Page 12 - Pat O'Keeffe Combat Kick Boxing

Combat Kick Boxing

Colour Coding

White: Switched Off.
This is the everyday frame of mind that most people inhabit. Switched off,
unaware, distracted, call it what you will, it might just as easily be called victim
mode.
Yellow: Switched On.
This is the frame of mind you might be in when crossing a busy road. You are not
frightened, but you are aware of the potential danger and you naturally switch on
by looking and listening. Incidentally, most mothers with young children are
continually in ‘Yellow’ state.

Orange: Specific Threat.
This is where you are personally involved. You might be in ‘White’ state talking
to friends in a pub when suddenly you hear an argument at the other end of the
bar. Your awareness increases – you have just switched to ‘Yellow’ state. Now one
of the people arguing notices you looking and says, ‘What the **** are you looking
at?’ You are specifically threatened and have just switched to ‘Orange’ state.

Red: It’s Happening!
You are being attacked. Most victims of crime go from ‘White’ state to ‘Red’ in
one swift, pain-filled, bewildering moment. However, many situations escalate
slowly and the more aware you are, the greater chance you have of avoiding them
and leaving the area.
Predators in the wild are always on the lookout for the old, sick, young, isolated
and the unaware. Equally, the modern city predator uses the same markers. In a
study in America criminals were asked to view a film of an ordinary street full of
people and pick out their likely targets. Although these criminals were tested
separately, they repeatedly picked out the same individuals.
In the area where I live a new modus operandi has been developed that is
proving very profitable for teams of muggers.
One gang member will scout for the group by watching for customers using
credit cards or large sums of money. He or she will pick their moment to move in
and mark the clothing of the potential victim with chalk, usually around the
shoulder area.
The main gang will be waiting down the street. When a chalk-marked person
passes them, they will follow, pick their spot and attack, knowing that their victim
has profit potential.
There are many variations on this theme, but they all boil down to the same
pattern: the mugger has weighed your ability to defend yourself, assessed the
profit potential and picked an ambush point that affords a clear advantage. Given
that muggers often outnumber their victim and are usually armed, the odds are
clearly stacked in their favour.

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