My Sensei emphasise the need for both self protection and self defence in conjunction with the learning of karate skills. In short, what we learn to do in karate is the toolset that we have to deal with things when all other options have failed. Whilst in the dojo, there isn't really an opportunity for note taking, and the detailed material was only readily available by attending seminars of reading books.
One of the positives of Covid-19 is that a lot of this has changed. Seminars have been conducted online, and in the case of our dojo, we have had the opportunity to have lessons given by one of the UK's top specialist instructors: Jamie Clubb. He made reference on many occasions to the underlying principles also referred to by my Sensei.
Two of the most prominent are those presented by Jeff Cooper (1), which I noted as states of awareness, and Lee Morrison (2), which I noted as a framework for self protection (2).
(1) Jeff Cooper - States of awareness
-
White
Unprepared, unready
Yellow
Prepared, relaxed, situational awareness
Orange
Alert and ready to take action
Red
Action mode, focussed
Black
Panic, degraded mental and physical performance
(2) Lee Morrison - framework for self protection
AWARENESS
SITUATIONAL CONTROL
PRE-EMPTION
CONTINUOUS ATTACK
ESCAPE
The first key to self protection and self defence is awareness. The starting point is "Code White" , "unprepared, unready to take action" - the most obvious cases would be walking outside, looking at your mobile phone. sat in a public place, again looking at your mobile phone, or indoors but having forgotten to lock your door or a window. Somebody can get close to you, or enter your home without you being aware they are there. If something happens and you are caught unaware, according to Jeff Cooper's model, you skip straight from "Code White" to "Code Black", into panic mode, where physical and mental performance are impaired. This is exactly what needs to be avoided in self protection and self defence.
The ideal situation to be in, unless you are safe and secure, is "Code Yellow", which is to say where you are aware of what is going on around you. You are aware of where other people and things are around you, you are checking and remembering to close and lock doors and windows, etc. Classified as good situational awareness, even if there is no perceived risk or threat. This correlates to "Awareness" in Lee Morrison's framework.
The next stage of alertness is classed as "Code Orange", alertness of possible or probable danger and ready to take action. Possible dangers might be things such as a group of teenagers stood in a group, a single drunk or group of drunks coming towards you, a car slowing down alongside you, a stranger in a crowded space asking you a question. The kind of things you might try to do are avoid by crossing the road at a distance from a group, Stand tall and walk with confidence, moving away from the kerb, checking behind you to see whether there is someone approaching from behind, or not engaging when a stranger talks to you.
If avoidance isn't possible, you should appear confident and not hesitant. If you can't go round a group, carry on walking but go round them if possible. If a drunk or group of drunks approach, do the same. If someone asks you the time or directions, go round them and then turn to face them, to check to see if there was another person coming up behind, etc. If a car slows down and somebody lowers the window to ask a question, make sure you are away from the kerb and can see both front and rear doors. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but hopefully not a bad starting point. Any actions taken in "Code Orange" correlate to the "Situational Control" of Lee Morrison's framework.
If it is possible to avoid this is always best, but if you have to engage with a person or group of people, then this is the borderline between "Code Orange" and "Code Red", but still falls within "Situational Control". You should always appear confident and try and position yourself as best as you can to see as many potential threats as possible. Be polite and appear attentive if you have to engage in conversation, but keep looking around to see what other risks there are. Keep looking for openings to escape to if needed. If the conversation appears to taking a turn for the worse, be conciliatory but get ready to act if necessary.
The trigger for switching to "Code Red", and entering the "Pre-emption" phase of the self protection framework, is if you believe from the words or actions of the other person and persons, that you are in real danger. If a person starts getting angry and uses threatening language or gestures, if a person or group of people are not showing both hands, or one of them reaches into their clothing, then you need to act before they do. A pre-emptive strike in these circumstances is allowed, and is classed as self defence.
Once engaged, if the opportunity to escape does not immediately appear, then you need to keep attacking, "Continuous attack", until one does. Once an opportunity presents itself, then you must attempt to escape. Carrying on striking once the threat has been diminished, or has been removed, does not constitute self defence and opens up the possibility of prosecution.
Self defence techniques should only ever be used as a last resort, when all other options have failed. That is if you have been taken unaware and skipped from "CodeWhite" to "Code Black", or all attempts at Situational Control have failed and you have had to shift from "Code Orange" to "Code Red".
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