| Discussion Scenarios | ||
| By Shinsei (Roger Sheldon) | ||
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1. Being taken somewhere else |
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| You are walking alone when suddenly you are confronted with an attacker who bars your way and prevents you escaping. He grabs you by the hair and reveals a knife saying, "If you don’t want to die, move yourself and come with me." What should you do? | ||
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2. Escape |
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| You are home alone when suddenly you realise there's an intruder in the house. Do you: | ||
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a) Try to escape? |
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b) Confront and frighten him off? |
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c) Make a noise so he knows someone is there? |
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| d) Stay silent and do nothing? | ||
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3. Promises |
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| You have been attacked. The assailant threatens you with a large hammer, saying "Do exactly what I tell you to do and I promise I won’t harm you." What should you do? | ||
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4. Recognising one's strengths and weaknesses |
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| Whilst walking home you see three men attacking another who is rapidly becoming seriously injured. What is the best response? | ||
| 5. Knowing your options | ||
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You awaken in the middle of the night and realise that someone has broken in to your home and is moving around in your bedroom. You realise you are in danger. What should you do? |
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a) Scream? |
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b) Try to get away? |
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| c) Pretend you are asleep? | ||
| 6. Getting into a stranger’s car | ||
| You are visiting a friend who lives in the depths of the countryside. You have spent so long driving around trying to find the right lane, and dusk has descended upon you. Then the car decides to breakdown. No matter what you do it will not start. There is not a house for miles, it is cold, you are late and not even sure where you are. You are frustrated and angry. After a while another car approaches and stops beside you. A neatly dressed and polite man gets out and asks if he can help. He says there is a garage about two miles down the road and would you like him to take you there? What should you do? | ||
| 7. People, lights and houses | ||
| You stayed longer than you intended, it is dark, and you have a long walk. The street is almost deserted. You become aware of a man walking some distance behind you. You fear you are being followed. What should you do? | ||
| a) Turn and stare down the man? | ||
| b) Change direction and cross the street? | ||
| c) Run from him? | ||
| 8. Restraining another person | ||
| You are at a social function. A man goes berserk and begins hitting people. Friends ask you to restrain him. You are told he has been taking drugs. What should you do? | ||
| 9. Separation from friends or colleagues | ||
| An intruder who entered your place of work accompanied by an accomplice has held you and your colleagues at gunpoint. You have been held in an office by the armed attacker. The second man is looking around the other parts of the premises. When he returns he demands that you leave the office in which you have been held with your colleagues and go with him. What should you do? | ||
| 10. Reasoning with an attacker | ||
| You are out exploring woodland with a young child when you are suddenly confronted with an attacker who strikes you viciously across the head stunning you. Dazed, you are dragged and shoved into some thick foliage. You see that the attacker has directed his attention to the child whom he is holding tightly, his hand across the child’s mouth. What should you do? | ||
| 11. He wants to tie you up | ||
| You are alone in the house and awake at night to find a man standing by your bed. He is aware that you awoke, and immediately slaps his hand over your mouth saying, "Don’t make a sound or I will kill you. He then produces a stout cord and roughly turns you onto your front and draws your hands together across your back as if in preparation to bind your wrists. What should you do? | ||
| 12. Driving under external threat | ||
| You are driving your car. Another car following you begins to flash his lights; he pulls alongside your offside trying to wave you down. In response to your hesitation he pulls forward and eases in trying to force you to stop. What should you do? | ||
| Feeling the intent of another person and responding appropriately? | ||
| There are two fundamental aspects. One is a basic startle response ("Oh my, I'm actually being attacked!") the other is the complicating factor of it being someone that may be well known to you. | ||
| It is not possible to be switched onto total awareness one hundred percent of the time. We establish places in our lives in which we feel safer, such as in our homes, place of work, clubs, school etc. where we are able to relax more. The same thing occurs with people that we know. We develop an increased trust for those with whom we are most familiar. Should that person do something untoward, we would be obliged to modify our perception of that person. | ||
| When in the dojo we sometimes will initiate attacks at random times on each other. It is certainly not the same thing as an ‘outside’ assault but it does help the members to get a sense of being alert and ready to deal with a situation. | ||
