This is what they teach you as a police officer, generally speaking. See as much as you can, know who is where, who doesn't fit in or is acting odd. Be aware of what's happening around you, etc. Good stuff.
great vid. glad to see others doing the same. it takes an extra 30 seconds to scan the room, find your spot and exit plan and then you can relax and enjoy your time there. I always say to the people that think its silly, that it will never happen to you until it happens to you.
Hey man, thanks for the video. I live in Johannesburg, South Africa, and situational awareness is something that I and all of my shooting/community policing/EDC buddies do. I like what you had to say but would just like to add the following: When I enter any establishment and choose my seat, in the first 30 seconds I establish a 'base-line' of what is 'normal' in that environment. For example, in a restaurant, normal behavior would be: patrons coming in and out of the front door and bathrooms, kitchen staff entering and exiting the kitchen, wait-staff walking about freely etc. This allows you to pick-up on anything out of the norm immediately. As an example of this, if you were to notice that no kitchen staff have either entered or exited the kitchen for sometime you might become concerned or if a man jumps through the window your alarm bells will immediately go off. Just my 2 cents.
I had this conversation with my wife last week, we covered exit strategy and taking cover if necessary. Good topic. I look forward to hearing the rest.
I have the same issue with the wife as Jason, she always wants to be the people watcher but for the wrong reasons, I am the people watcher outer! Good video man
My son and I were the only ones at the movie theater the other day…. it was creepy for both of us, but I scoped out the exits and made sure nobody was hiding behind us. I think I kinda scared him about it but its better to be safe than sorry. Always being aware of your surroundings is a good lesson even for a child to learn as well.
Good video Mike! I for sure try and sit where I can see as much of what's going on as possible. Being able to see the entrances and exits easily is important too
After working in Corrections for 3 years, and now in law enforcement, I always like having a seat where I can see at least 2 enturies and exits. Prefer to have a window seat, that way if something catches my eye outside, I can have enough time to react.
I always try to scan around if I am exiting or entering a vehicle, at a stoplight (doors locked), or when at stores. Mostly it is habit, people used to mess with me all the time. Now, that I am older people don't bother me as much but when I was a teenager thru my mid twenties people would always try to randomly pick fights with me or randomly harass me when i was around town, oddly not in school, never had any problems with bullies it was always just when I was going about my business
I always try to make sure I sit where I can see the entrance and see as much of the room as possible at restaurants. Something my Dad always did and I picked up on it at a young age.
I try to scan all the people in the place where I'm eating, and try to sit facing the door. It gets harder to do with a little one cause you end up paying a lot more attention to them. I always try to remember to lock my door cause it's not new enough where it does it by itself.
I always think of where I sit. I always sit with my back to a wall. In crowds I always sit on the outskirts where I can survey the crowd. Am I paranoid? Yes, a little, but I prefer to think that I am aware. Also, I always look to see where the exits are and how easy they are to get to. I look over the crowd and determine who might be a threat. It's all about situational awareness, pay attention.
Great points. Seat choice is important. Also the cover of this video of you playing on your phone. I see so many people that live on their phones and are so oblivious to what's taking place around them.
Will I was in the Navy, I spent about a year and a half of that working for the Security department on board my ship, every week or every other week we would be in some kind of training and in every single training course we took, there was training on situation awareness, they hammered it into us... Looking back now I'm glad they did, my awareness has lessened since my time in the Navy, but I still do simple things like constantly look around me, take note of what people are doing, try to spot if someone is acting out of sorts, and sit to where myself, or someone I'm with is facing the entrance/exit so we can see whose coming through the door, or site where if someone had to come around a corner (My local IHOP has a partitioned section) I can see them coming and can hopefully react fast...
I'm in college so of course it is a "gun free zone"lol, so I like to sit on the outer row closest to the aisle for a quick escape from a mass shooter. Something that is great about my university is that our students pushed, voted, and passed a new policy that will allow students with concealed carry permits to carry on campus. This will be enacted July, 2017.
My wife has a knack for taking the prime spot just out if happenstance. I try not to make a big deal out of it because she sometimes gets annoyed. I've gotten good at looking in reflections of windows to see what's going on behind me. Also, since the baseline IS often having your phone out while you're waiting for your server or whatever, you can use the reflection on your phone screen or your front facing camera to see what's happening behind you. It's much easier to just be sitting in the right place though! More videos on situational awareness please!
Yeah, I definitely don't make a fuss about it if we don't get seated in an 'ideal' location - but if given the option, I'll try to choose a more situationally ideal spot.
When I go somewhere with my wife and kids they ask where I'm going to sit because they know I'm going to sit where I can watch the room we are at. They thought it was funny in the beginning but now it's just an normal practice.
Brandon_ 7.62x39 Even though I'm asked where I'm going to sit, my wife and kids still sit down first like any family man should do. If there's a chair where my wife is going to sit I move it out for her and push it in when she sits down.
Last Line Of Defense im not of eligible age yet but they day I turn 21 in getting my concealed handgun license. It an essential these days. Your videos have really inspired the way I wanna carry and the position I want to carry.
