In self defense, knowing what to watch for can make all the difference. (Photo submitted by the author)
July 27, 2024
By Richard Nance
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The word focus has several meanings. Merriam-Webster defines it as “directed attention” and “adjustment for distinct vision,” among other things. Both interpretations of the word are important in self-defense. The former addresses what you should pay attention to, while the latter deals with how to look at whatever it is that demands your attention.
While no two self-defense scenarios are identical, the following guidelines will help you focus on what matters and increase your odds of prevailing.
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Situational Awareness Awareness is key to perceiving a threat. Being distracted by your phone can prevent you from picking up on cues that could signal a potential problem. (Photo submitted by the author) Situational awareness is one of the most important aspects of self-defense. After all, you can’t respond to a threat you haven’t perceived. To detect danger, you must be aware of your surroundings—including people and objects in the vicinity.
We’ll get to the people problem in a minute, but first, let’s address your physical environment. Are there tripping hazards? Are there objects that could shield you from incoming bullets or at least create a buffer between you and an assailant armed with a contact distance weapon like a knife or a pipe wrench? This information would be good to know ahead of time. When you’re situationally aware, your senses are fully engaged. For most of us, vision is our primary means of processing information in our environment, but hearing is also important; to a lesser extent, touch, smell and taste can be as well.
As you go about your daily activities, you should strive to be aware, letting your body’s natural radar alert you to potential trouble. Pull your eyes away from your phone’s screen and pay attention to what’s happening around you. While you’re at it, take the earbuds out. Being able to see and hear what’s going on will help you detect danger sooner, affording you more time to respond.
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General Awareness When you’re confronted by a stranger, your focus needs to move to trying to determine whether he’s actually a threat and what level of response is appropriate. (Photo submitted by the author) General awareness constitutes a broad, generalized focus. In this state, you can direct your attention to a particular person displaying suspicious behavior—but you must know what to look for.
Pay attention to behavior that seems out of place. Anomalies like someone wearing a heavy coat on a warm day, or someone starting to do something or stopping what they are doing because of your presence are red flags. Neither action means an assault is imminent, but your intuition should kick in as you prepare to respond if needed. If the little hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, your subconscious could be trying to tell you something like: “Hey, I think something is about to go down. Watch this guy!” Ignore that little voice at your own peril.
When you sense potential danger, like someone rapidly approaching from behind, you have a head start in determining whether that person poses a threat. You may not see the person initially, but you may hear him—assuming you’re not depriving yourself of your sense of hearing by wearing earbuds or headphones. Shoes pounding the pavement could alert you to potential danger before it is upon you. This would grant you more time and distance to respond appropriately.
Assessment If a hand is hidden from view or you see someone reaching for his waist, you must consider the possibility he’s armed. (Photo submitted by the author) Once your attention is directed toward a potential threat, then what? Before you draw your gun, you must decide whether your new acquaintance means you harm or if he’s perhaps overly aggressive in his quest for spare change. This assessment is time-sensitive, and the penalty for being wrong may be severe. Bringing your gun into play when it’s not warranted would be problematic on many levels, but not drawing your gun when you should could be much worse.
How you decide what to do next requires that you tighten your focus. Every cop has heard the maxim, “Hands kill.” While bare hands may not necessarily present a deadly threat, hands hold weapons, which is why they require your undivided attention. While focusing too intently on the hands—or anything else—can be detrimental, you need to know to the extent possible if a potential assailant is clutching a weapon. Unless you see two empty hands, don’t rule out the presence of a weapon.
When you’ve visually cleared the hands, it’s time to see if there are any obvious indicators of a weapon. Since the waist is the most common concealed-carry location, it deserves your attention. Bulges, as well as disruptions to a garment’s pattern or the way it covers the waist, could be caused by a weapon stuffed inside the waistband. Furtive movements toward the waist could indicate the person you’re dealing with is accessing a weapon. Once the hands and waist have been visually searched, it’s time to focus on the person’s body language and overall demeanor. Is he sweating profusely despite a cool temperature? Is he clenching his fists? Yelling? Threatening? Advancing?
In close quarters, you may not have the luxury of focusing on hands, then waist, then body language and demeanor. The closer you are to a person, the harder it is to monitor him because you can’t easily see what’s happening below your line of vision. To make matters worse, the closer the threat, the less time you’ll have to respond. In such a case, creating distance is usually a sound tactic. With a little distance between you and the potential threat, your focus can zoom out enough to see what’s important. If you can’t tell whether the person you’re dealing with is armed, remain vigilant. Don’t assume he’s unarmed just because you haven’t seen a weapon. He may intend to give you a close-up of the weapon if he senses your guard is down.
If your assessment leads you to believe the person does not pose an imminent threat, distance and assertiveness may be all you need to stave him off. But keep in mind that the assailant may be masking his intent in order to lull you into a false sense of security. Also, drug or alcohol influence, mental health issues and any number of other factors could cause someone’s behavior to change in an instant, escalating what’s little more than an annoyance to a full-fledged emergency.
Decisive Action If you deem the person who’s approached to pose an imminent deadly threat, drawing your gun and getting the muzzle between you and him is paramount, but that may be easier said than done. Depending on the proximity of the assailant and the type of weapon he’s clutching, closing the distance to address the assailant’s weapon, disengaging or seeking cover may be appropriate.
If you need to fire your handgun in defense of yourself or others, you’ll need to shift your focus from the bad guy to the sights. But this doesn’t always happen, and it’s common to see bullet holes in the weapon or weapon-bearing hand or arm of paper bad-guy targets that are engaged hurriedly—like when navigating a shoot house. Why? You’ll naturally tend to focus on what you perceive to be the greatest threat: the weapon. This phenomenon plays out in force-on-force training as well. If you’ve ever trained with airsoft or marking cartridges like Simunition, you know how often participants are shot in the hands and arms.
Sight on Sights Once you’ve confirmed an imminent deadly threat, your focus should shift to your gun’s sights. (Photo submitted by the author) To counteract this inclination to focus on the bad guy’s weapon, you’ll need to direct your attention to the sights, making sure they are properly aligned and overlaid on a vital target such as the upper chest.
Just as you must confirm an imminent deadly threat exists before firing your handgun, you must continually assess an assailant’s actions. This requires a broader focus than your front sight. With a wider field of view, you can more easily determine if your rounds were effective in stopping the threat. If not, get back on the sights, then the trigger.
Although there are several different scanning techniques, the goal is the same. Systematically look in every direction to ensure there aren’t additional threats. Here, you’re looking for people, then hands, then actions. Is this person advancing? If so, that’s a red flag because running or hiding would be more typical responses to witnessing a gunfight.
Still, just because someone is approaching doesn’t mean he poses a threat. Have you considered that the approaching stranger might be an off-duty or plainclothes cop or a legally armed private citizen who has chosen to intervene but doesn’t know you’re the good guy? By looking at the hands and the waist, you may notice a badge that you wouldn’t have otherwise. The last thing you need on the heels of a defensive shooting is to unknowingly engage in a gunfight with another good guy.
In self-defense, focus is important. By paying attention to what’s going on around you, your senses can do their job—detecting danger while there’s still enough time to respond. When a potential threat is identified, tighten your focus to better assess the situation. Then be prepared to zoom in or out to see what’s most important.
