Situational Awareness Without Paranoia
Keep both eyes open, scan and assess the environment, the situation, plan and coordinate … and you might just live another day
Author: Steve Hanafi (Silat Sharaf Practitioner, Malaysia)
Imagine someone walking down the street, looking at their phone, head down, eyes fixed on the screen, not attending to the people around them, the environment, the situation, how the street looks like, what possible threat or dangers there are, imagine if that person is you. Is that person aware of his/her surroundings? Do they realize if there are people who have been following them down the block, or someone who's eyeing them from across the street, or two guys suspiciously patrolling on their motorcycle? That person could be you, going through your daily life, coming home from work, walking out of the mall or cinema, not realizing what is happening around, not being aware of the current situation or environment.
When talking about situational awareness, one would either imagine being like Jason Bourne in The Bourne Identity (2002) or being the one paranoid aunt who keeps on turning her head 540° looking for possible enemies. Those two have a few similarities and a few ticks here and there about being aware, but in reality, situational awareness is how you assess the things going on around you and doing your best to navigate through your daily life and getting out of harm’s way before it even happens.
Head on a swivel
"So, what if shit happens? I can punch my way out through it"
– Your inner Batman telling you that you can fight if things happen
Being a master in 100 different martial arts is useless
if you are unable to be situationally aware.
Understanding the importance of situational awareness and applying it in real-life situations is better than mastering 100 different martial arts. Yes, that is a very bold statement, but it has its truths. There's no use of being a master of fighting if all you do in public is to look down at your phone.
Avoid this
Regardless of how good your fighting skills are when you're attacked without you being aware, then that pretty much spells doom. One strike at the back of the head, a stab to vital organs or veins could be lethal and would take you out before you even get to use your ultimate JKD-Krav Maga-BJJ techniques to end the fight because its already over before you even know it.
For the most part, situational awareness doesn't look heroic or epic like those final boss fights you see in the movies, sure it doesn't. But if it keeps you alive to see another day, who the hell cares what it looks like? So, how does one become situationally aware? It goes down to 4 things, preparation, assessing & understanding the situation and environment, using your senses and acting accordingly.
Preparation. Knowing where you're going, how dangerous is the place? Are there any imminent threats? What time are you going and how long do you expect to be there. How you would dress to go there, is the dress you're wearing makes you pop up like a clown at a funeral? Are you wearing anything that can make you an easy target? And will you be able to run, hide and fight if a situation dictates you to do so in your clothing? Is there anyone who will be there with you? Will they be an asset or a liability? These are just a few questions one can ask themselves before they even step out of their house and go somewhere, these pre-event questions can help one to be mindful and aware even before they get out of their house.
Assessing and Understanding. This comes with environmental awareness and human assessment. Know the "baseline" of the situation that you are in. If you're in a restaurant, how does the waiter usually behave like, how do they dress like, where do they look at? If you're at a park, how do people look like, what do they usually do, are there hawkers? How do they talk to their customers, where do they put their focus at? The baseline is the norms of how people behave, dress. We look for abnormalities, differences, odd, strange and suspicious things or behavior that can be a cue for us to get up and get the hell out of a place before something bad happens.
Being situationally aware can help one deflect incoming attacks
Environmental awareness is also just as important as understanding humans. When entering buildings, locate the nearest exit, help center, a place to use as cover or concealment if anything happens, is the place well lit, can anyone hide and take advantage to use on you? When walking down alleys or sidewalks, search and scan for possible threats, is it safe for you to walk there? Or should you opt for another route? Can you spot CCTVs? If so be where they can see you for security and legal reasons. Environments also have their baselines. If you're at sidewalks, do notice how the cars are parked, if there are any signs or symbols, bags, motorcycles or anything that makes your gut tingles, signs that make you go uneasy, don't ignore the signs. Trust your gut.
Using Your Senses. Look, Listen, smell, feel.
Look, search and locate for abnormalities in your baseline, baseline differs based on when and where you are at. Listen for noises, cracks, ticks, sounds that don't normally belong to a place usually indicates something is going on. Smell and feel, does anything smell or feel off? If your gut goes "oh shit, this doesn't feel good", normally it isn't gonna be good. Our subconscious mind gives us warning way before we can spot it, this is just another example of how great our body is. And it is only helpful if we are present in the current situation.
Act Accordingly. John F. Boyd presented a concept known as the OODA Loop. (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act). This loop perfectly sums up how to use your senses, your mind and finally act based on the stimuli and information that you have gathered. Only then can you use your Ultimate Ninja-Kali-FMA-Jiujitsu Finishing move to fight your way out of harm's way. Or, you could just get the heck out of there and save yourself your precious time and energy and not risk getting hurt or dead.
... and then, act accordingly
Dangers and threat lurk everywhere, it does not care if you are a black belt or a special instructor, or if you are just some 19-year-old teenager going through your daily life. It doesn't take much for someone to inflict harm on you or your loved ones, but at the same time, it also won't take much from you and those around you to raise your heads from your phone, look around, assess and get home safely just by being situationally aware.