Mindset and Tactics

[The Unknown User]

I've been thinking about doing this for a while, but originally hesitated as this isn't entirely firearms-related.

This is less about shooting and technique, and more about your mindset and tactics. I think there are little things that one can do to improve their chances if one finds themselves in a dire situation.

So, how about we all share our ideas on how we can better prepare ourselves for an emergency?

1. Know all exits for any place you travel to.
2. When you sit, leave one foot to the side of the chair. It's much faster to stand up if you need to.
3. Be aware of your surroundings. Don't walk staring at the ground. Know who and what is nearby at all times.
4. Have a plan if the SHTF. If you panic, you're screwed.

Anything else to add?

 

[possum]

go to training courses that train you to fight, and survive not meerly to shoot better. these fighting courses will have a segment about mindset normally in a class room environment,lectures, real world stories, personal experiences etc. but should be stressed throughout the whole training course ie humanoid targets, etc.

a great place to get this training is at tactical response. check thier website out at www.tacticalresponse.com or thier online forums at ww.getoffthex.com

you are the weapon, guns are tools, tactics are good, and gear is cool but without the mindset you will fail. and in a situation like that that you are preparing for failing means you will die.

 

[Shawn Dodson]

Mindset and Tactics?! But it's so much easier and more fun to talk about equipment.

Having to apply mental effort and interact with an adversary takes too much work (plus it doesn't feed one's ego).

Tools of Tactics
X
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[Fred Fuller]

Rob87,

Look at my SIG, please, and tell me again what this particular subforum is and isn't about...

In order to be truly Armed, we must first be Aware, and always strive to be Able to deal with the challenges we face...

lpl

 

[The Unknown User]

Haha, touche. I guess it should be obvious that "strategy" and "tactics" has less to do with firearms; that's "equipment."

 

[Pro-Gun Teacher]

I also will add to that, that when I am in an unfamilliar place, or with someone that I am unsure about how much I can count on in a fight, I always face the main entrance as far back as I can, so that I can see everyone that comes in and out, as well as look for alternate escape routes, should my primary be fouled. You never know when the S!@# will hit the fan.

 

[545days]

I am reminded of a LTC that I once worked with who survived a train wreck.

"When the vehicle you are traveling in is upside down and on fire, is a poor time to start wondering where the emergency exits are."

I think of him every time I board a plane.

 

[loneviking]

When at a restuarant, get a table with your back to the wall where you can see the front door!

 

[Riss]

Yes, picked most of those things up in a class. Always have a way out is #1. Always have a plan in case of an emergency. Shooting, fight, robbery, fire, etc. Anything that makes it necessary for you to relocate in haste.

 

[Biker]

Although it may seem insignificant at first thought, people, like most animals, usually don't look up.

Predators - human and animal alike - know this and use it to their advantage.

Biker

 

[Fred Fuller]

Jeff Cooper's Principles of Personal Defense ( http://www.paladin-press.com/product/772/27 ) is pretty much THE primer for mindset. Everyone who ventures into this subforum should at least be familiar with it, IMHO. It is an essential starting point to becoming a genuinely armed citizen.

A good follow-on to Cooper's primer is John Farnam's quip linked at http://www.defense-training.com/quips/2003/19Mar03.html . Above all others, avoidance/nonparticipation is the best way to win any sort of conflict, whenever possible.

A third link in the chain is Skip Gochenour's lecture notes at http://www.teddytactical.com/archive/MonthlyStudy/2006/02_StudyDay.htm . Here among other things he outlines the ADEE model of justification of use of force (Avoid, De-escalate/Disengage, Escape, Evade) as the model more appropriate to armed citizens than the more often cited AOJ (Ability, Opportunity, Jeopardy) model that is often more appropriate to sworn law enforcement officials.

In order to be truly Armed, we must always strive to be Aware of what is going on around us, and work at being Able to deal with whatever life has in store for us, regardless of what tools are at hand. It is not sufficient only to carry a tool in order to be armed. Tools are only hardware- the MIND is the ultimate weapon.

lpl

 

[csmkersh]

I see many here were taught what my Grandmother taught me 65 years ago. Sit with your back to the wall and situated so you can see the main entrance, and better yet all the entrances.


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[FerFAL]

2. When you sit, leave one foot to the side of the chair. It's much faster to stand up if you need to.

I sit that way too. Feel like trapped if I have my legs tucked under the table between the table legs.

FerFAL

 

[sm]

Don't look like prey - think like a criminal - Mentor

 

[Zedo]

In clinical Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a lot of what is being described here is viewed as "hyper-vigilance." It's a symptom of a mental disorder.

Particularly in combat veterans, the PTSD client will check exits, sit facing an entrance, with a back to the wall, "recon" routes across open areas to parked vehicles, etc. Sitting in a specific posture in order to be able to more quickly react to a threat is classic PTSD symptomology. Arming oneself in defense of a potentially real or imagined threat is symptomatic. The Veterans Admin. hosptials have rules about carrying weapons on site, and yet many PTSD veterans feel compelled to "arm themselves" with canes, dogs, knives, etc. Most PTSD veterans have CCWs.

PTSD symptoms include reflexive jumping -- or even taking cover -- at loud, unexpected noises. Fireworks and other incidents analogous to a combat environment can trigger "flashbacks."

Since the govt. pays me the big bucks for PTSD, I think about "hypervigilance" a fair amount -- because when one begins to view every person and every social encounter as a potentially life-threatening scenario the hormonal/stress levels begin to take a physical toll.

Elevated vigilance engenders hormonal reactions -- adrenaline is a big one, but also cortisol. It's thought that imbalances in these hormones -- often referred to as a "catecholamine cascade" -- affects serotonin release, and affects mood (anxiety/depression), cardiovascular heath.

We have meds now for this sort of stuff.

I don't live in a war zone. I don't shower with my Glock, and I don't view heading to Sam's Club for a quart of milk as a "recon operation." It's constructive to be "aware" of surroundings and potential threats. But obsessing about it starts to get pathological.