Shield's Up!

Your going about your daily business. You have the hairs on the back of your neck go tingly. Say out loud at a level your ears can hear yet not so loud anyone can actually perceive what you said and say, "Shield's UP!"

Your paying attention to your instincts, your intuition, your inner voice that is saying, "something is not right." Your shield's are up now that you spoke the words and your going to train yourself to do two things, open your awareness and keep moving.

Whether stationary or moving you start or keep moving. Say it out load in the same manner, i.e. "Shield's up - move."

Your awareness is peaked so you scan as you move. Say it out loud in the same manner, i.e. "Shield's up - move - scan."

About now your saying, "How embarrassing, I am not going say anything out loud - everyone will think I am nuts." Ok, but I can say that talking out loud will help you immensely to retrieve those actions and intent better and will assist in keeping your body and mind from freezing. Remember that to keep moving and scanning will assist you in keeping the vision from tunneling, it will keep you breathing since you have to in order to speak out loud, and your peripheral vision while scanning will pick up more. Important as well you will be less likely to focus on one thing that catches the eye thus tend to stop moving and remain stationary.

While you are speaking out loud, becoming aware, moving, and scanning you want to assume a SD kamae which says two things, 1 - Your are not a threat and 2 - you are not a victim. If you take some aggressive position be it stationary or moving the threat may take that as a challenge. If you fall into a body posture or movement that is viewed as submissive or fearful it also will promote the threat to attack.

I will put my arms up with one across my stomach and the  other with the elbow in my open hand and that arm's hand up under my face and chin in a position that says I am contemplating something or thinking seriously but accompanied with the scans, etc. will "tell" others I am not an easy target, I am not a victim.

In that position if I need to move fast to get away I can assume a Dracula pose (Rory: Sorry can't remember what you called it) so I can charge through any blocks or barriers, etc. to seek and get to safety. You know, Bela Lagosi pose with the cape when he approaches Abbot in Abbot and Costelo meet Dracula ... you know ....

This is another way to keep you out of a freeze and moving. I feel this is a good fundamental strategy to avoid dangerous situations. It is not meant as any type of protection agains really violent and unexpected attacks from predators. You can say if you are aware that your instincts and intuition would give just enough warning to get shield's up and all that other stuff. If you practice to do this it will become a bit more natural and instinctive so it will happen fast (I understand reading it makes it seem like a longer process but not really.).