Hit the Road jack?

I have never undesrtood why is it people allow themselves to be drawn into verbal confrontations or interviews when they had the opportunity to leave the scene.By this I mean when I am confronted by an aggressive or suspicious individual I mutter conciliatory standards and leave the scene in a cautious manner.I have on occasion noticed a slight inclination on their part to follow me, but then again they hesitate as that would "blow their cover" right there.

That being said I am all in favour of the fence and de-escalation,but if I was teaching self defense I would also try to get my students to get over their "good manners" and simply chose to enagage others to their convenience.

As well I had a situation about a year ago where I was approached by three guys in a manner that I didnt like, I simply turned and ran fast.Why stay and get into if we dont have to.Any comments would be appreciated.Thank you.

Running is good, but I prepare for worst case scenario ie. having a small child with you etc, then you can't run.

Craig

lotar, good point which is why de-escalation drills, the fence and the possiblity of pr-emptive striking are so important to practice well.Thanks

Running is a limited answer, it only works IF

a) you are faster than your attacker/s
b) you know where you are running TO .. blind panicky running is useless
c) you know the area you are in.. dead end alleys arent a good bet
d) you arent injured or hamoered
e) your last name is BOLT

A lady athlete running in the park on at 10am on a saturday morning will be warm and wearing the right gear and will probably do very well by running
The same lady at 10pm on the same saturday dressed in highheels and tight skirt with 5 MKD's inside her wont get far

True Dave

Always train for worst case scenario, then if running is an option thats great. By the way got trained in forklift trucks last month off Steve Mohammed at work.

Craig.

Dave Turton hello, your points are well taken, thats why I work the fence and pre-emptive striking alot,I also work on the stun and run option.If I get a good eye jab or a couple of good palm strikes,then I bolt.Regards

Gents,

BC is correct when he suggests that people hang around way too long, in the face of an aggressor. Why the delay?
Sometimes it's out of politeness, when responding to a stranger. There may be a sense of disbelief, a moment where you ask yourself "this guy can't want to fight?"

You're basically standing there as the wrong type of situation develops, too late you realize.

Stun and Run can be the wrong answer.

Forex... you eye jab the bad guy, he reels in pain. You have a chance to demolish him or run. You run. He's a 19 year old who plays football all day. You get caught. He's now really really angry, less winded than you and landing on your back.

It's sometimes a good tactical option, sometimes not. Good SD is about picking the best option and carrying it out effectively.

MJD, stun and run can be a good option when one can get to relative safety fast.For example getting through a door out into a busy street, or from an atm machine into a waiting car etc.If one is in the country it could be an opportunity to get a hold of rocks or a stick.It is one option,but one worth looking at and training for.In those cases where running is not a good option then we need to go "all the way".

Always make sure you have a get away driver with the engine running in place when you use the ATM

Simontwosheds,although running is not always an option,at least not engaging or moving off quickly from unwanted interactions can often save alot of trouble right there.One can always insist on talking from a distance, a normal person would have no problem with that.it also forces the badly intentioned to show their hand.If youa re talking at a distance and they attempt to encroach, then you know there is an issue and can move off quickly or just run.If one is really unsure about the situation why not just say" idont know etc" and keep walking briskly.Or even if they get into your space,circling off hopefully to a position where one can then exit quickly is an important consideration.As well while a potential aggressor might run after you,if one is in a crowded area and is willing to shout ones head off as you run,unless they are willing to commit a crime with 100 people looking at them, running can be a good option.

JDCW,thats good solid advice.I will often drive around the ATM machine to make sure their are no lurkers,and I dont use them in corner stores at night etc.

Me too, I also make sure I have two vehicles and drivers in case of breakdown.

hiya,
i think of this stuff often--for me there's (also) so many nuances:
-by myself i like the idea of walking away so things aren't so grey for
intention.
-i think it's more of a set up (for a mugger/etc) if one is prepared to respond strongly after attempting to leave
-with wife/kids--this has been the thing that bothers me. i've walked my
ex-wife up through the middle of traffic to avoid a sort of 'convergence' style hold-up. it worked once because it was such an odd gesture. another
thing that helped was some 'RGrannon' advice to try and feel/look more like the terrain (changing my vibes to fall into neither catagory--my interpretation, predatorial or prey), but lastly getting my family on board for what their roles are (eg//we all try and go, but if that doesn't work, they go and leave me to it--kinda like...i needed to know my role and that they were doing their best to keep attempting to get away...which would not be the collosal distraction of thinking they were still near by).

hope this was on topic

There's a good rule of thumb: If/when You have a feeling that something is wrong, then something definitely IS wrong. Then what You have is three choices: act, react, or play dead (ie. freeze). The latter two are not advisable, since, as we all know, action beats reaction.
Action, according to situation assessment, can be once more split into three categories: fight, de-escalate, or run.
That's about it. So, whatever You do facing a situation, act. Do NOT wait until You have to react, and definitely do NOT play dead, expecting the situation just to go away.

Hmm, what else is new?

JDCW wrote:Me too, I also make sure I have two vehicles and drivers in case of breakdown.

I'm in stitches here!

This sums it up for me...