Situational Awareness is Not the Answer to Self Defense
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2022
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I am riding the Aventon Soltera single speed. The Aventon Sinch and folding step through Sinch are also featured briefly in the video.
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you should do a video for self defense from a wheelchair/ someone who is disabled
Say rudimentary like that again
I like it bike
Great vid, and interesting take on the issue stating the obvious.
I am that guy, because of PTSD
And a motorcyclist.
Gapping = fighting measure
First punch = intercept
This video reminded of of that 90s song by Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta lol Enjoy!
Growing up and working in NYC I can tell you that "crossing the street" can keep you safe. You are walking up a block and you can see that on the corner there is a group of young men just hanging out. As you get closer you see the 40's in paper bags. You look at the corner across the street and it's empty. This is a great time to cross the street and continue to mind your own business. Might not be a fancy word like "situational awareness" but it is very effective
So in other words you are saying, "Don't walk into the middle of a group of drunks".....how profound.
@@CaneFu
How about "don't walk into a lion's mouth". That profound enough for ya?
@@georgieman1910 NO, you should have said, "don't stick your head in a lion's mouth" as "walking into a lion's mouth" isn't really possible
@@CaneFu
Sure if you want to get cutesy, if a lion has its head laying on the ground with the mouth wide open and you stumble blindly into it and it chomps onto it, entirely possible.
@@CaneFu Just common sense that is often lost on people
Situational Awareness is the 1st step in avoiding a bad scene.
You're right, it's not the be all end all, but a fight avoided is a fight won in my book.
So you're saying victim blaming... Kind had a kernel of truth.
@@kaufmanat1 Not at all. Just saying your chances rise or fall with proper awareness.
The blame is always with the instigator.
"Don't start no shit, won't be no shit."
Agreed
@@kaufmanat1 yes I would say that it had like 50% truth as it was never the victims fault but they sure as shit didn't improve their odds. It's like dressing up like a deer and walking around in the woods. Should a hunter be able to tell your not a deer. Ya he should see that you are a bi pedal human who is dressed in brown and has 12 point antlers on his head. Yes but if you get shot I will blame the hunter but you were asking for it...
@@trevorbirkbeck4011 dunno if it is the same argument. I would assume that a hunter shooting some dumbass running around the forest in a deer costume did it by accident. A rapist or a thief taking advantage of their victim's naivete isn't the same thing as someone who is put in a position of making an accidental error of judgement.
I WAS 'that guy' shortly after getting back from Afghanistan. Until I was out with a friend, and she said something to me that made me start to change. She reminded me that I was living in a world that didn't exist and ignoring the one that did. There's a difference between situational awareness and straight up paranoia
Just here for the elevator BJJ. The bikes are pretty dope too though.
Video idea?
Eli in the house!
Personally, I just use my parkour and stay stuck to the ceiling of all elevators.
Use the elevator hand rails as "high ground" and change the attack angle
@@hard2hurt I'm sure you've seen the "car jiu-jitsu" competitions. Could do a similar deal.
I loved this line "If you brought a gun, but you don't know how to wrestle, congratulations you just brought a gun for the other guy"
Most people are not foolish enough to rush a guy with a loaded weapon trained on them.
While it does make some sense, it's also a kinda dumb line. What about women? Elderly? Handicapped or just plain weak? The whole purpose of a firearm is to multiply your force.
Gun disarm is low percentage. Even if it is a big wrestler dude vs an old lady who dosen't hessitate to pull the trigger, i bet my money on the one who is holding the gun at the first place.
Even a skilled guy 8 times out 10 get shot disarming an airsoft pistol
Most don’t have the determination to USE the weapon. This has to be decided long before you are in the situation. It has to be your code. Mental preparation.
Many criminals search you when they rob you, so they can find your gun before you use it.
Awareness buys you time, and times gives you options. Of course that means nothing if you don't have the strength, skill and tools to protect yourself.
Do you know John?
@@Misana Hey just keep your tools on your person and lock your dang doors! LOL
...and everywhere is a transitional space...especially in Brazil and Houston.
God bless y'all.
You just quoted John word for word from "Active Self Protection"....are you a parrot?
@@CaneFu Two guys on a motorcycle must have stolen your sense of humor.
@@Misana ASP!
The situational awareness of a 19 year old private at 3am is the reason I'm here watching your video and not splattered across the dirt in a dark street in Gahzni Afghanistan. Dude in a Suicide vest was walking through the woods behind us and this private just so happened to be watching him until he saw the guy take a picture of the convoy and throw the phone behind him and start running towards us. Dude waxed him with the .50cal and woke everyone up before the Suicide bomber gave us a way worse way to wake up.
