While washing the dishes this morning I had a long think about how unprepared I am in some instances, how overprepared I am in others and how to balance this out going forward while also quelling the rising fear and panic I could feel in the pit of my stomach while I did this assessment.
In some ways I would say that I am fortunate. Let's just say that I've been in some situations through my life that had lasting effects on me - in emergency and high stress situations, I become emotionless and my rational brain takes over entirely. The fact that I emotionally dissociate and compartamentalise when certain circumstances arise can be (and has been) useful while dealing with emergency situations where a calm, objective and non-emotive attitude and demeanour are required.
Compared to the average female my age here in South Africa, I'm probably far more prepared than most for fires, first aid emergencies, snake bites, car issues, muggings, hijackings and home invasions...but that means sweet bugger all in actuality because there's always more that you can do.
So why the Dune quote?
That movie was epic! - but that's not the point.
When I did Ninjitsu (I didn't do it for long and have forgotten almost all the combat training I did) - my Shihan held an open self defence class (it was open to the public) where we all practiced some simple techniques to get out of a hijacking situation. Something that he said made a big impact on me. The best way to get out of a hijacking situation - is to do everything possible to not get into a hijacking situation in the first place.
Humans are creatures of habit. We go to work the same time every day. We come home on average the same time every day. We tend to use the same roads unless forced to take an alternative. We become complacent with these routes and a large majority of fender benders happen within 5kms of people's homes - why? because people let their guard down once they are in their perceived "safety zone". When I got mugged in 2005, it was at the front door of my house - I was in my perceived safety zone, my guard was down - this was one of the instances that made me put more effort into self defence preparedness.
While some hijackers are simply opportunists, many of them will surveil a person for some time before they attack - why? This gives them an advantage and the element of surprise is in their favour.
So the best way to avoid this is to walk without rhythm. Don't be predictable - I call it zigzagging. Get to know all the routes that you could possibly take to get to your house whether in your car or on foot. Alternate your route home, the time you leave work and arrive home, even if just because you took a detour specifically for this purpose. If you have more than one vehicle - switch up which vehicle you drive regularly so that your vehicle isn't as easily recogniseable. Leave double your usual following distance infront of you when stopped in traffic or at a traffic light - this provides space for you to move if you have to and will even give you enough room to mount the curb if it's required. This has actually saved me from a hijacking while working at the nature reserve when I was ambushed on both sides of my car with people trying to get in.
While driving, leave your window open 2 to 3cm. Here, there are a lot of "smash 'n grabs" that happen either to steal whatever you have on your car seat, or to gain access to pull you out. By leaving your window open, it provides a small amount of play because it isn't being held rigidly, it might not break which will hopefully give you enough time to drive out of there.
Generally my situational awareness is good - I'm almost constantly in yellow and in fact just a few days ago this saved me from a dog attack. My neighbour two houses down has a pitbull who just a few weeks ago bit a delivery man on the ankle. This particular neighbour is a moron and leaves her gate open sometimes. I was able to ward off the dog purely because I became aware of it in my periphery and I could confront it before it could get close to me. While having a mexican stand off with a pitbull is not fun, safe or adviseable, I far prefer knowing what I'm up against from the get go and then being able to choose the best way to defend myself if necessary than being caught off guard.
Even having said that, I still feel that I could improve my situational awareness as well.
These are such simple things and yet, very few people I know use them.
So while there are a great deal of things I need to sift through regarding my preparedness for a situation that might arise, these are two that I was reminded of today and thought I need to sharpen up on and decided to share.
I'd love to hear how many of you actively employ "zig zagging" and if you feel you even need to where you live?
Be safe out there.
Cheers
Ranger Andy
