"Strategy is the craft of the warrior." - Miyamoto Musashi

Our security is our own responsibility - we can't rely on someone else being there to protect us when we are faced with a violent confrontation. Self-defence is more than just learning and employing physical techniques. It about having the correct mindset, daily habits of awareness, and preparing beforehand so we know what we are able to do so in line with our own moral compass and within the law (legally, the level of force used must be commensurate with the level of threat). We are then more capable of making split-second decisions and act instantly without hesitation or second guessing ourselves. In times of conflict, seconds can make the difference between life and death - literally!

To be effective in self-defence we must train and condition in 5 areas. This is embodied in the word EVADE

E.V.A.D.E. is an acronym for

1. Empowered

and the 4 states of action,

2. Vigilant

3. Avoid

4. Defend

5. Escape

Self Protection is not just about the physical aspects of self-defence but entails all aspects of avoidance, mindset, preparing for violence and how to deal with it.

Mindset is essential to self protection. Realistic self-defence training, gives knowledge and skills for when it counts, and develops a formidable, unshakeable mindset. This mindset overflows into a quiet assertion, increased self-esteem, and confidence that enhances other areas of life.

The acronym E.V.A.D.E. provides a framework of knowledge and learning that accompanies the physical skills of self-defence.

E.V.A.D.E.

1. Empowered - training develops a Mindset of inner strength that empowers us in life and when faced with a threat.

2. Vigilant - by-pass violent encounters by being able to recognize the indicators and avert the situation before it happens!

3. Avoid - learn skills of verbal de-escalation to minimize a situation becoming physical.

4. Defend - possess maximally effective self-defence skills, that have been thoroughly practiced and pressure tested, so you can call on them when needed under duress

5. Escape - in the aftermath of a situation where you have had to physically defend yourself, you are able to articulate what you had to do, and why you did what you did, so you stay on the right side of the law!

*Colour Codes of Action (For the 4 States of Action - VIGILANT - AVOID - DEFEND / ESCAPE)

The 3 colours of Green, Orange, and Red relate to our states of action and are comparable to the colours of traffic lights and how they impact our driving actions.

Green - as in driving when we are in a normal, relaxed state : we are VIGILANT, constantly scanning, regularly checking our rear vision, and anticipating what is coming up ahead and what is around the corner.
Orange - is when we have to make a decision (often suddenly). In driving, when a traffic light turns orange, we must decide if we can keep going or we should stop, and how we can do it safely. In self-protection we make decisions on AVOIDANCE in the same way. It is also a time of making a plan e.g. you see a suspicious person when you are in a coffee shop, you keep an eye on them covertly and make a plan, ie." If he pulls out a gun I will run for that exit as fast as I can." (It is important to have one plan only and stick to it, so you will not be at a point of indecision when you need to act quickly.)
Red - the decision is made for us. In driving we must stop. In self-protection we must DEFEND &/or ESCAPE. The key is to REACT IMMEDIATELY!

*This is modified from 'Cooper's Colour Codes of Awareness', which is used by American Military and law enforcement personnel, where yellow is used instead of green. Cooper's Codes also uses Colour Code White for complete inattention and lack of awareness of what is around you, and also Colour Code Black, which is when we panic, freeze, and shut down. These are conditions we want to avoid!

1. EMPOWERED

Through Combatives and scenario training we learn to take responsibility for our own safety and develop our Mind, Body, & Spirit to empower us to make the right decisions and effectively defend ourselves in a threatening situation.

Mind ie. Knowledge - You be must clear on your values, know the law, and are prepared and ready to act. We train for clarity in our thought process, in knowing what to do in that crucial moment, so there is no hesitation in our response. Hesitation is what can get us hurt or even killed. "Crime survival has one objective: to make split-second decisions under the stress of violence and a time of life and death. What works, as proved by police survival training, is mind-setting. Mind-setting is rehearsing and visualizing actions in your mind. " - Sandford Strong

Body ie. Physical Skills - trained in skills that give the best chance for success and survival.

Spirit ie. Combative Survival Mindset - Being empowered is the most important component of self-preservation and mental training and is incorporated with physical training. Our fighting spirit elevate to a hyper-state, committed to do whatever it takes to survive, and to never give in. "Mindset is not something you can cultivate when you are surrounded by four people, it is something you must cultivate before the event .. in your training, in your visualization, and in your thoughts about such an event." - Lee Morrison

The 3 components of empowerment:

Proactive - We must be alert and prepared
Body - Physical Skills
Spirit - Combative Survival Mindset

2. VIGILANT

Professionals in the security industry exercise vigilance constantly. We can learn from their example in our daily life by developing the habit of 'SCANNING' to casually observe what is around us, so, if we notice something untoward, we can be ready to act ('Commentary Walking' & 'What if Thinking'). The idea is not to be paranoid but observant in order to recognize early any behaviours and situations that may be high risk to our personal safety.