He means situational awareness in the civilian world. The world of the military *necessitates* situational awareness, as the private illustrated.
Mike litteraly said situational awareness is important for self defense, its just useless advice
@@kermitmurder5536 I promise you that you are going to be a wayyyy softer target in a robbery if your head is in your phone with headphones than the guy who is looking around paying attention and listening. The point he tries to make in the video doesn't even make sense. Maintaining situational awareness verifiably saves lives MASSIVELY more than being able to fight good.
@@WAViolenceLLC did we not watch the same video? Mike literally says that situational awareness is important, the point of the video is that telling someone to "be more situationally aware" is useless advice.
@@WAViolenceLLCKind of true, although you probably wouldn't even know you are being robbed until it's too late. They won't just announce it, even if you didn't have headphones on or looking at your phone, if they were just walking past you and reached for you, its too late. It's a wrestle, and if they have friends you are getting jumped regardless of your awareness. Unless you plan on walking to the other side of the road every time someone is walking on the same sidewalk as you.
I have talked to my daughter quite a bit about 'situational awareness'. Meaning, don't be buried in your phone while walking through a parking lot. Just being aware of your surroundings so if something weird is going on, it catches your attention. For example, a few weeks ago, I was walking through a Walmart parking lot and a couple of Walmart employees were just standing, looking at something. This caught my attention as unusual so I started looking around. A couple more employees several yards away were acting similar. Then i noticed more employees doing the same. When I tracked down what they were all focused on. A couple employees were involved in a verbal confrontation with a man and the other employees were watching incase things got physical. Most people didn't even notice something was going on. To me, 'situational awareness' simply means having a sixth sense of your surroundings.
Exactly some people choose to ignore these these thing, I do the same, check people's bodylanguage
Right, just pay attention to what's going on around you. You are in a parking lot, not your living room. I look for behavior that doesn't make sense. When someone exits a car, they should head toward the store, not across the lot towards you, for example.
Mike: "Most people have enough situational awareness."
Mike has never met my wife, her sister and their friends.
You would be surprised what they pick up on when it matters
@@hard2hurt You've got a good point there, now that I think about it.
@@hard2hurt by then its too late, and now they're already )*(#$*('ed and suffer the consequences.
@@hard2hurt You'd be surprised at what my girlfriend *doesn't* pick up on when it matters
@@hard2hurt respectfully, this is one of your worst takes. Walking while on your phone or with both headphones in blasting music just isn’t worth getting picked to be assaulted and robbed, and your quality of life won’t suffer from not doing that.
Lmao. The end where Seth was like "I was wondering why we needed safety glasses, these are foam. I'm an idiot" was priceless 😂
He's an amazing sport! I want one, too. :-D
@@jamielondon6436 Oh yeah, those two make great content together. Lol
@@pride5109 Yes, but where can I get one for myself? ;-)
LMAO
LOL!
Situational awareness has helped me alot over the years knowing when the danger is coming is the best way to avoid life and death situations without resorting to violence
Situational awareness has been key to my survival as a pilot and driver and rider of cars and ebikes. Self-defense, I don't know, but it has kept me from finding out in sketchy places.
Agree, it has protected me to a good age too, I avoid mixing with certain people, avoid certain places. It is a lifesaver.
I really appreciate this. I may never stand by the elevator buttons again. I also love the assertion that you're in the fight before there is physical engagement. To that end, I've had a few occasions when I've used movement to determine if I was in a fight WAY before the assailant was in range. I've observed someone walking parallel to me, even across the street, matching my pace, and stopped or slowed down, then sped up again, to see what they would do. If they echoed those changes, I've either turned and stood and stared at them or, if they were closer, shouted at them, demanding to know what they wanted. In each instance, they knew they had lost the element of surprise and disengaged. As with many of the things mentioned, I don't have a name for that, but it's part of what I have called "situational awareness" in the past.
Seth looks so betrayed, but I feel like any of these guys that hang out with you on a regular basis shouldn't be surprised by bicycle drive bys.
😂😂😂
You forget that Seth is actually a nice guy! ;-)
During the elevator part all I could think was: Ok, I would be creating a reactionary gap for my self, but if the other person also has situational awareness I would be raising a big red alert to him. In a crazy scenario two people would start a fight purely out of paranoia lol
If you simply move in an elevator a sane person isn't going to care. Only people who're already insane are going to react to that badly. I think he's right; most people have enough self-awareness, but what he forgets is that some people flat out don't and should be reminded. This guy shouldn't be encouraging people to stop telling people to be more self-aware just because some people hyperfocusing on stuff like that might make you paranoid. The inverse of hyperfocusing on being self-aware is being completely unaware, which can get you killed or hurt. Idk but one seems worse to me. Either way, doing anything too much is usually bad, it doesn't mean people should do nothing.
