Be Armed Without a Weapon: Mastering Self-Defense

As the beloved Saint Mattis proclaims "The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears." Our brains are the most powerful weapon we possess. The long lost art of situational awareness could possibly (definitely) be of benefit. We get it, you're armed and you're a regular John Wick, awesome, congratulations. All of that means jack and shit if someone gets the drop on you because while out and about, your face is glued to your phone. So let's talk about how to practice situational awareness that so that everyone can be armed, even without a weapon.

People. Watch people. It's not that hard to learn what the average person is going to do based on their body language. Sure, you might not get it on the first try, but some tell-tale signs that someone is about to do something stupid are heavy breathing, a scowl on the face, dilated pupils, twitchy. Look we get that a lot of these seem basic, and to you, they might be, but if your face is stuck to your phone you're not going to notice these things. You're not going to notice their face, their nervousness, their perspiration because you don't even know that someone is there. Maybe you can look at your phone every once in a while, but people, if you just look up to take note of your surroundings every once in a while, you'll be better off.Exits and entrances. Not only are those the ways you may be able to get out from, but they're also possible ways ne'er do wells will come in from. The best way to survive in any given negative situation is to obviously not get in one in the first place. 'Her der der, AG duh no shit'. No shit, no shit, but be honest, how many of you pay attention to the people coming and going where you're at and know exactly how you'd get out if one of them looked to start some froggy shit? If you do awesome, great you're in the minority, the rest of you pay better attention.Equipment. Lastly, what can you use to make you and those you're with safer? Shit yo, if we're not armed we're throwing the chair at the dude and fighting, but that's us. Everything is a weapon and everything is a barricade. Look around and make note of things you can grab that can either slow down, stop, or be used in defense of your life.Be aware. Be prepared. While there are certainly parallels for some of us who have been in combat, being at home and having some asshole try to rob your coffee shop, interrupting your Pumpkin Spice Latte time, is a lot different than when you went hunting with all your best friends for Taliban or Al Qaeda trophies.