Your first layer of defence when it comes to protecting yourself is awareness. Awareness can encompass multiple elements, which I shall outline here.
Your level of alertness should match the situation in which you find yourself (see the post on Colour Codes). Generally, there are several key factors that you should be aware of. These are: people (and animals) around you, the physical environment, and weapons (both purpose-made and improvised).
As suggested in the post on Colour Codes, the degree to which I pay attention to any of these factors is going to depend on my specific situation. For example, I am writing this [article/post] in a park on Centre Island. Since I’m not at home or in an otherwise secured environment, I’m in Code Yellow, a state of relaxed awareness. I’m glancing around periodically to keep abreast of the movement of people in my vicinity. I’m also able to hear the footsteps of people approaching. I make eye contact with (and smile at, when appropriate) whomever passes within a few meters, thus allowing me to gauge their intent in addition to being friendly. With the exception of a tree and some bushes behind me, the area is mostly grass and is fairly flat. There are picnic tables which would hamper certain lines of movement. These could be used as a barrier to make it more difficult for an attacker to reach me. I know that I could use my laptop, cell phone, and backpack as improvised weapons, if the need arose. There is also an empty beer bottle which someone has left nearby which I could use if necessary. There are a number of sticks and tree branches scattered around which, though they are out of my reach, someone might use to attack me. Writing all of this makes me feel like I sound paranoid, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. I am relaxed, enjoying a beautiful Summer day and a lovely view of the city across the lake and plenty of folks for me to indulge my people-watching hobby (humans are endlessly fascinating). I was aware of all of the things I wrote about above without really being conscious of them because practice has allowed me to be aware with a minimum of effortful attention.
Awareness also includes being aware of risk factors. For example, being aware of patterns of criminal behaviour where you live and researching patterns in places you will visit. If criminals use a common ruse to initiate their attack, it is important to be aware of these. A classic example could be someone asking, “Do you have the time?” in order to distract the target of their mugging attempt while they get in close and/or pull out their weapon. It is important to get accurate information and the media may not always be the best source as they tend to a bias toward sensationalism.
Your level of alertness should match the situation in which you find yourself (see the post on Colour Codes). Generally, there are several key factors that you should be aware of. These are: people (and animals) around you, the physical environment, and weapons (both purpose-made and improvised).
As suggested in the post on Colour Codes, the degree to which I pay attention to any of these factors is going to depend on my specific situation. For example, I am writing this [article/post] in a park on Centre Island. Since I’m not at home or in an otherwise secured environment, I’m in Code Yellow, a state of relaxed awareness. I’m glancing around periodically to keep abreast of the movement of people in my vicinity. I’m also able to hear the footsteps of people approaching. I make eye contact with (and smile at, when appropriate) whomever passes within a few meters, thus allowing me to gauge their intent in addition to being friendly. With the exception of a tree and some bushes behind me, the area is mostly grass and is fairly flat. There are picnic tables which would hamper certain lines of movement. These could be used as a barrier to make it more difficult for an attacker to reach me. I know that I could use my laptop, cell phone, and backpack as improvised weapons, if the need arose. There is also an empty beer bottle which someone has left nearby which I could use if necessary. There are a number of sticks and tree branches scattered around which, though they are out of my reach, someone might use to attack me. Writing all of this makes me feel like I sound paranoid, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. I am relaxed, enjoying a beautiful Summer day and a lovely view of the city across the lake and plenty of folks for me to indulge my people-watching hobby (humans are endlessly fascinating). I was aware of all of the things I wrote about above without really being conscious of them because practice has allowed me to be aware with a minimum of effortful attention.
Awareness also includes being aware of risk factors. For example, being aware of patterns of criminal behaviour where you live and researching patterns in places you will visit. If criminals use a common ruse to initiate their attack, it is important to be aware of these. A classic example could be someone asking, “Do you have the time?” in order to distract the target of their mugging attempt while they get in close and/or pull out their weapon. It is important to get accurate information and the media may not always be the best source as they tend to a bias toward sensationalism.
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