When I was a young "Joe" learning and perfecting my craft of Close Quarters Combat, I used to do a lot of mental/visual training. Whenever I would go somewhere new, I would look around and imagine how I would enter and clear. I still do that today at times, although not quite as much since I'm fairly seasoned at it. I would look at details such as entryways, high and low threats, dynamic corners, on and on... Part of this was because I knew the mock-up block "cities" we trained in weren't that realistic, but mainly just to get in some mental reps to help be ready for any situation. I had the foresight to see that I needed to be ready for whatever. Once you go through that doorway, you could encounter any number of different sized/shaped rooms and obstacles.
These days, I lean more towards mental reps of how I would react to a threat and secure my family. My wife knows that when we go somewhere to eat I need to sit facing the main entrance and on the outside if it's a booth. I prefer a booth due to the extra cover they provide. Once we sit down I then survey the area and make mental notes of what I would do if the proverbial shit "hits the fan". My point here is that, anywhere I go I imagine what I would do if something happened.
Am I paranoid and does this consume me? No. As an example, we were just at an outlet mall last night. Since I've done this plenty I typically know how I will handle things in a place just based off past experience. Do I do this in every store you walk in? No. It's just natural for me to know my surroundings at all time, so it's not like it's something that takes a lot of time. You can't have a plan for every situation that might arise, so you shouldn't burn yourself out thinking. You don't need to go stand in the center of the store and stand around surveying the place like a weirdo. Part of this exercise is that your family, mainly your kids don't necessarily need to know you're doing this everywhere. Some may disagree, but I'm not one for taking away their innocence just yet. My family knows that I'm well trained for bad situations. My kids know that I have the means to protect them if need be.
All that said, I could probably do a better job of preparing them to react for certain situations. For instance, I haven't gone over how we would react if someone started shooting in a mall. A wide open space that would get really clustered and confusing really quick. Just this morning on the news there was talk of a terror group linked to Al Qaeda pushing propaganda for their supporters to attack malls.
Are you prepared? Is your family prepared? What will you do? Will you move to the sound of the guns to try and eliminate the threat? Will you secure your family and stand guard over them until the place is secure? I can tell you, my first priority is my family. All this hinges on how close to the threat you are. There are a plethora of scenarios we could cover here, but I'll save that for training folks in person. There are also many ways to "skin a cat". So again, I won't get deep into that here.
The purpose here is to get you to think, be prepared, and get trained. If through this you realize your preparedness is not where it should be, then that's great awareness. Now fill the gap and get your mental reps in or get trained with a competent trainer if you need to.
So next time you're in public, do this: Take a quick look around inconspicuously and think about how you would react if someone came through the door guns blazing. How would you secure your family? What location provides the best cover? How would you go about eliminating the threat if need be? What are you going to do if you're approached by a "nut job" and a gun isn't the answer? Are you prepared to "talk someone down"?
Call it paranoid if you want, but understand that the threat is real and it's closer than you think. You don't have to go "full retard" and join a militia or wear your plate carrier in public, you just need a little situational awareness and general preparedness. If you're interested in training or would like to talk more about the topics in this blog, I'd be more than happy to chat.
These days, I lean more towards mental reps of how I would react to a threat and secure my family. My wife knows that when we go somewhere to eat I need to sit facing the main entrance and on the outside if it's a booth. I prefer a booth due to the extra cover they provide. Once we sit down I then survey the area and make mental notes of what I would do if the proverbial shit "hits the fan". My point here is that, anywhere I go I imagine what I would do if something happened.
Am I paranoid and does this consume me? No. As an example, we were just at an outlet mall last night. Since I've done this plenty I typically know how I will handle things in a place just based off past experience. Do I do this in every store you walk in? No. It's just natural for me to know my surroundings at all time, so it's not like it's something that takes a lot of time. You can't have a plan for every situation that might arise, so you shouldn't burn yourself out thinking. You don't need to go stand in the center of the store and stand around surveying the place like a weirdo. Part of this exercise is that your family, mainly your kids don't necessarily need to know you're doing this everywhere. Some may disagree, but I'm not one for taking away their innocence just yet. My family knows that I'm well trained for bad situations. My kids know that I have the means to protect them if need be.
All that said, I could probably do a better job of preparing them to react for certain situations. For instance, I haven't gone over how we would react if someone started shooting in a mall. A wide open space that would get really clustered and confusing really quick. Just this morning on the news there was talk of a terror group linked to Al Qaeda pushing propaganda for their supporters to attack malls.
Are you prepared? Is your family prepared? What will you do? Will you move to the sound of the guns to try and eliminate the threat? Will you secure your family and stand guard over them until the place is secure? I can tell you, my first priority is my family. All this hinges on how close to the threat you are. There are a plethora of scenarios we could cover here, but I'll save that for training folks in person. There are also many ways to "skin a cat". So again, I won't get deep into that here.
The purpose here is to get you to think, be prepared, and get trained. If through this you realize your preparedness is not where it should be, then that's great awareness. Now fill the gap and get your mental reps in or get trained with a competent trainer if you need to.
So next time you're in public, do this: Take a quick look around inconspicuously and think about how you would react if someone came through the door guns blazing. How would you secure your family? What location provides the best cover? How would you go about eliminating the threat if need be? What are you going to do if you're approached by a "nut job" and a gun isn't the answer? Are you prepared to "talk someone down"?
Call it paranoid if you want, but understand that the threat is real and it's closer than you think. You don't have to go "full retard" and join a militia or wear your plate carrier in public, you just need a little situational awareness and general preparedness. If you're interested in training or would like to talk more about the topics in this blog, I'd be more than happy to chat.
