I'm just not sure that, if I were talking with a client who pulled a knife, that I would handle it the way I wanted to. Cuz I'm not wearin' my pj's & am well stretched.
I think you bring up an excellent point here, Iceman! I can relate to a lot of what you are saying. When I was younger, I hung out with rough friends, in rough places. I prided myself on never getting into fights, but when there was trouble, or a threat to my friends, I was quick to intervene, and let the rival boys know that they were messing with fire. I've had my friends call me up at home, in the middle of the night, to come bail them out of a bad situation.
Having gone into Law Enforcement, and the Security Industry, I have applied my Martial Art awareness, and preparedness in ways that most others do not. Some have labeled it as "paranoid," but as Henry Kissinger said,
"Even a paranoid has some real enemies!" I have had many of the same thoughts you are talking about with regards to what I'm wearing, what are the circumstances, and do I keep my mind on full alert even when I'm in a seemingly passive and safe environment.
I agree with what Infinite has said about watching for "triggers" or red flags so to speak, and responding accordingly, however I also believe that some things occur rapidly, with little or no warning. I also agree with Infinite that your many years of training will likely kick in, and you will be able to respond, and handle these kinds of situations better than you might think. There is always a feeling of uncertainty until the first time it happens.
I would like to specifically address those questions of clothing, stretching to be ready, and your mind-set in different situations. First, clothing is always a concern. Our Martial Art uniforms ("P.J.s" as some would say) give plenty of room for moment. If you choose to wear tight jeans when casual or dress pants when at work, these might not allow certain kicks, or freedom of movement in all directions. Slick street shoes, or heavy boots can throw off your well-rehearsed defense tactics. I choose to dress in loose fitting clothes, or flexible material whenever I can (that's why Chuck Norris came out with the "kicking jeans" - :ultracool ).
In reality, you need to train at times in street type clothes, and practice doing effective defense with limited movements. Often, due to environment such as office furniture, slippery floors, or icy sidewalks (like our current winter weather here in Michigan) you have to adjust the type of tactics you would use. If you train regularly, you should be able to do most techniques while "cold," without a warm-up stretch, with the possible exception of a head-high kick, but you wouldn't need to do that anyhow.
The main thing is being mentally prepared. If you
do let your guard down at all, because of the relatively calm environment, then you might be vulnerable to a surprise attack. How do you prepare your mind without becoming paranoid? Here is the difference in my way of thinking. I am always looking at everyone in every situation I am in and taking mental note of how they could possibly attack me, and what my response might be. At any given moment, in any normal daily situation, I might mentally run through a dozen different scenarios where a friendly person suddenly lunges with a weapon, or terrorists crash though a window with swords and automatic weapons. I briefly plan out my options, then move on with whatever task is at hand.
The difference between my constant state of preparedness and a paranoid mind, is that I know these things are very unlikely to happen, but I choose to be prepared for anything, whereas a paranoid person actually believes these things are going to happen. When walking down the street, a paranoid person is convinced that there is someone around the next corner waiting to attack. I, on the other hand, do not believe there is someone there, but I acknowledge that there could be, thus I prepare my mind to respond if there actually is someone there who attacks me.
It's a fine line, but an important one to go as close to the line as possible without crossing over it. Any gap between you and the line of possibilities leaves you vulnerable to some kind of danger - however rare that might be. Crossing over the line of paranoia, places you in constant stress and fear, which is another way to tell if you are on the wrong side of the line. I am always relaxed and calm when I imagine what could occur, and try to remain that way if anything does actually happen.
CM D.J. Eisenhart
