23 Nov 99
Good individual tactics work! This is from a friend in the Northwest who just completed one of our Courses:
“I was at an intercity gun shop. As I stepped outside the building, I noticed two men slovenly dressed and grimy, nonchalantly leaning up against the building. As I walked past them and to my car, one approached me from the front, and the other from behind. Because I was looking around (per my training), I saw both, and they knew it.
One of them had a pair of pliers in his hand. The other had his hands buried in his pockets. They both approached within twenty-five feet and stopped. One asked, “Do you have some cash for a fella down on his luck?”
I immediately stepped back toward my car, creating another six feet of distance and went into my Interview Stance, with my left hand slightly out in front, holding onto a can of OC (that I had retrieved from my vest pocket). I can’t believe how quickly and automatically I went into the stance, and I did it all without thinking about it, just as I was trained.
I paused in that position for few seconds, then moved laterally getting closer to my car, all the while continuing look around.
I politely but assertively said ‘Gentlemen, I can’t help you. I’m asking you to step away from me and move on your way. So, please gentlemen . . . MOVE ALONG!’
The appearance and assertive stance stopped both of them cold in their tracks. Their entire posture and demeanor changed. I saw them transformed from predator to crybaby, right before my eyes! The aggressive body language displayed by both men instantly withered as they stumbled backward.
I scanned the area once again and confidently walked back inside the building.
The store owners witnessed the entire event. They said these guys had been hanging out around the store for a while had hassled several other customers. I was puzzled that they had not warned me or run these people off themselves.
But I realized these kinds of individuals are in this area all the time. So, I guess the morale of this story is:
DON’T EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE CARE OF LIFE’S PROBLEM FOR YOU, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO DO FOR OURSELVES WHAT NO ONE ELSE IS WILLING TO DO!”
Well said and well done!
/John