| Attacks by people you know: | ||
| 1. | Trust your instincts. If you are uncomfortable, there could be a good reason. | |
| 2. | Always be more aware when alone with another person. You do not need to be paranoid, but you do need to rehearse scenarios in your mind for escaping or neutralising a situation. | |
| 3. | Never feel self conscious about re-establishing a comfortable distance between you and another person. You are entitled to your own personal space. | |
| 4. | Practice saying, "Hey, what are you doing?" (or something similar) while re-establishing your space. This puts the other person on notice, and is useful for de-escalating somewhat nebulous situations. | |
| TWELVE RULES FOR STAYING SAFE | ||
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1. Observations on being taken somewhere else: |
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not allow an assailant to take you somewhere else. Crime scene number two is going to be isolated, you are not going to choose it, and you will be the focus of the crime. If you get into a vehicle with him, you have surrendered control. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
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2. Observations on escape: |
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: When escape is an option, it is the best option at all times. Put distance between you and him. When you remain inside the house behind closed doors and windows it becomes an isolated spot just like a lonely street. No one knows what's going on inside that house. To deny him privacy is one of the best things you can do. Do not call the police before going, do that afterwards at a neighbours house. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
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3. Observations on promises |
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not believe your assailant. Confronted with an assailant saying, "Freeze, don't move or I'll kill you..." (pointing gun)... the natural response that most of us have instinctively is... "Oh no", (raising hands palms up and shrugging shoulders)... "I won't move and I won't be shot. That's is basing everything on our value system, not his, and he lies. The biggest mistake victims make is believing them. An assailant will tell you anything, promise everything, say anything to get more control. If a man starts by saying, "Don't move, I'll kill you." It is not too far for us to believe that he might lie too. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
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4. Observations on recognising one's strengths and weaknesses |
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not over estimate your physical skills, be realistic in your expectations. In all situations such as this, you have a fundamental human right to make an assessment. There are two basic responses: Physical force or communication skills. You could choose to go to the man’s aid believing that you could overcome the three attackers or you could call for help on the grounds that you felt you had insufficient skills to be of positive value. Your skill level may not be sufficient to deal with three assailants; there is a real danger that you could be attacked with a weapon, or that the three could easily overcome you. Depending upon the location and time of day, the accessibility of a telephone, and the number of people around, a sensible response would be to call other assistance such as the police and an ambulance. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 5. Observations on knowing your options | ||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Know your options - escape, communication, and capitulation until safe to respond, physical force. Most genuine burglars try to avoid confrontation. However, there's a certain type of 'burglar' who will enter your home whether you are there or not. Trying to get away is to be regarded as a priority with screaming as a supportive option (although my own viewpoint is the screaming is only fifty percent useful). However, it depends upon the precise situation, if he, she or they think you are asleep, and they're trying to dare themselves by raiding the jewellery box, don't offer them a confrontation, most of us don't have two exits to the bedroom. If you can get out of the house, do so. If you cannot, you must do everything you can to avoid an encounter, burglars are scared, they want to get in, they want to get out. If they were there to rape or assault you, they would probably be raping or assaulting you. If s/he is raiding your bedroom and he is between you and the door, keep your eyes closed feign sleep and just freeze. Remember there is a huge difference between a burglar and an armed intruder. A man or woman who is truly just a burglar will make sure that no one is home. The last thing s/he wants is a confrontation with someone inside and the chance of waking someone up. If you're at home late at night and someone comes in, whether s/he's an armed burglar or not, (you may not be able to identify what his purpose is immediately), keep in mind that he is willing to risk the chance of confrontation, that makes him a level higher in danger. A person feigning sleep or unconsciousness may feel unable to change that chosen option if an intruder begins an assault. Real assaults happen very fast, you will not have time to sit back and make all the assessments. That's why if flight is an option, flee. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 6. Observations on getting into a stranger's car | ||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not get into a car with a potentially violent person. There are people who travel the motorways looking for people who are stranded and opportunists who would take advantage of the situation described in the scenario. It does not matter how late it is, how cold you are, how inconvenient it is, don’t do it. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