You always bring more to the conversation. I’ve heard so many “self-Defense Masters” bring up this very point. What they don’t take into account is that sometimes we’re just tired mentally and physically. Imagine pulling a double at work, and then having to go right after to go pay bills or run errands. “Situational awareness” will go out the window just because of fatigue. I really admire your ability to give and teach a message in a fun, clear, and concise way. Keep doing what you do!!!!
Yeah Mike, but you don't know how situationally aware I am, bro. We don't even live in the same time zone and I know you've got a gun, two knives, a bike chain, a buckler, and bear spray on you right now.
Ain't nobody sneaking up on me, homie. Now i don't know what I'm gonna do when I'm attacked by a guy like that, but I'll see it coming from a mile away.
Just lol if you think that's all Mike has on him. That's just the stuff he carries in the shower.
@@OptimusSledgemaybe he was in the shower when I wrote the comment.
@@IHateHandleNames Was he also wearing the wig from the Troom Troom video with Seth? Cos if so, I need to have a little lie down.
@@IHateHandleNames This was very situationally aware of you.
@@OptimusSledge yes. My situational instincts tell me Mike only showers heavily armed and while wearing a wig.
Yo no lie, this is one of the best videos you’ve ever put out in my opinion. The elevator part in particular was inspired.
I love the concrete examples of non-distance based reactionary gaps. It’s something I’ve thought about in other terms but never really crystallized in my head as another form of reactionary gap.
the backpack to cover the draw was pretty genius, idk why i've never seen anyone talk about that before
Agreed. This was a great one
Yeah this is some less common info with quality presentation.
Exactly! Sitting facing the door in a restaurant is cliché. This is the first I've heard of standing away from the elevator buttons. I never really thought about it..
“React to your gut” is the best “situational awareness “ advice I’ve ever hear or given. Thanks and be safe.
The military makes a lot of my fellow veteran stop having fun and live the “situational awareness” aka hyper vigilante trauma induced lifestyle.
I know that feel
@Michael Malorin ❤️ for sure. Things are much brighter now than they were for me. I just wish more if our brothers and sisters could experience the power of healing and take their lives back.
Life is supposed to be fun for men, men have to hold the lines
Cover Your ASP
I'm ex army. I still have fun, I'm just smart about it but also confident enough that I don't let it get in the way of life. If stuff happens it happens. We do what we have to and move on after.
"Condition Yellow is not a personality." 🤣 Nailed it lol.
Then why are emojis yellow
@@Fullyautomagic they were invented by japanese ...
he is the edgiest of them all very cool personality
I’m a military veteran and one of the first things they teach is situational awareness and it’s more about spotting anomalies in your field of vision, so you can process that information categorically. This was crucial for seeing ambushes coming, or seeing a certain individual who is acting strangely , like a suicide bomber, or a car bomb speeding toward your Gaurd post before they come within blast radius distance.
The other issue is that it's difficult to do for any length of time. That's the reason you rotate people who are on guard.
@@dragonballjiujitsu indeed
As a fellow military veteran I agree 100%
@@tomeralper2827 How do you deal with fatigue? Or with the fact that a lot of those adaptations are actually bad in the long run?
@@dragonballjiujitsu i think you missed the point (unless i misunderstood you) he isn't saying situational awesomeness is out of the picture. Only that people who come looking for self defense instruction are usually already practicing that so telling them to become self aware is useless. Tell them what the next step is
Solid. I've generally held to the belief that most fights are won by the first person to realize they're in a fight.
