VI – Self-Defense – Page 13

Situational Awareness: What Are You NOT Seeing?

Situational awareness is intentionally being aware of possible threats in your everyday surroundings. But there’s more to it than what is obviously observable.

You need to also ask yourself, “What am I NOT seeing?”

That question comprises two sub-questions:

“What IS there that I SHOULD be seeing but I’m NOT seeing it?” and
“What ISN’T there that SHOULD be there that I’m NOT seeing?”

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Situational Awareness: 14 Ways to Walk Like You Drive ]

“Looking isn’t the same as seeing. You have to focus attention on something in order to become aware of it,” says Prof. Daniel Simons. “We know when we notice something unexpected, but we’re not aware of the times when we miss something unexpected….We need to filter out the distractions from our world and not let them interfere with our ability to do the task we’re trying to do.”

In self-defense situational awareness, it’s important to “filter out the distractions” and focus on both what IS in front of our eyes and what SHOULD be in front of our eyes but isn’t. Take the challenges in the videos below and see how attentive you are.

Situational Awareness: Spiritual Self-Defense

Satan, also known as the devil, is real. Not only does the Bible make that clear, simply reading and watching everyday news of horrific terrorism and crimes of every sort is convincing proof that the devil’s work of motivating people to commit pure evil is rampant in the world.

The second element of the five SemperVerus components is AWARE, which means giving keen scrutiny to being diligently vigilant to your surroundings. It says:

II. Aware: heightening attentiveness to be alert to—and anticipate—dangerous potentialities and temptations, as well as edifying opportunities.

Being AWARE plus the sum total of the other four SemperVerus principles cultivates the strategic and tactical element of SELF-DEFENSE, which is the intelligent ability to responsibly protect yourself from menacing spiritual and physical threats.

Notice the inclusion of the spiritual aspect that is often overlooked when considering self-defense. In fact, in many ways spiritual threats are more dangerous than physical perils. “Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world” (Ephesians 6:12).

IDPA: Practical Training for Self-Defense and Church Security

If you conceal carry for the purpose of being ready to defend yourself or others in the event of a lethal threat—including while volunteering on your church security team—you should consider becoming a member of the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), the shooting sport that simulates self-defense scenarios and real life encounters.

[ Read articles in the SemperVerus category of Church Security ]

Regularly conducting drills at your local gun range by standing in a lane and firing at a static bullseye target is important and helps develop and maintain your shooting skill and marksmanship. But it doesn’t reflect real-world environments where you need to move, draw from your concealed holster, seek cover, and make on-the-spot “shoot” and “don’t-shoot” decisions against one or multiple targets.

Church Security Training: Decision Decks Help You Think Through a Crisis Before It Happens

Here’s a simple way to prepare your mindset for the unexpected!

[ Read the SemperVerus article, A Prayer for Church Security Team Members ]

Whether personal self-defense or serving on your church security team, anticipating potential threats is a crucial skill we must hone as rigorously as we sharpen our defensive shooting accuracy in the time we spend at the range.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Chart: The Spectrum of Potential Threat Personas in Self-Defense and Church Security ]

One way to accomplish this is with Decision Decks, five packs of cards—60 scenario cards per pack—to enhance situational awareness problem solving and decision making abilities, created by Simon Osamoh, founder and president of Kingswood Security Consulting and the Worship Security Academy, and former head of counter-terrorism at Mall of America, Minnesota, where he oversaw the internationally-recognized behavior threat assessment team.

[ Read the SemperVerus article, Interview with Simon Osamoh of Kingswood Security Consulting ]

You already know about the benefits of dry-fire training in the comfort of your home; in the same manner, Decision Decks are pre-crisis mental workouts you can contemplate anywhere to sharpen your readiness.