Environmental Considerations

[USCMAAI]

There are four elements that make up what I call Environmental Factors (EF). These are as follows: Environmental Awareness (EA), Environmental Knowledge (EK), Environmental Objects (EO) and Environmental Control (EC). Each is important in the development of spontaneous defense and in the survival of an actual combat situation. Each elemnt should be identified and analyzed. Students should be taught not only how to recognize, but be trained how to manipulate each element for their benifit.

Environmental Awareness: This is exactly as the title states. It means being aware of what is going on around you. Observing the objects, people and conditons that may effect your safety in an area is very important. If you are environmentally alert, you are less likely to be the victim of an assault. You will recognize things that look unusual or threatening earlier, thus giving you more time to act. Being aware of such things as weather, lighting , terrain, objects and people can be an advantage, and may be the only warning you get that something is going to happen. Awareness does not imply that you have to do anything about those conditions, it only means that you have condsidered them. Some ways I teach my students about awareness are:

1) Place something unusual (ususally a box) just inside or outside of the main exit (in the box I usually have a note that says bomb or anthrax in it). Count how many students just walk past it or even open it up to look in. Then in class discuss how to approprately act.

2)Have someone who does not usually train in your school come to one of your school in the middle of one of your classes (have them dress in a trench coat, and wear sunglasses), let them walk around for 5/10 mins looking suspicous. Then have them pull out a mock gun and yell "everyone on the floor". Now before the drill, you should make sure that your assistants know what is going on, and your gunman should be careful not to be close enought to someone that he could be injured. This drill is very good at teaching people to pay attention to who is comming in an area they are in.

Environmental Knowledge: This take EA to a more exact level. EK consist of having detail about the area you are in. such as: Number and locations of exits, lighting and weather conditions, objects that can be used as weapons/cover and the number and demeanor of the people around you. Sometime this information comes from being familar with a place or experience. An example of this is your home; you probalby have detailed information about your home, and if you came home and something was not where it was supposed to be you would notice immediately. I would also guess that you could list the objects in any given room that could be used for your defense. Another way this information is collected is through observation. Teach students to actually take the time to scan an area before entering it looking for things like: alternative exits, zones of sanctuary (cover/concealment), and watching people. These give you knowledge of your surroundings. I teach students to play the "What If " game. What if a nut with a gun comes in to my class room at school? what can I do? Pre-planning is the key to surviaval.

Environmental Objects: are any itemes, which can have an effect on your safety. Many people (including martial artists) fail to recognize that objects can have a dramatic effect on your ability to defend yourself. This is illustrated by a story one of my black belts tells. He was at a bar, and observed two guys getting into an arguement. One fellow states " I am a black belt and will kick your behind". He then slips out of his shoes (I guess he had just got finnished watching Billy Jack), and took a fighting stance. The other fellow, threw his beer bottle down on the floor at our "black belt's" feet, grabbed him (pulling him onto the broken glass) and then began to beat the tar out of him. As you can see environmental objects can have a great effect on you. EO training is another thing you can do for your students. Place unusual or even every day items in front of your students and ask them how they could be used in defense. You might be surprised about what you learn! The goal is to get your students to see everything as a potential weapon.

Environmental Control: The final aspect of Environmental Factors is EC. This means processing your observations and knowledge about your surroundings, and then manipulating your environment to help your defense. The main goal is to teach you to have control over your area before an assault occurs. This gives you "tactical advantage". Knowing where exits are in a restaurant is one thing, positioning your self near the exit is control. Using the conditons of an area to your advantage or at the least taking steps to minimize their effects on you, can be the difference between life and death. A great way of training for this is creating scenerios for your students allowing them the cance to analyze and manipulate the conditions around them before an attack begins (having a chair placed between them and a attacker , or have an attack occur while they are carrying a box or bag of groceries). I also like to have students practice techniques that can be effective in situations where movement is limited (what do you do if assaulted while in your car, or seated at a table? How many of us teach our students when a technique is dangerous to even try! (kicking on an ice covered sidewalk, grappling in gravel or a glass covered parking lot,etc) those are a few things that instructors should cover to help students be prepared.

[bushido_man96]

Good post! I like the examples that you give for working on each of your Environmental aspects. I think these are very valuable tools.

[USCMAAI]

Thank you. I think that this is an area where many instructors fail their students. In my school we spend time doing things like terrain training (actually practicing our techniques outside in winter clothing on snow and ice, on parking lots, and uneven ground). I try my best to get my students prepared for real life encounters.

[joesteph]

I know this is an old OP, but it's a good one, and I found it using the Search feature.

I saw "environmental weapons" brought up at another MA website, and I thought of how, when I bring my boys to McDonald's, I buy a cup of hot coffee immediately with the meals. By keeping the lid/cover on, it stays hot for quite a while.

If David wants an ice cream cone or Patrick wants oatmeal cookies after their meal, I buy a second cup as well. (The first one goes "down the hatch," as in "Waste not, want not.")