Situational Awareness.

"In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in
everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance."
Miyamoto Musashi, Author
Book of Five Rings

In my opinion, the most important component in self preservation (keeping yourself alive) is situational awareness.  How I define situational awareness is the mental calculation of anything, human or mechanical, in my immediate vicinity that would affect me or my family. 

 Here's a scene from an accident that happened a few months ago ago.  Luckily no one was injured.   

Apparently the driver suffered an acute health problem and lost control of the bus.  As technologies such as smart phones & mp3 players become integrated into our lives, we have become less and less connected with the real world. Having a gun or knife won't mean a thing if this bus careens into you.  You have to be aware of anything that might come into your personal space.

The martial mindset.
I train in filipino martial arts (FMA) and my master gave me a very deep look at how his mind operates.  He said, "when I walk down the street or where ever I am at, my mind is constantly thinking about what I can do to protect myself.  What items around me can I use?  A pipe, a cue ball, a rolled up magazine?  If someone jumped out at me from an alley, what do I do?"

My first thought is paranoia.  This man is PARANOID.  But on my drive home, it made perfect sense.  Situational awareness does not only include scanning, it also includes a plan of action if it comes to it.  For instance, which way would you jump if the bus above came at you?  Would you have decide 5 seconds before hand or 1 second before? 

What does situational awareness look like?

My wife took a candid shot of me and my boys on an outing a month before that bus crashed into the wall.  The yellow and black object to the left is a tour bus on a road that fronts the entrance to the park.  My mind is already aware of the bus and the direction it is going as well as the people around the area. 

Does situational awareness mean I can't have fun?  No.  As you can see from the picture, we do family things such as Sea Life Park and the beach, but it doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself.  It only takes a few seconds to do.  Every so often, I will scan my area and use my senses (see, smell, touch, hear) for anything such as a suspicious characters, smoke, rain, arguments etc.  Also, as I discussed earlier, where are the exits or what is the escape plan? 

My job as a father is to keep my family safe.  I am not a superhero, policeman/firefighter, or mediator.  I cannot put myself in danger at the expense of the safety of my family.  If I am alone, then certainly, I would do my best to help in most situations but I still have to remember that I am no use to my family if I am dead.  Well, maybe for the insurance money.
 
How do you get started?  If you've done some research on situational awareness, you will, no doubt, come across Col. Jeff Cooper's awareness color codes.  I will not re-iterate them here as there are tons of information about it on the internet.  It is a great way to get started on your path to situational awareness.

Aloha,
J.