A thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof. A fact or statement taken for granted. An assuming that something is true. When teaching and training for self-defense often assuming that someone understands your meaning can be an assumption that leads to that persons misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that can lead to violence and failure.
When we assume someone fully understands and comprehends something as complex as “Situational Awareness and Self-Defense,” we leave that someone open to pain, suffering and possible death. In the following terse definition of situational awareness the author may, unintentionally, make the assumption that the students/practitioners are aware of what the “items and actions” are they need to scan for and determine if potentially dangerous.
“Situational awareness is the ability to scan an environment for items or actions that could be potentially dangerous. It allows us to alert to those items and behaviors and activate one's capacity to make intelligent decisions and actions in regard to that data based on one's training and experience.” ~ Limatunes’ Range Diary, Situational Awareness: The New Talisman dtd Tuesday, October 28, 2014
This would include making an assumption that the student also knows and understands what “behaviors” constitute a potentially dangerous situation. The student may have ideas of what they believe is situational awareness but do they know what that is as to “Items, actions, and behaviors” when they are in another different environment with different cultures, beliefs and tribal rules?”
Traveling, for what ever reasons, if it takes you outside your environment where you live, breath, work and play every day takes you to a whole new planet, i.e. environment with sometimes drastic differences in culture and beliefs along with rules and scripts of behavior both acceptable and unacceptable. If you are not knowledgable and capable of handling these kinds of differences then you are not situational aware and often times your actions can actually lead to violence rather than avoid conflict and violence.
Katei is about teaching about such assumptions. It is about Sensei becoming more “Aware” of what they teach, how they teach it and making sure that false assumptions, especially in regard to MA and SD, are not instilled giving a false sense of confidence and capability especially in the arena of “Situational Awareness.” Then there is that other awareness, “Environmental Awareness.” Wow, who knew it would be so complex and difficult?
Caveat: First, my MA knowledge and experience is pretty good. Second, my Self-defense knowledge is ok and getting better every day and my actual experience is very, very limited. I understand it, SD, and I can write about it but from a more academic perspective than reality simply because my encounters in the SD world can be counted on one hand and not all my fingers will be used. Third, most of my academic comes from sources that are considered both professionals and experts, as that is defined by my perceptions and perspectives. This post, by no means, is definitive or even complete simply because I have so much to learn and that does not include leaning the more physical aspects as applied to Self-defense. Finally, I am not an expert or professional in the arena of self-defense and all that is encompassed in that domain but I am knowledgable but also fallible. This is not the end all on this subject but rather a learning experience through the model of writing and receiving of comments out there in eLand and it is meant to stimulate the old grey cells in each reader in the hopes they do their own research and discovery. Never assume and never leave until you have dug deep and found that this subject actually has no limits on learning for its vastness is sometime daunting but doable. Now that I have my caveat out there, somewhat terse and incomplete as that may be, go forward and read, have fun with it and then go the distance!
p.s. Is my understanding of situational awareness full and complete? No way, but I have a good start. I know there is more to learn and I know that knowledge alone is not enough but practice in a reality based way, if possible, is needed to develop and encode that kind of behavior into the lizard. In addition, has anyone ever tried to use it when under stress and/or adrenal chemical effects? You might think that situational awareness is something that is often used most before any kind of adrenal stress dump or flood but doesn’t that flood occur the moment some intent, action or behavior signals the lizard that something dangerous is coming? Something to think about, yes?
p.s.s. Just because I pulled out Limatunes’ quote from the article/post does not mean that I am “dissing them” or saying what they are writing about this subject is wrong or incomplete because like many things second hand, i.e. an article written, they may actually teach the full spectrum to their practitioners/students so when those read it they already know the full and complete story. I am just using that quote as an example and means to show how things can fall to assumptions outside certain parameters. I really like the terse definition and the overall article, read it here, was really very good and informative. I just used the quote as a means to create an post of my own to show how assumptions can be difficult if not down right dangerous.
p.s.s.s. How many of us are actually “Aware” in our own environment? How many of us are stuck in our own personal world and are actually oblivious to our own environment? How many of us end up in conflicts and end up in socially driven violence and conflicts simply because we insist, no demand, that everyone else live within our beliefs and standards regardless because of our own sense of entitlement? If this is true and if it exists how can those folks achieve environmental awareness outside their own worlds, their own tribes and their own environments?
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