This is the second of a four-part series of articles on Tactical Thinking by Kenny Jezek.
The next part of being mentally prepared to survive a violent situation is the second “O” in O.O.D.A. and it stands for Orient. The first part of this is quite simple but so many people fail to do this for various reasons. Here it is: Recognize that we live in a dangerous world and violence can and does happen – and it can happen to you. Remember the statistics? Eight out of 10 people will be the victim of a violent crime. Now I don’t say this to make you paranoid but rather to make you aware and as a result, more mentally prepared. There are two primary elements with regards to the “Orient” step which I will briefly touch on.
Being in the Moment. This simply means to have your mind and body in the same place at the same time. An example of not doing this would be driving down a stretch of road you drive all the time and before you know it you’ve traveled several miles and don’t really remember passing certain land marks etc. Another one would be for the ladies – being parked or at a stoplight and primping. These examples are indicative of someone who is not in the moment and who doesn’t believe violence will happen to them. They are apathetic. Key point: Apathy leads to denial. Like those people at McDonald’s. Because they were apathetic about the reality of the violent world we live in, when violence did happen to them they froze. Their minds denied what was happening and so they did nothing. When we deny that it can happen to us, when it actually does happen to us we are so much more likely to go into condition black. What we need to do is to accept the fact that we live in a dangerous world and that violence can happen to us. Acceptance leads to being challenged.
This is really all about FEAR. Think of this acronym. Failure Expected Action Required. There are two types of fear. Biological Fear which is actually good. We are pre-made to survive thus the adrenaline dump. Psychological Fear which is not real! Trust me it’s not. Psychological fear is what our mind does when faced with a threat. It begins to think of failure and what’s going to happen to us, when in fact, at that moment it hasn’t happened yet. If we give into this we will freeze or panic. REMEMBER: Fear comes when we are afraid we are going to fail. That’s how psychological fear happens but it’s not real.
The way to overcome the psychological fear is to recognize that it’s happening because “Failure is Expected” and take your mind off this imagined failure and focus instead on the action you need to perform to survive. You must shift your brain away from what you’re afraid is about to happen to the task at hand SURVIVING!
Please understand this – nothing in the world can guarantee complete invulnerability or survival. All I can do is to challenge you to overcome the psychological fear that everyone faces (and anyone who says they don’t is either a liar or completely insane) and taking the action needed to survive. Focusing on the action needed to survive is what allows you to overcome the psychological fear your mind creates.
In my next segment I’ll talk about the “D” in O.O.D.A. Until then, stay humble, be safe.
~ Kenny Jezek
Kenny has been involved in the martial arts since 1976. He holds Black Belts in American Kenpo Karate, WTF Tae Kwon-Do and Hapkido. He is also a certified Full Instructor in Jeet Kune Do Concepts and the Filipino Martial Arts. For nearly 17 years he owned and operated his own school in Arizona and he is the founder of Christian Freestyle Karate and, as such, holds the rank of 10th Degree Black Belt in that style. Other styles Kenny has studied without pursuing belt ranking include, Shotokan Karate, Ishin Ryu, Shorin Ryu, Wado Ryu, Bak Fu, Ninjitsu, Brazilian JiuJitsu, Russian Sambo, Muay Thai Kick Boxing and American Boxing.
Kenny’s experience in the martial arts includes all aspects of training, teaching and competition including full contact Karate. As an instructor he has taught a wide spectrum of students which include, children, adults, law enforcement and military personnel. He is also the founder of Counter Assault Tactics and Attactics™ for Women. Beyond his physical skills, Kenny has acquired a wealth of tactical knowledge of what actually happens during violent altercations as well and how to be mentally prepared to survive. His focus is on “self-preservation” which he defines as “the ability to survive violence, anywhere, anytime, against anyone under any circumstances using any means possible”.