When I was taking Krav Maga, my instructor taught us _this_ and _called it_ situational awareness, along with just being aware of what's going on around you. There's a mantra in Krav Maga that goes "it's better to avoid than to de-escalate, it's better to de-escalate than to run, it's better to run than to fight, it's better to fight than to die." I can say that this hierarchy escalates quickly. Once you can't avoid, moving to de-escalation is right on you and typically not viable if you don't know how to negotiate or _there is no negotiating with this person,_ and running is almost certainly not an option in many cases and that's from accounts with the officers and Marines I trained with in class. Sh1t goes bad, quick. This "reactionary gap" is what I've always meant as a part of situational awareness. Get off the center line, move around if you can, but most importantly, know when it's about to be _fuhking on,_ and be more aggressive than the other guy. Don't kill the guy if you can manage it, but certainly make him wish he didn't try it. This is why you see a lot of these "techniques" done on the internet and think "this would never actually work, fights don't go like that" and you'd be right, but it is with this understanding of distance management; you _give_ yourself the ability to react with a "technique" (even if I do believe these "techniques" are largely bs). Krav Maga- self defense in general- is about managing that space, trying to stay in control of the situation (watching his hands, his breathing, his eye movements and where he fixes his gaze, how he's positioning his feet and his body), and when they finally do attack, you've already done the calculus on how you're going to respond. And it's not like you have 80 moves in your head like "if he does this, I'm going to go full Captain Krav and spinner whirlwind death kick him in the face" it's "this guy is going to try to grab me, most likely, I need to defuse that- try to strike him hard on one of the knock out buttons, but be ready to sprawl and fight on the ground." It's mental preparedness for the average non-violent, non-combative person that doesn't normally get into confrontations to persuade their mind to be _extremely_ violent. You start going through the flow chart of "what's happening right now" in your mind and it hypnotizes you to be aggressive when zero hour hits. And again, you have to *train these combatives* and *spar appropriately* in order for this to really sink in and work for you. Not least to mention, you need to be physically fit and capable of enacting this violence if you're serious about it working.
No one’s going to read this probably well written book….
@@ryanjones3043 It seems like a couple of people read it. I feel like this was faster to read than watching a 10 minute video with an ad. This is going to sound like I think I'm way more knowledgeable than I am; I feel like like my comment is a good adjunct to the topic of the video and explanation of what I and many others have been taught was "situational awareness."
I fully agree.
This is a great comment. It does highlight the problem that untrained people and the physically unfit aren't in much of a position to defend themselves
@@patwxdaddy out of millions your like the 5th
Guy just gave me a situational awareness game.
I'm that guy that sits with his back toward the door. I leaned that technique from Wild Bill Hickock who was killed by some drifter as he sat playing cards at a saloon table with his back TOWARD the door. Interesting factoid - The cards Wild Bill was holding at the time were a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights which became known as "the dead man's hand."
"this is a sponsor video" that right there is great situational awareness!
Always love your content, Icy Mike, but today as a TaijiQuan practicioner who actually takes himself "seriously" (or at least my training), I'm extra gratified to hear you saying the words- "being happier and less stressed out is probably the *most* realistic Self-Defense" because that's exactly what we teach. Oss as always, ☯️🙏☯️
“Condition yellow is not a personality”
Oh man, me 5 years ago would have been fucking heated hearing that 😂
@@dragonballjiujitsu my man, he ain’t making fun of anything that works. He’s making fun of making it your personality. You can be in condition yellow and also not make it an all encompassing aspect of who you are as a person.
1. Elevator scenario: I'm imagining 2 people who have just watched this video getting onto the same elevator, turning and facing one another, each thinking the other has become a threat. :-)
2. The last few mins of your video, you've kinda given away the basic intro concept in The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker.
This was the most genius sponsored ad I've ever seen. You melded the ad perfectly into the video never felt like I needed to skip forward or close the video. Very impressive
Being an older woman, I really appreciated this video and another of his I watched. It made me realize I’ve been doing all the right things in listening to my gut and being aware of my surroundings, especially when I’m in a parking lot. The video where he talks about woods next to a Walmart parking lot?!… my town has one with that same scenario and I’m always on alert.
Holy shit the elevator guard pulling in short shorts had me bout to bust.
Phrasing!
Least favorite video yet… for no reason at all
Click the dislike button twice then.
Looking forward to meeting you in October. Can’t wait to train with you guys 💪🏻 the lineup for the seminar is 🔥
Damn, this is a wakeup call. I currently am the guy always talking about not sitting with my back to the door lmao
I think it's more like a step on the way. We're just not on Icy Mike's level, yet. ;-)
Best sponsor ever I’ve been looking for a new bike
Best example of situational awareness is riding a bike.
You have to be more alert in areas with higher volumes of traffic and depending on where you're riding the terrain could do damage to your tires.
Yeah, as a driver I can tell you that situational awareness changes everything. I have seen quite a few near-accidents and actual accidents when people were nto situationally aware. I think of driving a car as an extension of self-defence, you should be aware of your surroundings and keep safe distance to give yourself time to react. For some people it may not be "fun", they might prefer to play on their phones while driving, but that is a trade-off you need to make if you want to be safer.
I appreciate these focus on not trying to be novel with generalization. by being specific with THINGS to do. Defining situational awareness as practical. Being aware of WHAT situation, environment you're walking into so you know what tools to use, what the temperature of the water is, what kind of animals are in the bushes. Very useful info here, as always!
