FIGHT OR FLIGHT

In hostile situations, your heart beats faster, adrenaline shoots throughout your body, and fear sets in. You have two options: engage or run. This requires you to make a choice, quickly and decisively. Once you decide to fight back, here are three things you should do:

THREE PRINCIPLES

• Assess

• Attack

• Adapt

ASSESS:

• Trust your gut feeling, stay cool.

• Size up the situation:
   1. Hostility intensity: deadly threat, mild conflict, casual unpleasantness.
   2. Environmental factors: indoor, outdoor, sloping ground, exits, available environmental    weapons.
   3. Weapons: attacker has a gun, knife, pipe, or bat.
   4. People factors: numbers, size, athleticism, position.

• What are your options? If possible, escape as fast as you can at all costs. If you can’t escape, breathe deeply, stay cool and control the distance.

• Get ready to respond.

ATTACK:

• Fight back aggressively. But be aware of conserving energy: you don’t know how long a confrontation may last.

• Strike at the most direct, vulnerable target such as the eyes, nose, neck, rib cage, or groin

• Focus on causing more pain to your attacker than his motive to attack you can overcome. i.e. Make his attack cost him more than it’s worth.

• Overpower the assailant. Hit harder with every advancement. Try to build fear in him.

• Be flexible.

• Look for better options.

ADAPT:

• Expand your options: Exploit his weaknesses. Constantly look for ways to end the fi ght, no matter how unconventional.

• Reassess: continue to fight until you can escape, over power the assailant or negotiate for your safety. Use physical, verbal and psychological tactics at all stages.

• End the fight.

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