Read SEAL Survival Guide Online
Authors: Cade Courtley
SEAL Survival Guide (37 page)
Prefight
Fighting is a violent, physical battle. Yet, before the first strike lands or any contact is made, fighting to win begins in the mind. Even if hand-to-hand combat is physical, the prefight aspect is 100 percent mental. Once your mindset is geared to fight, it creates a powerful force, not only by telling your muscles what must be done but by giving you the proper command of presence to do it. Oftentimes, once a person gets into this fight-zone mode, it can project that you are a seriously dangerous opponent. If nothing else, your mindset and apparent willingness to fight with reckless abandon—or, as SEALs say, “unleash the beast”—is enough to make your assailant think twice and could end the threat before anything begins.
Commanding Presence
Confidence and posture are two things that could mean the difference between your walking away undeterred and getting subjected to a life-threatening beating, or worse. Attackers tend to prey on the
weak; don’t represent yourself as such a target. The look of someone approaching with their chest out, shoulders back, and a confident and determined facial expression will be much less alluring to an attacker than someone hunched over staring at the ground and cowering in fear.
When I was living in a certain part of Santa Monica, I found that for some reason I couldn’t walk half a block before an aggressive panhandling desperado asked me for money. I fully understand that there are many people out there dealing with a variety of hardships. That said, the folks in my old neighborhood had a less-than-sympathetic approach. So I began to do a little experiment. Any time I saw one coming, I would make eye contact immediately and maintain an agitated stare until I passed the individual. I rarely, if ever, was asked for money. This was done to prove the point that even the most aggressive and utterly rude people who might want to stop you as you go about your business won’t bother if you present confidence and display a no-nonsense posture.
Situational awareness is your best friend in prefight situations, and even more so to prevent a fight. Stay away from danger areas like alleys, dark parking lots or garages, high-crime sections of the city, and groups of people loitering.
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS CHECKLIST
when confronted:
Know how many opponents there are and how they are positioning themselves.
Assess what their condition is: sick, under the influence, crazed?
Do they have a weapon? Always look at the hands.
Distance
is a key factor when it comes to avoiding a fight: distance from dangerous areas; distance from potential attackers. Distance will also give you options and the ability to see things unfold. You can create distance through your movement, or create distance with an object like a pole, a broom, a large stick, or even an extended arm (use caution not to get grabbed).
The Fight
Violence of action means the unrestricted use of speed, strength, surprise, and aggression to achieve total dominance against your enemy. I’m repeating this to drive home the concept that any fighting technique is useless unless you first totally commit to violence of action. Don’t be afraid to hit first, and when you do, hit hard. Remember, you are fighting because this is the best and only option. Pull the trigger—because you are in a battle for your life!
Your instincts, assessment, and situational awareness have told you that you are in mortal danger. You don’t know the other person’s intentions fully, and you never can. What you can do is survive—
it is your right to not be killed or harmed by another person.
As with most things survival-related, fighting has its own set of priorities that need to be addressed at lightning speed.
1. Protect your face.
2. Stay on your feet and keep moving.
3. Hit hard.
4. Haul ass (a.k.a. get off the X).
One of the training techniques we use in the SEAL teams is called the hooded box drill. Basically, you are placed in the middle of a darkened, noise-filled room with all of your gear on. You have your primary (rifle) and secondary (pistol) weapons. Then, a two-by-two-foot hood drops from the ceiling to cover your face. The idea of this drill is to train for making an immediate assessment and response. Once the hood is raised, you have less than a second to evaluate your situation and take action. In military operations and in real life, that’s how quickly situations can change. It’s an amazing training tool. Especially when the hood flies up and there are four guys a foot away who start to beat the hell out of you.
Please repeat:
Violence of action!