I'm that guy! I would have been int the NFL if I didnt hurt my knee. I only watch CZcams 15 seconds at a time. Situational AWARENESS!
Me got more situational awareness. And broke both my legs before going NFL.
That's why I train day and night to attack people in 14s or less.
You're doomed, man. Don't even get close to me!
Awesome video. Title instantly grabs the attention, snappy intro, solid advice, humour and perfectly integrated product promotion.
This might be your best one yet
Good, practical lesson. Thank you. The initial training of awareness (as you say, "condition yellow") is energy costly, but if you train yourself consistently, for short periods, and then build up, it is completely plausible. That is essentially what we did for ourselves when we learned to drive a car. We are basically at condition yellow anytime we are driving. When we first learned to drive, paying attention to everything was tiring, but over time we learn to do it without draining our energy. Our brain uses less and less glucose as it is trained. Most of us dissociate during driving, but can instantly respond to changing traffic conditions (provided we are not too checked out). This is what I teach in psychiatric hospitals. "Mind the gap" is a solid, usable chunk of advice.
im so glad you made this exact vid. i get so tired of old men who live comfortably in surburban environments lurking SD videos just to gaslight people with "the best SD is situational awareness!" or "just run!" as if it matters to psychos if they're spotted or not. they might also cite random (usually wrong) statistics that ofc assume that everyone's risk factors are the same and especially vulnerable people dont exist.
There are alot of misconception about situational awareness. If you are aware of your surroundings it gives you time, time gives you options. But it is not a self defense tool it's a mindset that is part of self defense, but it will never replace punching somone, or a gun.
Ultimately if you are aware of everything but have not idea what to do you will loss.
I try to keep aware of my surroundings because I can, but it as self defense advice with out anything else is about as good as run, you hit the nail on the head.
Thank you John.
Great information as always, but the highlight of the video for me (even funnier than trying to advertise your sponsor's bike as a drive-by-bike) was the BJJ in the elevator bit. That and the 'HAHAHAHA! Idiot.' at the end. You crack me up Icy Mike! Thanks for the consistently great content.
One thing that I’ve always had trouble with is when is self defence needed because when the other guy throws the first punch it’s too late. This really helped thanks
Sensei Seth ride-by bit and the elevator bjj is very instructive. Will never forget reaction gap. Good teaching skills as always Mike.
Walk into a restaurant or through a mall. Walk into a place where people have to stand in line. Pay attention to how many people are looking at their phones for more than a second. Those are the people that don't have any situational awareness. Best example.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From my medical background but it applies here.
I loved when you said that you're a recovering situational awareness guy. That was me. Thanks for this.
Dude i love your channel. So glad i found it. Thanks for bringing your knowledge and experience to us.
The bjj in the elevator killed me lol. You hit my boy seth bro!
Nice ad! Still not sure why situational awareness is so bad though. I’ll rewatch it and see if I can figure out what your trying to say - and learn some more features of your sponsor’s bike!
Nobody said situational awareness is bad. This is a video about how important it is and how to improve it lol.
@@hard2hurt "Best case scenario, situational awareness is pointless." -- Icy Mike; first 30 seconds of this video. Yep. Super-clear messaging there.
By far best actual self defense video I've seen in general from anyone
This is also a good way to relate the threat triangle they teach in the Navy to real world. Basically you can legally act defensively when the three sides of the threat are met: capability, opportunity, intent. Capability is weaponry, could be a gun or knife or anything but its straight forward. Opportunity is distance and position, which is relative to what their capability and whatever vulnerable people/equipment is around and again is another fairly easily distinguishable factor. The last part, intent, is easy to discern in a military capacity but much harder outside of a position you're guarding. This vid covers some great examples of figuring out intent, and also both denying opportunity and when the opportunity side is met (to know when to throw the first punch or whatever).
10/10 video!
Always on point with simple realistic combat tips that work!
I must have been watching these videos too long. I was asked by the slightly drunk guy in the middle of the park alley to read his ID number, because he can't make it out and he needs to give it to somebody on the phone. My first reaction was, it's a trap! He wants me to focus on the ID he holds and sucker punch me, my second reaction was: I'm an idiot, it's Poland where I live, the guy genuinely needs help, I spelled the ID numbre for him, he repeated it number by number on the phone, said thank you, I sid you're welcome and we went our ways both happier.
I think that was a decent reaction. Step one, threat assessment. The result of that assessment is allowed to be "not a threat."
vyderka: You're a fool, you should have kicked his ass; better to be safe that sorry.