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7. Observations on people, lights and houses |
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Seek people, light and occupied houses. He may just be going home too. If he is intent on attacking you, he will follow you. Then head for the most people, the most open and exposed situation, increased light, and occupied houses. The last thing he wants is an audience. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 8. Observations on restraining another person | ||
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| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Never attempt to restrain someone on your own who is stronger than you are. The berserk man will be much stronger in this state than normal. He may have been drinking too. Any attempt at hold may exacerbate an already volatile situation. There is a chance that despite any hold skills you may have developed, you will be injured. To involve others who may have no hold skills at all could also lead to further injury. A much better response in this instance would be to remove all the other people from the situation and call the Police on 999. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 9. Observations on being separated from friends or colleagues | ||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not allow an attacker to separate you from others. It separates you from your potential power and support; it also minimises any chance of interference from anyone else. You are least likely to resist when you are separated from other people. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 10. Observations on reasoning with an attacker | ||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rules: Do not try to reason with your attacker and do not try to analyse your attacker. | ||
| Do not respond with pleas for mercy - we base our decision to plead with them in that they will make their decision based on our value system. This is wrong, it makes sense to us, not them. They are not there for your convenience. It is very rare for a person to talk their way out of a criminally assaultive "street" situation. | ||
| You do not have the time or experience to try to analyse your attacker, it takes a second for him to go from non-aggressive to violent.... not even psychiatrists and other experts can get it right. You will be using your energy in the wrong way - rather, use your energy in physical terms and aim to get away by whatever physical means is at your disposal at the earliest opportunity. | ||
| Remember that there is one thing you can analyse what the probable risks to you are, and how to reduce those. If you remember that PREVENTION THOUGH INCREASED AWARENESS AND SECURITY is a fundamental precept, you will have so much more power over your situation. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 11. Observations on being tied up | ||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not allow an attacker to tie you up. If you could not handle the situation before he tied you up, you most certainly will not be able to once you are tied. All your physical options have been taken from you. You are at the mercy of the assailant, and if you have also been gagged, you have lost the power of verbal communication too. | ||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning |
| 12. Observations on driving under external threat | |||
| Discuss this scenario with the examiner. The principal objective of this question is to enable you to identify the self-preservation rule: Do not stop driving your car at someone else’s insistence. Unless you know that the other car is a genuine police car, you do not have to stop. You will know if there is something seriously wrong with your vehicle such as wheel wobble, smoke or steam coming out of the exhaust or from under the bonnet, lights out etc. There is no other reason why another driver should want to stop you in particular. Keep driving to the nearest police station or public place where you can sound your horn if needs be. If you are forced off the road, reverse out - do not stop. | |||
| Back to scenario | Back to beginning | ||
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TWELVE RULES FOR STAYING SAFE |
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| 1 | Do not allow an assailant to take you somewhere else. | |
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| 2 | When escape is an option, it is the best option at all times. | |
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| 3 | Do not believe your assailant. | |
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| 4 | Do not over estimate your physical skills, be realistic in your expectations. | |
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| 5 | Know your options - escape, communication, and capitulation until safe to respond, physical force. | |
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| 6 | Do not get into a car with a potentially violent person. | |
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| 7 | Seek people, light and occupied houses. | |
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| 8 | Never attempt to restrain someone on your own who is stronger than you are. | |
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| 9 | Do not allow an attacker to separate you from others. | |
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| 10 | Do not try to reason with your attacker and do not try to analyse your attacker. | |
| 11 | Do not allow an attacker to tie you up. | |
| 12 | Do not stop driving your car at someone else’s insistence | |