Combat Perception and Situational Awareness
Mike Parriski, November 11th, 2007
Here’s a test: the next time you are at the local mall, observe people and their interaction with their surroundings. What you will find is that people in general are oblivious to others outside of either their direct vision or their “comfort zone,” which is the area in which someone may feel that you are “too close.” Now while you are watching the “cattle,” pay attention and you will see the “wolves.” Malls are ripe pickings for those with the criminal mindset and guile, and the “cattle” are easy prey.
Why is this important? As a fighter, you should always be aware of your surroundings and be aware of possible threats. Notably, this should be a subconscious effort on your part and should never cease when awake. Or will you become another victim? An aware fighter should never be surprised when violence escalates.
This concept that is part of Combat Perception is called Situational Awareness. Briefly stated, situational awareness is the ability to be cognizant of possible violent threats at all times, especially when in a public place. In defensive firearms training, this has been further defined into a set of color-coded Combat Conditions (see below). Each color defines a conditional state that defines your level of awareness and eventually your reaction to a threatening situation.
| The first condition, White, is what you will find at the mall. Most people wander through life only aware of themselves or a nearby loved one with no perception beyond that closed circle. Statistics call these people crime victims. As a fighter, if you are awake, you should never be in Condition White. | |
| The second condition, Yellow, is the most important, and the condition that the fighter will maintain when awake or conscious of his environment. Remaining in this condition should be a subconscious effort and could be considered analogous to using a channel scanner. As you listen to the scanner and page though each channel, you only stop at the one in which you wish to listen. You are aware of the other channels, but they didn’t contain the information for which you were looking. Apply this to our mall scenario. As you walk through the mall, you are aware of those people that pass you, are behind you, beside you, or in front, but you will only consciously note those that may be suspicious or threatening. As an example, the rough looking person who you passed at Waldenbooks has followed you to three stores so far. Unless you were in Condition Yellow, you would have never noticed. We’ll take this a little further in the next conditions. As an aside, I will later explain “how” you knew this character was suspicious. | |
| Condition Orange is the next condition and the threat of bodily harm escalates. A trained fighter who finds himself in this condition will be physically and mentally prepared for combat instantly. Continuing our mall scenario, the shady person who has been following you from store to store is now following you as you leave the mall. Perhaps it is coincidence, but the fighter who is in Condition Orange has his mindset prepared for a confrontation. It is far easier to go from Condition Orange to Red, than from Yellow to Red. | |
| The last condition is Red and it implies combat. When this condition occurs, you are involved in a violent conflict. Based on the situation, the combatant, and your mindset, you will respond accordingly. To finish our mall scenario, our shady character approaches you as you reach to unlock your car door. “Hey, bud,” he says, “you got any spare change?” As he speaks, you see his hand begin to slide to the rear of his pants. Instantly, you are catapulted from Condition Orange to Red and you subdue him. This is fortunate as you later find he had a knife concealed in the waistband of his pants. |
Had our mall scenario occurred with a normal Condition White person, we may have had a robbery, kidnapping, rape, or even murder. The fighter should never be surprised or unaware and should be reactive with the authority that he can control the situation. Of course, our scenario did not involve multiple opponents, but that is irrelevant, as the aware person will know ahead of time to flee!
Visual & Auditory Cueing
Part of Combat Perception is Visual and Auditory Cueing, which is the use of sight and sound to develop an understanding of the threat level of a combatant. As mentioned in my previous article on Mindset, this is an essential part of knowing your enemy’s strengths and weakness. One caveat: this is by no means an absolute as a trained fighter will be able to fool his opponent.
Those familiar with the study of body language will find themselves adept at visually identifying clues that constitute a real or possible threat. Everyone, by their stance, body movement, even voice, defines their particular personality and usually, intentions. Most try, without success, to hide their “true self” behind a façade, but the fighter is able to discern whether a threat is credible or merely false bravado. He will be aware of subtle actions, change in voice timbre, even complexion, and will be able to ascertain these with a glance.
What are these visual and auditory cues? With the exception of the most overt threats, this is often a point of contention for many instructors in the martial arts. Each style tends to define specifics to be aware of and those to avoid; thus, I will only cover generalities for which I am familiar. Feel free to add what can be used and delete what is not applicable. Nevertheless, visual and auditory cueing can be further subdivided into two categories: Observational and Pre-conflict.