I'm that guy. Though I legitimately have hyper-vigilance. It's a common symptom of ptsd.
One of the best (and funniest) videos Mike has made yet. Love it! The drive-by was priceless.
Good implementation of the sponsor, not disrupting and keeping the content intresting
"guys that don't know how to wrestle but carry a gun" ...I was just attacked personally from halfway across the country, no amount of reactionary distance was gonna stop that lol.
From my time in the military, I think reactionary distance is INCREDIBLY important, especially if you have a gun. I used to do security forces type stuff in the middle east, and I was in charge of a team guarding a pier, searching vehicles and people. I made sure to stand well behind where I had the guy doing personnel searches, so if something happened i had a good 30 feet to work with; if you pulled some shit, even at a dead sprint there was no way you were reaching me, especially considering that behind me on an elevated concrete platform was a guy with an M4, although chances are i would have been able to draw and engage with my m9 before he could have chambered around and turned on his optic lmao. Carrying in condition 3 is fucking dumb.
Good comment. Also, Condition 1 is the best, IMO.
Aventon has been a great deal for years now. Debating still getting one. It would definitely help with getting me back to commuting to and from work as my cardio is shot since having covid. Can't really commute to work in the mountains here when half my ride I'd be walking up hills.
could popping a folding bike into your backpack (while walking in rough terrain) work, or is it too much weight?
@@redactedcanceledcensored6890 they're too big and unwieldy, unless maybe you're talking monkey bike.
I am a very aware person usually. Lived in philly for ~20 years.
I was absorbed in my mind one day because of things that had happened, was waiting for a train on a platform where there was only 1 other person (little asian young woman) and no one else around at all - middle of the day.
4 teenagers came up behind me, spread out a bit around me and semi-surrounded me, one hit me on the side of the head and had me on the ground and were al kicking me before I knew what was going on
my backpack was 10' away on a bench, where the woman had been sitting until she saw what happened to me and ran
I instinctly covered my head with arms and yelled "I don't have anything" they said "give us your stuff" and I told them my bag was on the bench over there, they saw it and all went to it, I got up and ran
in the parking lot maybe 70 yds away a guy pulled up next to me and rolled down his window, said he saw what happened and that I could get in/call the police
total fail on situational awareness, but
it allowed the woman to not be the victim and the harm done to me was extremely minimal, the bump to the ground on the back of my ear was worse than any of their kicks, and it was minimal
I didn’t think I was going to agree with you at the start of this video. But it turns out you make some really good points and I actually learned something. Thanks!
I couldn't stop laughing at sensei seth getting shot lmao i love it when you're this playful in your videos, learned about the concept of "reactionary gap " and got to laugh, plus, that bike does look pretty darn good! Shoutout to sensei seth and hard2hurt
I would definitely classify myself as someone with an unhealthy obsession with situational awareness. While doing security work I was involved in a few really scary situations in crowds and now my head is constantly on a swivel while out in public:
- I often experience severe neck, shoulder, and head pain after just a few hours.
- I can't tell you the last time I enjoyed being at an event or party.
- I no longer allow myself to drink or be intoxicated in any way while out.
Situational awareness isn't fun and I wouldn't recommend people focus on it. You are better off reacting to situations as they happen and just living your life. 😔
This sounds like "hyper vigilance" a form of PTSD, you should consider Rekki, it's very effective.
severe neck pain from having your head on a swivel? I can't tell if this is a joke or not!!
@@craigwyatt3195 Unfortunately it's not.
@@Nikkiv4u Geez bro ☹
Similar endgame to you. No security work, just ex-Army. It's not fun being hyperalert, and it probably isn't healthy. We're both more likely to leave this life non-violently with back pain than we are to avoid or shutdown a danger scenario. These days, I'm an old fat man, I'm not about to bust out some Recondo training on anyone, whether or not I recognize them as a threat. About the best I could reasonably expect is to be a bullet shield for my wife or students.
But I still sit with my back to the wall, and scan the crowd's faces, and pay half attention to the conversations happening in the group I'm with...
Great advice as always Icy Mike. Cheers from Australia 😁
Fantastic video and advice I haven't heard before
Drinking game, shot everytime Mike slips the bike back into the video.
I prefer giving people Ocular Patdowns. Then I assess whether or not they're a threat. If they are, I usually just go with a quick head kick. Or a liver kick if they really piss me off. Seriously. Don't mess with me bro.
And then parents drag you and your buddies out of the playground...
Lol. Good one.
