your currency can influence and change his actions.
When you think of all the ways that attacks could resolve themselves, you can see that many outcomes do exist in a sort of alternative universe. That phrase strikes many people as fantasy or science fiction, yet there's a more grounded way of looking at it: The alternative universe is merely the infinite range of possibilities and potentialities arising out of this present moment. And this moment right now is our last opportunity to influence what happens next.
For example, in this moment you can choose to walk right or left, and that seemingly small decision changes everything: What you'll see, whom you'll encounter, what thoughts will arise, what options you'll have, what options you'll forfeit. Figuratively and literally, a universe of possible outcomes emerges, and the only time in which we can influence events is the current moment.
Talking about such things as a "tactical mindset" might be more welcome to the Western mind than considering an alternate universe, however, during an actual emergency, any mindset is itself out of the moment. There's no benefit to anything being set , least of all the mind.
When not present in the Now, you become aware of events and options after they occur, after they are no longer possibilities or opportunities -- and for our purposes as protectors, that's too late.
When we really land in the present moment, that is where options are revealed; that is when we're propelled far ahead of unworthy adversaries. And sometimes, there, we get a tactical inspiration that doesn't come from thinking. It comes from really being in the event as it is still occurring. In effect, the Now is a door to the universe of possible outcomes -- and we are truly protectors only when that door is kept open.
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[?] Stress inoculation is a complex topic which we are only briefly touching on here. Readers will benefit from the far more thorough exploration available in two excellent books: Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's book On Combat, and Bruce Siddle's Sharpening the Warriors Edge.
+ Consider reading An Assasin's Diary, Arthur Bremer, 1972; it contains many observations useful to protectors.
"I am, at the very most, 35 feet from my target. In the 5th row. Too far to risk. Need a sure shot. Can't kill Nixy-boy if you ain't close to him."
Arthur Bremer, shooter of presidential candidate George Wallace
Space
Chapter 4
Essential Lessons of this Chapter:
Every location contains inherent advantages and disadvantages; whatever hand you are dealt can be improved by advance work, set-up, and positioning.
For most types of attack, 25-feet of space between attacker and target just about assures the protectee's survival.
In team sports, the game is primarily about moving objects through space. Similarly, most attacks on protected persons are about moving objects through space -- but the objects are usually bullets.
In football, baseball, hockey, basketball, rugby, and soccer, the whole team seeks to prevent an individual from reaching a goal. Even though many team members might be involved in the overall effort, there are times in every game when it comes down to one person charging through or around a whole group of opponents. Those competing might be gifted and capable athletes, the teams might have trained together for years, they might be supported by a variety of advisors and coaches and technologies -- and yet still they cannot reliably prevent that one person from prevailing. Even though everyone knows the opposing team's precise intent, and everyone knows roughly what strategies they'll apply, and everyone sees it happening -- they still can't reliably stop it from happening. Take the task of interfering with a player carrying or lobbing an obvious object like a basketball, and compare it to the task of interfering with a bullet discharged from a small, concealable device. One quickly grasps just how
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