I love writing about decisions! Some articles are about techniques and tools, but not this one. This one is about recognizing distances quickly and making the best decision based on the space and time available.
Last month, we dove into The Complete Combatant’s Reactionary Zones Part 1, which focused on the MOST amount of time to react, act and respond to a threat. The MOST distance is around 25 feet and beyond. We often say that “distance equals time,” so this zone gives us the MOST distance or time, to make a really good first decision.
Scenario: It is the day after Thanksgiving and you have decided to “walk off” some of that turkey and those delicious side carb-laden sides, so you grab your coat and head out the door. You are on the sidewalk enjoying the fresh air, the cold on your face … and then, all of the sudden, you catch movement out of the corner of your eye. You turn your head and see a group of four youths sitting on the hood of a neighbor’s car, and you know they are out of town for the holidays. They see you watching them, they are up to no good and they don’t like you looking at them, so one of them slides off the hood and starts walking toward you. What are your options?
Before we go any further, I would like to re-introduce you to Edward T. Hall.
Edward T. Hall is a cultural anthropologist that specialized in proxemics that are maintained by healthy, adult, middle-class Americans. He wrote a book called “The Hidden Dimension” that explains “proxemics” and the difference in “distance awareness” among many cultural groups.
There are several “aspects” of proxemics. The one that Hall writes about is the distance maintained between people when they are communicating. If you read the first post, you’ll remember that Hall named his four distances Public, Social, Personal and Intimant. We, at The Complete Combatant, have named our four Reactionary Zones with these categories: “MOST amount of time to react,” “SOME amount of time to react,” “LEAST amount of time to react” and “NO amount of time to react.” In Reactionary Zones Part 2, we will be focusing on The Complete Combatant’s “SOME amount of time to react” distance.
Per Hall, social distances for normal healthy adults range from 4 to 12 feet. This distance fits perfectly for more formal business and social discourse. Discourse means “written or spoken communication,” so at this range, it is very acceptable to make eye contact with a stranger for a few seconds, smile, nod at them and even say hello.
Because of Hall’s framework, we know people can feel the pressure of whether that person belongs in a specific zone/space/distance. In self-protection management, we can use his research to our advantage by measuring the violence options available to the bad person while measuring the options available to us to react, act and then respond.
Now let’s switch gears from normal healthy adults, to criminals. The SOME Reactionary Zone, which is 12 to 25 feet from you to the bad guy, gives you “SOME amount of time to react.” Not the MOST, but SOME.
In this zone you have SOME time to decide what to do like have pepper spray in hand, avoid, make contact, etc. You have SOME amount of time to gather more information like look at his hands, any movement towards his waist, are his hands hidden, is he targeting you? You have the SOME amount of time to make this distance “come alive” by changing direction or just leaving the area. If that person changes his direction as well, then you now have an early warning sign and more good decisions must be made very quickly.
There are some things to consider in the SOME time to react distance.
Now back to the scenario. You turn your head and see a group of four youths sitting on the hood of a car. At the same time you are judging distance and thinking that they seem “out of place,” you reach into your pocket for your pepper spray, all the while turning to run away. You must react, act and respond quickly. They do not chase you; they go back to trying to steal that car.
There is absolutely no benefit or positive outcome to engage with any of these kids. It is OK to run and it is OK if they steal your neighbor’s car. (Hopefully, your neighbors have car insurance, let them use it. Let’s not use your medical insurance because you thought stopping them was more important than your health.)
You are now safe and sound in your home and the door is locked behind you. You call 911. You had SOME amount of time to make a good quick first decision. Now grab yourself a turkey sandwich, put your feet up and enjoy your day.
Next month’s article will be focusing on Hall’s Personal distance and The Complete Combatant’s LEAST time to react zone.
Shelley Hill wears a "bunch of hats." Her husband, Brian, named her the “Indispensable Organization Wizard” about 25 years ago and that has become her official title. Shelley is co-owner, XO and instructor at The Complete Combatant. She is an HK Brand Ambassador, publishes regular articles in Women’s Outdoor News and Shooting Illustrated, teaches online classes, is an Active Self Protection Certified Instructor, an Instructor Graduate of Modern Samurai Project's Red Dot Instructor program, NRA Certified Instructor, Certified NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Refuse to be a Victim Instructor and is a Certified OC (Pepper Spray) Instructor through Chuck Haggard's Agile Training & Consulting. She is the designer and mastermind behind Image Based Decisional Drills, Smart Choices , LockedIn Grip, The Complete Combatant's annual The Mingle for professional ladies in the "firearms/self defense" industry and The Quest for red dot shooters. She is also the President of a non-profit organization called Blue Line Ponies. This 501c3 focuses on providing a retirement range for our career service horses. Shelley is also a presenter at several national conferences is a public speaker and she actually loves people. View all posts by Shelley Hill
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