@@lazyman7505 *OverYourHead.gif*
I love the use of formal customs to gauge a person's state of mind. Brilliant
Great video. You show that situational awareness is useless if you aren’t acting on it. The reactionary gap is the act, and you demonstrate that really good.
“Situational Awareness is the answer”
“That will be $50. Thank you.”
"I live my life in condition yello!"
That's called anxiety. Go to a psychiatrist!
@@dragonballjiujitsu it also means you die at 40 of a heart attack from high blood pressure, or gets you put in prison after too many times over reacting on false positives, because you've keyed yourself up to view every possible interaction only in the context of violence.
@@dragonballjiujitsu cope and seethe on a few more comments bud
Yes! And like, seriously-dudes who think you should always be ready for an attack; talk to a professional. It will truly help you. There’s nothing wrong with therapy, and if you feel that way-you probably need it. Not in a judgemental way, in a caring way.
@@dragonballjiujitsu It's not. It's really bad for you. And I work in a dangerous job where I have to have awareness or I could die. And I've been deployed to combat zones. And learning to turn that off is a big deal.
@@dragonballjiujitsu Being 46 and alive is a pretty standard thing bud. Unless you work in a very dangerous line and have spent lots of time in dangerous areas, and even still it's more common to be
I have avoided problems a lot by ''situational awareness'' - it works. I say that as a British person; here we normally don't come across guns, but there are plenty of knives/edged weapons in urban areas primarily. Overall, edged weapon use tends to be mostly confined to large cities and by younger people. Avoiding trouble is a sensible option - always. There are some instances where we do have to have to be ''hard to hurt''. Here in the UK, I don't feel, most of the time, under threat. That's good. I like this guys approach and do agree with him. Distance is good. Useful videos sir. Thank you for posting. God bles you all in the USA. PS I was in the British Police some years ago, so I have often got out of trouble by ''jaw jaw not war war'' ; admittedly sometimes we have to directly confront. Some great advice here. Thanks🙂
Pulling guard in the elevator was gold 😂
Having fun while honing your situational awareness is also possible. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
Well being aware is good, but you can't be on edge to the degree that you would need to be to catch a coming ambush or something all the time, that's literally what PTSD is... Basically it is a very bad adaptation for most people. And it's exhausting mentally. Maintaining that awareness isn't easy, that's why in the military they try not to put you in a situation where you have to do that for very long, and if you are in a situation where you have to do that for an extended you're dramatically more likely to mess it up.
@@davidpeters6743 as a veteran, i can tell you that is NOT what PTSD is.
@@freedomsmarch4948 I had PTSD. Well probably still have it, but it's got a lot milder over the years. As a veteran I'll ask you, what was your MOS? When did you deploy? Look there's nothing wrong with being aware of your surroundings. But when you're so aware that you see threats all the time that you're hyper-vigilent? That's when a survival adaptation that might have helped your ass in theater isn't helping. As for me I was a 2621 in the Marines, deployed to Fallujah in 2008 (when things were still pretty intense) and Al Asad in 2009 (when they were a lot less intense) I also served as a 13F in the national guard for several years after I got out of the Marines.
@@freedomsmarch4948 PTSD is a psychological adaptation to stress. You adapt to become more able to see threats and more able to react to them. But when those threats aren't present and you're still being ambushed in your brain every time a car backfires or mortared every time fireworks go off or terrified every time a street is quiet when it's normally busy? Those are all good things in theater. They don't help you stateside.
The best thing is not to violate 3 rules:
Don’t do stupid things.
Don’t go stupid places.
Don’t be out at stupid times.
You can get away with breaking 1, but all 3 puts you at risk.
And for clarity, the tips given in the video are very good after you get in a possible situation. But I find the three rules help prevent you from being in a situation where situational awareness is heightened.
So, essentially, lock yourself at home and never come out?
@@lazyman7505 how the fuck did you get there from here
@@lazyman7505
If you are continually violating all three, that would mean you are doing stupid things at stupid times while in stupid places.
If you are doing that every time, you need to seek counseling.
That is really good advice. I'm stealing it, thanks! :-)
I've actually been looking for a new bike!!! Thanks Mike!
mike with another really useful and educational video on self defense! well done, sir
I love how he says teaching situational awareness is dangerous while showing you how to be situationally aware. You’re being quite pedantic.
Super glad to see that you're aware of this situation in the self defense community. Good SA bro 😂
Bro, ur awesome! Ur vids are full of great advice, I love ur vocabulary and teaching method! Always quirky and fun which helps the great advice stick!! Keep rocking man!! 🤘🤙
Thanks for sharing 🙏🏾
I like this because it's something concrete to do. I felt like other places would just say "pay attention to your surroundings" but that's relatively vague and it's easy to get distracted. This is something clear that you can think through versus "am I paying enough attention?"
