but two different people came to the front door! Had CCW in belt both times, both visits benign. Still weird.

12/23: wife going to mall after dark. Crowded so couldn't park close. Noticed 2 or 3 teens walking between cars, crosswise rather than along rows. Parks and starts toward entrance. Another woman is trying to load car but is also aware of the boys. Wife: "excuse me ma'am, would you like me to stay here while you load up?" "Would you, please?" Woman loaded car and offered wife ride to entrance"No, I'm OK" (read armed). Wife walked in keeping to center of traffic lanes. Noteworthy because 2 women were very aware (and at least one armed) even while Christmas shopping!(NOT Holiday shopping)!

Stay safe.
Bob

 

[cslinger]

Its called condition yellow. Being aware and planning for every conceivable big bad may very well keep you away from those things in the first place.

I for one don't ever want to ever discharge or even draw a firearm in anger. I don't ever want to shoot anything that bleeds. I do however prepare for it and envision scenarios where I might have to. It is not a fantasy I have only a realistic view of what might happen.

I always keep a firearm at the ready. I don't EVER want to have to use it. That does not keep me from training for scenarios where I might.

Does this make any sense?

 

[Fred Fuller]

I'm glad to see USAF COL John Boyd's concepts becoming more widely known among the general population, even if his name has not yet achieved wide familiarity. Of course I refer to the idea of the 'OODA loop' which I hear mentioned more and more often in regards to self defense. Again, I think this is a Good Thing.

Boyd was a fighter pilot whose abilities in the cockpit became legendary. He worked to synthesize what he did so he could teach it to other pilots. Thus was born the OODA loop. What's an OODA loop?

O bserve
O rient
D ecide
A ct

The OODA loop is the basis for an entire theory of warfare, and is a pretty complex mechanism in its entirety-

"...Boyd's biggest achievements came in the decades outside the cockpit. Boyd's great contribution was the "OODA Loop"—Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Some call it the Boyd loop. This is a complicated process, difficult to grasp, harder to distill and often bastardized by people who dimly understand it.

Coram describes it well: "Boyd, borrowing from Sun Tzu, said the best commander is one who wins while avoiding battle. The intent is to shatter cohesion, produce paralysis and bring about the collapse of the adversary by generating confusion, disorder, panic and chaos. Boyd said war is organic and compared his technique to clipping the nerves, muscles and tendons of an enemy, reducing him to jelly."

The key is to get inside the mind and decision cycle of the enemy, to act quickly and unpredictably. Boyd called it "unraveling the competition." Where Carl Von Clausewitz, the influential 19th century war strategist, instructed commanders to minimize their own uncertainty created by the fog of war, Boyd urged them to create more fog for the enemy. Coram convincingly argues that Boyd, and then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, designed America's spectacular 100-hour ground war against Iraq in 1991. ..."
( from http://www.d-n-i.net/coram/neff.htm )

What it means in nutshell form regarding self defense is always being aware of what is going on around you, playing a constant game of 'what if...', preparing yourself in various ways in the short term and the long term for the unexpected to happen, and thus being better prepared to deal with whatever comes your way.

Sounds as if you are pretty much doing that- good for you. And keep it up!

If you aren't familiar with Boyd, see more links at
http://www.d-n-i.net/second_level/boyd_military.htm
http://www.belisarius.com/fighter_pilot.htm .

Stay safe,

lpl/nc