Exactly the same. On the rare occasion that we get to have dinner with a likeminded friend we subtly position our seats to face different entry points.
I always try to grab a seat where I can see what's going on. The problem is if say you go to a restaurant and they seat you, can't always get the corner table, but I do take the seat that lets me see the entrance/exit. The big thing for me, that I'm always "looking out for" is in my car. I'm always checking my mirrors when I'm sitting in there waiting for whatever.
Great video. Being 2 years until I can CC I always have find that fine line between seeing the whole room and and being in reach of the entrance when only being armed with a defensive blade. (Ka-Bar TDI for the win!)
I love the topic! I hope you are going to talk about what happens after you have the tactical seat and the bad guy comes in. I would like to hear comments and ideas on getting family involved to get out of the line of fire or dealing with an unaware friend. Thanks!!
I also always face the crowd/front door of the venue. I ask for the table closest to the kitchen as well. The mentality in sitting close to the kitchen is that by county code all restaurant kitchens must have a back door. Therefore, if the shit starts to hit the fan, I'm grabbing my wife and child and bolting out the back door. I'll call the cops when I get outside to safety. I will prevent having to pull my gun out in the middle of a crowded restaurant, as people will more than likely be running between me and the threat and make for a worse situation. No one will pay for your attorney to thank you!
I work as a detention officer in my local jail, so I especially need to do this, I constantly look at people's faces to see if I recognize them from being locked up. Luckily I live in a different county that I work so the potential for street retribution is substantially lowered
Sometimes if you can't get your ideal seat most places have huge glass windows you can see behind yourself from the reflection without being too obvious.
I've only watched a couple of your videos, but I love them, thus far! Situational awareness is a greater weapon, than weaponry, in most circumstances... (Sure, if you were hit by a bomb, there's not a whole lot that you can do to avoid it...) However, I have diffused multiple robbery attemps, while I was unarmed, simply by seeing what was coming at me ahead of time, and reacting so aggressively, that the aggressor could not comprehend what was going on! that's not to say that I should have been unarmed or that that would work in every case, but in my experience, when you start talking Street lingo, and stand up to a thug with the conviction to back yourself up at any cost, it works... And I'm only 5 foot 5, lol... :-) Anyway, thank you for your video - and I think situational awareness is something that is highly overlooked.
I was at a theater one afternoon with my dad a couple years ago sitting towards the top in the middle. Another middle aged man was sitting in the same row a few seats down from us. He had a backpack with him. Part way through the WWII movie he got up and exited through the door at the front of the theater near the screen, leaving his backpack in the seat. I waited about 30 seconds then got up and went to the concession stand in the lobby to tell them I was concerned. In the lobby I saw the man standing by the popcorn machine getting butter on his bag of popcorn, so I decided to walk over to him and ask why he had exited out the front door. He said he had wanted to smoke a cigarette before buying his popcorn, and saw me and figured his backpack was safe with my dad and I, that we wouldn't steal anything. I laughed at that point and told him that i was worried that he had left it because he was intending to blow something up, and wasn't coming back. He said Nope, he was on his way as soon as he had coke, and he was. Just goes to show situational awareness pays off.
also might want to do a clip for women like walking to cars at night or in a parking garage. my wife always looks between each car as she's walking to or from her car something she learned from taking a self-defense class.
I always sit so I'm facing the doors or main walkways but it can be very difficult sometimes because my partner and my friends don't really get the reasons behind it and dont care about it so sometimes won't move or deliberately sit where I want just to joke around with me lol.
I hate it if windows or glas walls are behind me... and I don't really like it, to have anybode I don't know, directly on the bench behind me... so I always, and I'm a pretty activ and known member in my church, sit in the back, because we have an little area there, near to exits, where you sit on chairs, not on benchs. I sit near to a pillar, where I could take cover, I can hear two exits and I even can see all three of them. I like that place! :)
Last Line Of Defense Thx, I like it very much. Even the heater/air conditioner is build in the floor of this place. So it's warm in the winter and fresh in the summer! :)
I never sit with my back towards the door, I also give the room a quick look over when I enter the room. And in the 90% of the clientele in the store or restaurant I don't have my head buried in my phone.
Everywhere I go, I profile every single person in the immediate area and keep my exit routes available. If someone seems a bit off, I mentally tag them and stay in an elevated condition yellow. If it is a group of people, I just do what i need to do and leave the premises asap to avoid a potential liability.
Talking about situational awareness when seating, remember it when you are seated in your car also m.wsfa.com/wsfa/db_344805/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0wskPhjj
Yeah, my wife actually has such good situational awareness that she automatically sits in the less ideal seat when she's with me, cause she knows where I want to sit, haha.
Whenever I drive I always sit behind the steering wheel (sometimes facing it) just in case.
This is what they teach you as a police officer, generally speaking. See as much as you can, know who is where, who doesn't fit in or is acting odd. Be aware of what's happening around you, etc. Good stuff.
great vid. glad to see others doing the same. it takes an extra 30 seconds to scan the room, find your spot and exit plan and then you can relax and enjoy your time there. I always say to the people that think its silly, that it will never happen to you until it happens to you.
