The four domains of combat; lethal, physical, verbal, and situational/self-awareness, are critical to have in your skill set. Too often, people focus solely on lethal responses to danger, overlooking skills that can prevent threats in the first place. Proper situational and self-awareness can help you identify and avoid potential threats. While the chances of running into a lethal confrontation are lower than you might think, the likelihood of getting into a verbal or physical altercation is much higher. This is why mastering all four Domains of Combat is crucial for effective self-defense. There are accompanying videos for each Domain of Combat so be sure to check those out for further explanations and visual demonstrations.

Situational & Self Awareness

Situational awareness means paying attention to your surroundings and recognizing potential threats. This includes observing body language, movements, and facial expressions, as well as listening to what people are saying. Since 55% of communication is non-verbal, being attuned to these signs can help you spot and avoid danger. Self-awareness involves understanding your body’s responses, your senses/feelings, and actions. You also need to be aware of your own capabilities. Knowing when to stand your ground and fight or when to take cover and/or run can be a lifesaver.

Verbal Skills

Effective verbal communication can direct the outcome of a situation. The 4 D’s (Determine, De-escalation, Distract, and Diffuse) are key strategies for managing potential conflicts.  In using your situational and self-awareness above, you’ve determined what’s going on and you’ve decided on what to do. Hopefully, the situation can be handled with verbal de-escalation. This involves using compassion and empathy to understand the other person and possibly offering help if needed. Distraction can redirect or confuse the threat, buying you time. Confusion changes the threat's ability to observe, orient, decide and act (OODA loop), while Diffusion aims to reduce the situation's intensity. We do this by attempting to calm the threat. The 4D’s don’t have to be used in the order presented. Use whatever order needed for the situation. Getting a handle on these verbal skills can prevent many confrontations from escalating.

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Physical Skills

If verbal tactics fail, physical combat skills may be necessary. Keep in mind that, ideally you’ll want to work through your skill sets of situational/self-awareness and verbal de-escalation, but depending on the level of threat, you may need to go straight to the physical and/or lethal domains of combat. Being physically and mentally fit is imperative to effectively defend yourself. Regular practice in various combat techniques, whether stand-up, clinch, or ground fighting, ensures you are prepared for different scenarios. Still, you must know your areas of strength to direct the fight to where you have the advantage. As it is said, “The amateur practices till he gets it right; the pro practices till he doesn’t get it wrong”.

Lethal Skills

Lethal force is the last resort, used only when your life is in immediate danger and all other methods have failed. This can involve firearms, edged weapons, or any object that can be used to put a threat down. Being mentally prepared to take lethal action is important, and you must be fully committed to follow through on your decision. Additionally, having an after-action plan is a must. This includes knowing what to say to the police when they roll up on the scene. Many people purchase gun insurance/protection plans that will step by step direct you on how to handle the aftermath of a lethal situation. 

Closing

At Intuitive Self Protection, we teach preparedness, not paranoia. While we hope for the best, we encourage people to be prepared for the worst. People often forego combat training with the false belief that they will know what to do when a situation comes. This just doesn’t happen, which is why it’s important to train for real life situations. Find reputable instructors in your area so you can be better prepared for when something goes down. We offer an integrated fighting system originally developed for Military and Law Enforcement, but it’s now available for civilians. Let us help you strengthen your skills in pistol, rifle, empty-hand, and edged weapon fighting, ensuring you're ready for any situation.

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About The Author

Hank Hayes is a Combat Arts Hall of Famer and inventor of the No Lie Blade. He is the founder and CEO of both Intuitive Self Protection and NLB Tactical and creator of the ISP/NLB viscous fighting system. Since 1998, he has trained well over 30,000 Military and Law Enforcement personnel via Government contract mainly at the elite special teams level and continues to train both civilians and MIL/LE how to come home safe.