Situational awareness

[Readyrod]

I live in Tokyo which is an incredibly safe city. You can walk pretty much anywhere at night and you feel safe. Thing is that's a sort of problem. My situational awareness really sucks now. It's down to about zero and I'm going to get in trouble when I go anywhere. Anyone have any tips on what you do to keep your situational awareness honed up. Tips in general on it. I need to start practicing. Thanks.

 

[conw]

The color codes, I believe originated by Jeff Cooper, are good to get an idea of how to structure your thinking.

The book "The Gift of Fear" argues that awareness is a natural state, and that you just need to tap into your intuition and listen to it and equip it with more info when necessary (as you're doing now). Read it with a grain of salt, though, as about 1/3 is applicable to your average THR reader, 1/3 to your average college/young professional female, and 1/3 is self-aggrandizing anti-gun BS courtesy of Gavin de Becker. Still worth reading though.

I remember a clip on Self-Defense TV or whatever it's called, where Massad Ayoob was discussing the benefits of situational awareness. Basically he was saying that situational awareness isn't only about looking for danger, but keeping a 360 degree view of what's around you for more pleasant reasons too. You'll know you're doing it right when you start noticing and appreciating little things you've never appreciated before about your environment.

 

[Readyrod]

I'm kinda looking for tips/tricks. What triggered this is that someone set off a firecracker at a train station the other day and I barely reacted. Not good. Should I be doing things like checking for cover at all times etc. I like the Ayoob thing about also enjoying the scenery.

 

[psyopspec]

Make it game to look for and recall details. Look around as you walk, then try to recall what you just saw. How many cars? What color hat was the guy that just walked past you wearing? How long have the same people been behind you? Take it a step further and analyze - take a look at people and guess what they do for a living, for example.

By taking in the details around you, you have the raw data to be on alert if anything is out of place.

 

[rainbowbob]

Is Tokyo really that safe? I'd never heard that.

 

[Readyrod]

psyopspec, that's the kind of stuff I need to start doing. Thanks for the tips.
rainbowbob, Tokyo is one of the safest places I have ever lived in, and it's one of the biggest cities in the world. It's fairly clean, the trains run on time, and it's not so expensive cause you don't need a car. The downside is that it's really hard to get out. It takes me two hours by train to get to some decent mountain biking. I haven't gone skiing for years. I really miss the outdoors. That's why I want to go back to Canada.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

Statistics

In 1990 the police identified over 2.2 million Penal Code violations[citation needed]. Two types of violations—larceny (65.1 percent of total violations[citation needed]) and negligent homicide or injury as a result of accidents (26.2 percent)—accounted for over 90 percent of criminal offenses in Japan[citation needed]. In 1989 Japan experienced 1.3 robberies per 100,000 population, compared with 48.6 for West Germany, 65.8 for Great Britain, and 233.0 for the United States; and it experienced 1.1 murder per 100,000 population, compared with 3.9 for West Germany, 1.03 for England and Wales, and 8.7 for the United States that same year[citation needed]. Japanese authorities also solve a high percentage of robbery cases (75.9 percent, compared with 43.8 percent for West Germany, 26.5 percent for Britain, and 26.0 percent for the United States) and homicide cases (95.9 percent, compared with 94.4 percent for Germany, 78.0 percent for Britain, and 68.3 percent for the United States)[citation needed]. This is connected to the fact that prosecutions are less likely to be successfully challenged compared to the above mentioned countries, a fact that has caused human rights concerns and has led to a change in the law which will take effect in 2009

 

[Readyrod]

I didn't know the stats, all I know is it feels real safe. That's why my situational awareness is so poor now.