Threat Status

Honest evaluation as to your risks in your environment, i.e., home/neighborhood, work environment both inside your building and outside in the surrounding area’s especially in regard to the paths you take to and from parking location, bus stops or rapid transits used to go to and fro your home.

Look to your lifestyle as well because that, more than most things, will dictate the status and level of any threats you might encounter. Take into considerations your knowledge and experience levels as well in the arena of awareness be it threat, environment or any number of other awareness models you should, may or might need to keep the threats down. Do you like to party and do you go to clubs and bars where younger, testerone filled, people hank out, get chemically altered and tend to get aggressive especially in sport bars when games are on? If you do, consider that in your threat status assessment. 

What are your risks in all of these and many others not presented in this article? Set your threat status and then train, practice and apply what self-defense goals you feel are required. Just don’t forget that often your level may be where you play but the higher levels up to “survival” may still rear its ugly head in your level, etc., be prepared for it as it will usually be a complete surprise when it happens. 

One part of your awareness is your awareness of what you don’t know and what you don’t know you don’t know. The only way to overcome that is to study, study and study more and more and more sources that will educate you about conflict and violence. A good basic bare bones beginning is provided in the bibliography.