Alertness… and Old Advice for Today’s World
About 500 B.C., a Chinese military adviser by the name of Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War. This famous Chinese strategic manual has survived for almost 2,500 years. It’s still in use today in China and even the United State Marine Corp. has adopted much of these tactics developed so long ago.
One of those tactics was: Alertness
“A commander may be forgiven for being defeated in battle, but never for being surprised.” This phrase is taken from both the Marine Corp. training manual and Sun Tzu’s ancient “Art of War.”
To some extent alertness is an inherent personality trait. However, it can be learned and improved upon if we accept the fact that we live in a world where our safety should not be taken for granted.
Two rules are especially important. Know what’s behind you, and pay particular attention to anything out of place. The great majority of victims of violent crime are taken by surprise. Those who stay alert to their surroundings and have a habitual preparedness mindset usually come out ahead.
Anything out of place can be a danger signal
There are specific prevention measures that can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of becoming a crime victim. They include everything from securing physical items and locations to certain actions you can take in a given situation. However, any type of prevention is only good if it’s practiced.
A stranger approaching your house; a car parked across the street for long periods of time with people just sitting in it; young men in groups, without women, staying in place and not talking; anyone entering your personal space without invitation are danger signals. Anyone watching you must be explained. Use your eyes and ears. Don’t enter unfamiliar areas you can’t observe first. Pay attention to strange noises. Use windows as mirrors to see behind you. This may sound excessive, but it’s no more troublesome than fastening your seatbelt. And you’ll be glad you did.
What Do You Do?
Even if you’ve habituated your thinking and actions to being more alert and prepared, what happens if you still find yourself facing danger? Your two biggest assets when dealing with a threat, be it person or otherwise, are generally time and distance. In choosing the tools you might want to have to defend yourself, the Byrna HD is a device that you can rely on to help you achieve both time and distance away from a threat. It is, quite simply, the best personal defense product you can have at your disposal.
