Personal-Defense Plan: Turn It On & Turn It Off

One of the reasons that it is so important to have a personal-defense plan is that in a violent encounter we may have to deal with several emotional levels. Of course, first, we have to be able to control our natural fear of being attacked and injured—“They told me this could happen and I know just what to do about it.” And, what is difficult is that we will probably have to turn on and turn off these emotions as the situation progresses.

In the initial encounter, we should be trying to find a way to avoid trouble if that is possible. Sometimes the best move is to play the nice guy—“Look, nobody wants any trouble here. Let’s just go our separate ways.” Other times one may have to use a stronger approach to stop things from escalating. Knowing which approach to use is the real challenge because the wrong approach may just force the fight that we are trying to avoid. And all the time, you must be mentally preparing to fight.

Once the fight is inevitable, we should fight as aggressively as we possibly can. Make it seem like the worst mistake the crook has ever made. Use every bit of training that you ever got to ruin his day. Make it so fierce that Mr. Crook can’t get away from you fast enough. As country folks say, “It’s time to cloud up and rain on him.”

But, then, the moment that he is down or has given up and is no longer a threat, we have to turn the aggression off. The same is true if he turns to run. Once he is no longer a threat, we have to stop taking the fight to him. Our society requires this of us. Making a mistake here is where many armed citizens turn what the police call “A Good Shooting” into a nightmare.

At this point, if your attacker is down and injured you may even give him first aid until EMTs arrive. However, I would discuss this with an attorney before making it part of my personal-defense plan. The attorney will have a good idea of what civil liabilities you may have in this regard. I would certainly not rely on the advice you might get on an internet video or discussion forum.

So, you see, in a matter of a few seconds, we may go from role playing to aggressive defensive action and then abruptly turning that anger and aggression off. These things are simply not easy to do, especially when your blood pressure is about to go through the roof. Therefore it is imperative that such emotional changes be given prior thought and a whole lot of planning.