26 Aug 02

Fight avoided through aggressive disengagement. This is from one of our students on the West Coast:

"CCW permits in our state are not hard to get. I've had mine for several years, and (since I attended your course) I carry concealed regularly. Earlier this month, my wife and I went to a local race track with another couple. During the festivities, I left my wife and friends in the stands as I went looking for a restroom. Near the main entrance, I notice an apparently intoxicated man stumbling about with a beer in his hand. We made eye contact, and he turned to walk toward me, signaling me with his hand to come over to him. Not wanting contact, I brushed past him as he started to speak to me, saying, "Sorry sir, but I don't think I can help you" as I walked away.

I was sincerely hoping I had seen the last of him, but, when I left the restroom to return to the stands, he was still there. When he saw me, he moved directly in front of me in a deliberate attempt to block my path. I feigned to the left, then jogged to the right as I had been taught. It caught him off guard, but he then turned to run after me. He caught up with me and again got in front and blocked my path. He started pushing me and shouting curses. Curiously, his state of "drunkenness" began to look more and more like an act.

For a moment, I though he had me mixed up with someone else, but I soon discovered the real story. As I, in my interview stance, attempted to maneuver around him, I snapped my head around in order to look behind me. Sure enough, there was a second man moving rapidly in an attempt to flank me. I now saw that I was being maneuvered into a corner in a dark area of the building. The "drunk" was just a decoy, placed there to absorb my attention. I was being set up.

With this new information, I moved aggressively in an effort to "stack" both attackers, one behind the other, all the time shouting at them to get away from me. It worked! They abruptly broke it off when they could see their plan was not working. Taking advantage of the pause, I quickly got distance and exited the area. When I looked back, I could see both men walking together back toward the main entrance.

I rejoined my wife and friends and we continued our evening. I never saw the two suspects again.

I am convinced that aggressive verbal and postural disengagement, combined with constant alertness and scanning, prevented me from being cornered and forced to confront both suspects at gunpoint. However, I am (finally) taking your advice and am now carrying OC, in addition to my pistol, as my standard procedure. During the encounter, I was sincerely wishing I had an OC bottle with me. I won't make that mistake again."

Lesson: Avoidance, combined with alertness and aggressive physical and verbal disengagement, is something that we all need to practice as enthusiastically as we practice out shooting skills. Most situations in which a gun has to be drawn and brandished are avoidable if we (1) arrange not to be places where victimization attempts are likely, (2) employ a bearing and posture that gets us continuously deselected by predators, (3) see trouble in the making well in advance and take assertive steps to avoid it, (3) disengage aggressively when, notwithstanding the forgoing, we are selected for victimization.

Our student did well. Good show!

/John