Bingo
I think that Jeff Cooper's '4 Conditions' cast a very long shadow, even into unarmed martial arts - as witnessed by the focus on 'situational awareness'.
Also, if you enjoy bicycling, you and your family should take some vacation i Holland or Denmark: we rule bicycling for fun and pleasure, no lie.
@@dragonballjiujitsu did you not even fucking watch the video lmao
Whoa. Absolutely excellent video!
The advice on the elevator was very solid advice....will keep that in mind going forward 👍👍
*cough* active self protection lol
Building a house isn't fun but we do it because its optimal for survival.
Situational Awareness is to avoid having to use self defense.
@@WakeUpUniverse66 BEST THING TO DO IN A FIGHT IS TO NOT GET IN ONE DUDE!!!
@@ScrotumJoe34 Sometimes you cant avoid a fight but if you can see the fight coming you can use the element of surprise. Cleary it wont win you the fight but in real life a fight can be you getting rocked from behind and never even knowing what happened.
Absolutely love this conversation. Thank you for sharing.
"There is no first punch in karate" is a semi-controversial statement that has been misunderstood as "You have to wait for the attacker to hit you before you react"
And... who doesn't love BJJ in an elevator?
This feels like one of those videos that was made just because it's always tempting to try to argue against conventional wisdom, when in fact there's nothing wrong with the conventional wisdom.
Actually using you head is the best self defense weapon. I heard Dave Leduc say so.
I think that your torso is vital too. IIt is really hard to defend yourself when you lose your head (or torso). Even the neck plays a vital role. Limbs are overrated.
I knew a person who was very into the situational awareness, anyone can be a threat, I'm always prepared to spring into action kind of thing. He had a stroke at age 26.
And I'm sure he was 200 pounds overweight. You can literally have no stress. It's called just developing habits and not even having to think about it.
@@SMS2884 No, he was a pretty trim 160 or so.
He probably had some trauma from a not so great home life growing up, although 20 years ago that wasn't something we knew about. We just said 'anger issues '.
@@danielbeshers1689 Well there you go. Trauma and stress will do that.
That elevator bit was super informative. Thanks for sharing!
I have always done what you described in the elevator. I never really thought about it as self defense, more a respect thing to let people have free access to the buttons I suppose. Thank you for the great videos, I really like your humor!
Kind of disagree here. In day to day life you probably don't have to worry about too much, but you should at least understand where you are. Years ago I had a friend that was from the U.K. that had come over for education and didn't know what some parts of Boston are like, especially at night. He had his headphones in listening to music not paying attention, then he woke up without his phone/wallet. People don't jump you from the front. You wouldn't walk through some deep woods without being mindful of bears, don't make that mistake in poor neighborhoods at night.
Edit: Maybe we are on the same page here, it just took a few extra minutes to grab the context. I'll leave the comment up regardless.
Edit2: I really need to start watching the whole video before I start formulating a reply. Talking about getting space and throwing the first punch etc, I said already that you don't get jumped from the front, but sometimes it's set up that way. This is what I used to deal with growing up pretty much exactly. How it works is: someone will start talking to you directly in front of you > the other guy punches you in the back of the head while you respond, or slams you from behind. The only time I've seen different, is when everyone knew each other. So probably if some random dude starts talking to you and trying to get your attention, be mindful of that. Honestly though, I've NEVER seen this stuff go on after I left the city.
If you are pretty sure you are alone though, always always always always throw the 1st punch. Even if you aren't. If you don't get the 1st punch, you might not get the 2nd.
Actually day to day life is pretty dangerous. In the US things are very violent here. We got people being robbed at gas stations. We have burglars following people from the store and attacking them at home. We have constant shootings and protests. Murder has been on the rise over thee past 2 years. It's dangerous to go outside.
Not going into areas that are known to be dangerous is much better advice than "situational awareness"
i saw the first couple sentences you wrote and knew you didnt watch the video lmao
@@clownboyyyy the click bait statements get me every time lmao
Let’s call it what it is, “situational awareness” is just “street smarts for suburbanites”.
if you grew up in any major city in the US you naturally gained “situational awareness” by the age of 8 lol
You'd be surprised. A lot of city peeps still have trouble with that or never really develop that. They might spot something but don't react.
Lol that's actually a perfect description and something I could never put to words
Ok city folks
Excellent point!
Well said and well done !
Part of the reason that I kept watching this video is seeing Mike having ridiculous fun on his cool new bike.