A predator's biggest weapon is surprise, catching a victim off guard before they have time to act or even comprehend what is happening to them. The idea is to put us into a state of shock and overwhelm us. If we are able to anticipate or even expect an attack, we will be in the best position to turn the tables and use surprise to our advantage.

Pay attention to what is not normal! It is even more crucial when we are in unfamiliar situations, or when out at night, for us to be vigilant and exercise situational awareness. We should be aware of other people's behaviors and demeanor, and be cognizant of escapes routes etc should the mood darken. As much as is practical, we should have a plan, eg. how we will get home after a night out, park the car in a well lit area, etc

Our demeanor can dictate whether will be chosen as a victim or not. When out, we need to take preventative measures against becoming a victim. eg being a 'hard target', peripheral scanning, tactical use of phone, covering drinks etc

The 3 components of vigilance:

People
Place
Position - where do we place ourselves to be effective?

3. AVOID

We endevour to outsmart an adversary through anticipation so we are less likely to be caught by surprise. Vigilance and Avoidance are the key to evading violence in daily life.

This should be our first goal.

We should have some understanding of how predators select their victims (D.R.A.T. ie Demeanor, Risk, Assets, & Threats)
If we find ourselves in a threatening situation we must have skills in place that will help us to avoid a physical confrontation. Winners avoid violence where possible, and walk away from trouble!

The 3 components of avoidance:

Distance
Detect - check his hands - does he have a weapon, are there multiple assailants?
De-escalation (Comply/Command)

(Use of : Presence / Voice / Touch)

We should also be aware of witnesses and how we can use them to our advantage.

4. DEFEND

We must learn to recognize "pre-incident indicators, and when there is no other choice we must defend ourselves with ruthless effectiveness. Through scenario training, we learn to manage stress and fear and use the environment in our favour. When going physical, anticipation and expectation is key, and pre-emption using deception is always preferred, allowing us to turn the tables through the advantage of surprise (but only if justified). If we are attacked first, we must respond immediately with a conditioned reflexive counter response appropriate to the level of threat.

There are 3 Levels of counter response :

1. Control & Restraint

2. Fight - Less-Lethal Force

3. Combat - Extreme, including the possibility of Lethal Force

Our aim is to disable the attacker enough so we are able to make our escape.

The 3 components of defence:

Equalize - If there is a disparity of force , pick up something you can use as a defensive object
Pre-emption ('3 Fs') Flick the Switch - Utilize rage - Use of "Triggers" and surprise
Counter Offence ('3 Cs') Startled reflex response, and combative follow up to ambush assaults

5. ESCAPE

This is our ultimate goal and should always be our first thought! When encountering violence our number one priority must be to escape at the first possible opportunity.

The 3 components of escape:

Immediate (defend only if necessary - escape asap) - Run &/or Hide
First Aid body check - Seek Help
The Law - I.P.O.N.

"From a cop's point of view, citizens seem to keep making the same mistakes over and over, until all cases begin to sound alike. Instead of escaping, men try to overpower the attacker. That's the reason more men are killed at crime scenes than women. Forget the traditional revenge attitude of 'Catch 'em, hold' em, make 'em pay. The odds are against you. If you and your loved ones are safe, the crook is not worth going after and he's damn not worth dying for. If you're not a cop, obligated to arrest armed attackers, don't try it. Your duty is to escape. reduce the danger don't increase it.

React immediately - your best chance to escape violence and minimize injury is in the first seconds."

Sandford Strong - 'Strong on Defense: Survival Rules to Protect you and your Family from Crime.'

AFTERMATH

Being confronted with, or engaging in violence will have after-effects. Being prepared for these effects beforehand will help mitigate their impact on us. We must learn to be able to regroup and be ready to engage with the law, apply first aid, and deal with the psychological aftermath.

We must be prepared for:

First Aid
Dealing with the Law - I.P.O.N.*
The psychological after-effects

*I.P.O.N. is modified from I.M.O.P from Rory Miller and Lawrence A. Kane

Through training, we work to become clear where we stand with the law in regards to what is an appropriate use of force to use in various scenarios in which we must defend ourselves. It is of little consolation if we get out of a dangerous situation but then must endure lengthy court cases and possibly spend time behind bars, and all that entails.

