The Simple Awareness System that saved me from a Lunatic.
A couple of years ago, I was walking from my hotel in Anchorage, Alaska, to a nearby Walmart at 9:30 pm when I encountered a lunatic.*
I first noticed this lunatic standing across from a police car. The man was some 10 yards away from the officer, yelling something indistinguishable at him and walking away.*
Eager to avoid the problem, I turned the corner.
Now, if this were a sane person, I think he wouldn’t have noticed me, but somehow his eyes locked on me as his next target. In my initial scan of him, I could tell he was either crazy or high on something.*
The worst part was, he decided to follow me.
What had been a strange scene was quickly becoming a potential threat. Several options flew through my head, but the obvious answer was to cross the street.
As I sped across the street, my pursuer did as well, now shouting: “I am going to f*** you up!”
The mirroring of my movements and the verbalizing of his intent confirmed to me that the man was a dangerous threat.
I scanned him again: dark complexion, long dark hair, a coat in his arms. I looked at his hands to see if he had a gun, knife, or club on him. His hands were empty, but they were trembling. I kept reassessing his hands as I tried to escape, walking faster to put more distance between the lunatic and myself.
I touched my Smith & Wesson Shield, concealed at 4 o’clock in my Crossbreed Holster, reassuring myself that I knew where my better defensive tools were in case I needed them.
When I reached the Walmart parking lot, the threat started running at me, closing the distance fast. He was quickly parallel with me, about 15 feet to my left. Then he moved to intercept me.
Waiting for no more signals, I bolted between a row of parked cars, creating a barricade.
The lunatic yelled obscenities at me. The most obscene sticking with me: “You’re lucky, n*****!” as he turned away.
Behind my barricade, I scanned the lot, finding a security vehicle nearby. I headed for the grocery entrance. Meanwhile, the security vehicle intercepted the lunatic, and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Inside the store, I told the greeters about the lunatic. Even as I was talking to them, I knew that my goal was to find help and create a social barricade if the man tried to follow me into the store.
I managed to defend myself from a dangerous lunatic without having to fight or draw my gun. The surprising thing to me was it all happened on auto-pilot. I never had to stop and think about what to do, and I never froze. I did what I was trained to do by Retired Army Ranger Beau Doboszenski and Retired Navy Seal Larry Yatch.
I had purchased their excellent DVD Avoid-Deter-Defend and watched it months before this happened in Alaska. When the lunatic started following me, he triggered what they taught me, and I was able to avoid a confrontation.
You may be wondering, “How did you know he was a threat before he got close enough to do anything?”
May I show you?
The two things that telegraph a man wants to hurt you are his eyes and actions.
There are 3 Threat Indicators I was taught to watch for.
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Mirroring: If you cross the street and they cross the road, or you go to a different part of Walmart to get away, and they go to the same part of Walmart, this is a red flag. If someone mirrors your actions, you may be in danger.
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Closing the Distance: Most violent attacks begin from inches away, not ten feet. To get close enough to catch you by surprise, an attacker has to close the distance. In my situation, the lunatic jogged after me, which was an unmistakable signal.
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Interception: If a man puts themselves directly in front of you and tries to stop you, then you are in danger. This is a proven Threat Indicator.
*This lunatic in Alaska motivated me to get more training in recognizing dangerous individuals.
Since you made it to the end of this post then what is the best training you have seen on Situational Awareness? 