Observational cues are those that one will see and hear while in Condition Yellow. These can include something as simple as noticing several youths rough-housing to someone spouting obscenities at you or attempting to goad you from a distance. As a fighter, your perception of these disturbances will either cause you to escalate your condition to Orange or maintain Yellow. Of course, observational cues are a precursor to a serious threat-these cues merely identify that the possibility of violence has been noticed and awareness has occurred.
Pre-conflict cues are those that are perceived the moment before combat, and as a fighter, your combat condition has risen to Orange. Since this column is for a Wing Chun audience, I will attempt to describe this as it is related for a Wing Chun fighter. Notably, the Wing Chun fighter should apply this in the reverse and refrain from giving his opponent pre-conflict cues.
Foremost, the assumption is that violence is imminent and you will have to either defend yourself or some other person. Let us suppose that you are standing across from your opponent. Through observational cues such as cursing and threatening advances, you have moved to Condition Orange and are preparing for combat. The first thing you notice is your opponent’s size. He is rather muscular and stands approximately a head taller. Next you notice his hand positioning: he is bringing his hand’s in front of him and gesturing for you to “bring it on.” You next track his foot position and stance and discern that this, combined with his hand movements, has identified him as an untrained fighter. Furthermore, he again attempts to goad you with verbal assaults.
What is your response? That will depend on the style of Wing Chun in which you have trained. You can either adjust your position to a strong, rooted fighting stance or stand normally with your hands raised in a defensive and possibly, submissive manner. Personally, I prefer the second choice. Why? As mentioned earlier, I do not want to give any information about my abilities. Also, if my opponent is lulled into complacency and believing an easy victory is at hand, I will maintain an element of surprise. As I stand there, I have fully “sized-up” my opponent and will react explosively to prevent my self (or others) from being harmed.
Here are some final comments on visual and auditory cueing. All I described above happens nearly instantly and no conscious thought should go into cueing. Furthermore, visual cuing does not imply tunneling, in which you focus on one area while neglecting your surroundings. Given our above opponent, with tunneling you would have failed to notice his buddy trying to sneak around and attack from behind. A Wing Chun fighter should never focus on any particular object or place before or during combat, but should instead maintain a full 180º perspective. Once contact is made, the Wing Chun fighter can easily determine striking points by sensitivity alone and use his eyes and ears to constantly scan his surroundings for additional threats. Finally, an advanced lesson for practicing this is to hold a conversation with someone while sparring with another. Ideally, your body will function reactively and proactively while receiving input from the five senses.
Environmental Awareness
Quite simply, environmental awareness is the perception of your physical environment. Although this seems rather simplistic or redundant, many fighters fail due to their inability to adjust for and make allowances for environments that are outside the sterile kwoon. Furthermore, this area of Combat Perception ties into the rule “Adapt to Your Environment” and is a must to become an exceptional fighter.
The Wing Chun fighter will instantly adapt his fighting methodology when violence is about to occur. Yes, a strong, rooted, shifting punch is fine in the gym, but is nearly impossible while wearing new Nike’s and standing on fresh asphalt. Regardless of surfaces, weather, or any other environmental extremes, the trained fighter will use a methodology best suited for the current conditions. Also, the fighter’s arsenal may be limited due to the environment. Kicks on an icy surface are probably not the best recourse. With that in mind, the fighter will have to focus on upper body motions only while attempting to maintain stability. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of fighting methodologies that are environmentally adaptive.
A subdivision of the physical environment is sociological, such as crowded gatherings. In many areas where witnesses are present, a degree of “fairness” is often perceived by the observers. That kick in the groin, while excellent for stopping the attack, has just enraged several “good-ole boys” who do not consider that fair fighting. A Wing Chun fighter should be able to conceal the lethality and stopping power of his attacks behind a façade of common fisticuffs. Also, when fighting in crowded area, the chance of hitting a bystander increases greatly. To avoid creating an additional opponent (as well as legal liability), the Wing Chun fighter should have assessed the crowded area and chosen one or several methodologies that best suit the current situation.
Conclusion
Let me reiterate that Combat Perception (and all of its facets) is an instantaneous discipline. No conscious thought should be used, even if the likely opponent is a considerable distance away. The mind and body should function as a reactive machine, incorporating the above precepts by subconscious will. Of course, your mindset will be a factor that determines your level of awareness, but the good Wing Chun fighter will be prepared in advance for all circumstances.
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