We must practice articulating what led us to our decision to defend ourselves through force, and why we did what we did.

This is an important component of the Defender programme.

Become a DEFENDER today!

Find a class now!

JUSTIFICATION TO ACT IN SELF-DEFENCE - I.P.O.N*

"Every one is justified in using, in the defence of himself or herself or another, such force as, in the circumstances as he or she believes them to be, it is reasonable to use."

* Self-Defence in New Zealand Law - SECTION 48 of the Crimes Act 1961

I.P.O.N - Intent - Power - Opportunity - No Choice

All four of these criteria must be met before you have a good case for taking action. If one or more of these conditions are absent, you are on shaky legal ground.

Claiming you feared for your life will not be enough if you cannot articulate why you were afraid.

1. INTENT

You must be able to show that the threat wanted to do you harm, and tell how you knew. Someone screaming “I’m going to kill you” is fairly clear, especially if their body language backs this up. If they make a fist and draw their arm back you can make a case they where about to hit you. Intent is critical in claiming self-defence. People have the chance to kill you every day. A waiter bringing a steak knife in a restaurant has a deadly weapon and is within range, but we do not leap into action. To be a legitimate threat, the person must have intent and you must be able to explain how you knew that.

The attacker displayed imminent intention of violence through eg:

Body Language
The way they move
The language they direct at you
Eye contact
Reaching for a weapon

2. POWER (Means)

All the intent in the world, will not matter if the threat couldn’t hurt you. Somebody wearing togs and shouting they are going to shoot you clearly does not have the power (means) if they have no gun in their hand.

You recognize the threat has the power (capability) to hurt you by eg:

How big and powerful they are (a 2-year-old throwing a temper tantrum may have a lot of intent but lack the means to do anything severe)
Multiple adversaries
The presence of weapons

3. OPPORTUNITY

Intent and power matter little if the threat cannot reach you. Someone shouting they are going to kill you outside your house cannot get to you. If you leave your house to confront them, you cannot claim self-defence.

Their opportunity is determined by:

How close they are to you - ie. proximity
Where you are ie. on your own in a dark place, or they are 'in your face' in a bar
Your inattention - lack of awareness - you fail to recognise the 'pre-incident indicators'

Our aim is to deny them the opportunity!

4. NO CHOICE (Preclusion)

In cases of Pre-emption you must be able to show you tried all other alternatives, and therefore had 'no choice', before resorting to force. Even though Pre-emptive strikes are legal and covered under law, be sure you can articulate why you felt the need to strike first. From a 3rd party perspective, a witness will claim you struck first and started the fight.

You must be able to show that you had no safe alternative other than the use of physical force, eg.

You had no way of avoiding or escaping before defending yourself (Could you have left?)
The threat continued signs of intention after your attempts at de-escalation
If you did not act, someone with you, or a defenseless member of the public, would be hurt
You were caught by a surprise attack

* Proportionality: The force used to defend oneself must be reasonable and in proportion to the perceived level of threat.

The force used in self-defence is unlikely to be reasonable if it is out of proportion to the danger threatened. To take an extreme example, it would not be reasonable to shoot a big bully to death in order to prevent him from pulling one’s hair.

Street fighting falls outside the purview of Self-defence. Do not let your ego force you into a situation where violence becomes inevitable. You will find it difficult to succeed on a claim of self-defence!

*Colour Codes of Action

For the 4 States of Action

VIGILANT - AVOID - DEFEND / ESCAPE

The 3 colours relate to our states of action and are comparable to the colours of traffic lights and how they impact our driving actions. (There is also Condition White, which is unaware and unready).

Green - as in driving when we are in a normal, relaxed state : we are VIGILANT, constantly scanning, regularly checking our rear vision, and anticipating what is coming up ahead and what is around the corner.
Orange - is when we have to make a decision (often suddenly). In driving, when a traffic light turns orange, we must decide if we can keep going or we should stop, and how we can do it safely. In self-protection we make decisions on AVOIDANCE in the same way. It is also a time of making a plan e.g. you see a suspicious person when you are in a coffee shop, you keep an eye on them covertly, look for an equalizer and get ready to act, ie." If he pulls out a gun I will run for that exit as fast as I can." (It is important to have one plan only and stick to it, so you will not be at a point of indecision when you need to act quickly.)
Red - the decision is made for us. In driving we must stop. In self-protection we must DEFEND &/or ESCAPE! - The key is EXPECTATION and the ability to REACT IMMEDIATELY!