Hey man, thanks for the video. I live in Johannesburg, South Africa, and situational awareness is something that I and all of my shooting/community policing/EDC buddies do. I like what you had to say but would just like to add the following: When I enter any establishment and choose my seat, in the first 30 seconds I establish a 'base-line' of what is 'normal' in that environment. For example, in a restaurant, normal behavior would be: patrons coming in and out of the front door and bathrooms, kitchen staff entering and exiting the kitchen, wait-staff walking about freely etc. This allows you to pick-up on anything out of the norm immediately. As an example of this, if you were to notice that no kitchen staff have either entered or exited the kitchen for sometime you might become concerned or if a man jumps through the window your alarm bells will immediately go off. Just my 2 cents.
I had this conversation with my wife last week, we covered exit strategy and taking cover if necessary. Good topic. I look forward to hearing the rest.
Justin Hunter And now two years after your post exit and cover strategy are more important than ever.
I have the same issue with the wife as Jason, she always wants to be the people watcher but for the wrong reasons, I am the people watcher outer! Good video man
Just gotta convince her that the only view she needs is of your handsome face!
My son and I were the only ones at the movie theater the other day…. it was creepy for both of us, but I scoped out the exits and made sure nobody was hiding behind us. I think I kinda scared him about it but its better to be safe than sorry. Always being aware of your surroundings is a good lesson even for a child to learn as well.
Good video Mike! I for sure try and sit where I can see as much of what's going on as possible. Being able to see the entrances and exits easily is important too
After working in Corrections for 3 years, and now in law enforcement, I always like having a seat where I can see at least 2 enturies and exits. Prefer to have a window seat, that way if something catches my eye outside, I can have enough time to react.
I completely agree that situational awareness is your most important tool. Great video! I look forward to more in the future.
I always try to scan around if I am exiting or entering a vehicle, at a stoplight (doors locked), or when at stores. Mostly it is habit, people used to mess with me all the time. Now, that I am older people don't bother me as much but when I was a teenager thru my mid twenties people would always try to randomly pick fights with me or randomly harass me when i was around town, oddly not in school, never had any problems with bullies it was always just when I was going about my business
I always try to make sure I sit where I can see the entrance and see as much of the room as possible at restaurants. Something my Dad always did and I picked up on it at a young age.
good topic. nicely done.
I try to scan all the people in the place where I'm eating, and try to sit facing the door. It gets harder to do with a little one cause you end up paying a lot more attention to them. I always try to remember to lock my door cause it's not new enough where it does it by itself.
I always think of where I sit. I always sit with my back to a wall. In crowds I always sit on the outskirts where I can survey the crowd. Am I paranoid? Yes, a little, but I prefer to think that I am aware. Also, I always look to see where the exits are and how easy they are to get to. I look over the crowd and determine who might be a threat. It's all about situational awareness, pay attention.
Last line of defense you need to continue with this series!!
Great points. Seat choice is important. Also the cover of this video of you playing on your phone. I see so many people that live on their phones and are so oblivious to what's taking place around them.
Will I was in the Navy, I spent about a year and a half of that working for the Security department on board my ship, every week or every other week we would be in some kind of training and in every single training course we took, there was training on situation awareness, they hammered it into us... Looking back now I'm glad they did, my awareness has lessened since my time in the Navy, but I still do simple things like constantly look around me, take note of what people are doing, try to spot if someone is acting out of sorts, and sit to where myself, or someone I'm with is facing the entrance/exit so we can see whose coming through the door, or site where if someone had to come around a corner (My local IHOP has a partitioned section) I can see them coming and can hopefully react fast...
I think this all the time. How has this channel not blown up. awesome quality videos great tips and no internet operator here! keep it up !
I'm in college so of course it is a "gun free zone"lol, so I like to sit on the outer row closest to the aisle for a quick escape from a mass shooter. Something that is great about my university is that our students pushed, voted, and passed a new policy that will allow students with concealed carry permits to carry on campus. This will be enacted July, 2017.
My wife has a knack for taking the prime spot just out if happenstance. I try not to make a big deal out of it because she sometimes gets annoyed. I've gotten good at looking in reflections of windows to see what's going on behind me. Also, since the baseline IS often having your phone out while you're waiting for your server or whatever, you can use the reflection on your phone screen or your front facing camera to see what's happening behind you. It's much easier to just be sitting in the right place though!
More videos on situational awareness please!
Yeah, I definitely don't make a fuss about it if we don't get seated in an 'ideal' location - but if given the option, I'll try to choose a more situationally ideal spot.
Never really thought about this. You just made me realize multiple mistakes. Thanks bro
When I go somewhere with my wife and kids they ask where I'm going to sit because they know I'm going to sit where I can watch the room we are at. They thought it was funny in the beginning but now it's just an normal practice.
Scott LaMountain I've had to train my wife. It's worked well, now she immediately goes to the back to the room or waits for me to sit first
Brandon_ 7.62x39 Even though I'm asked where I'm going to sit, my wife and kids still sit down first like any family man should do. If there's a chair where my wife is going to sit I move it out for her and push it in when she sits down.
My wife automatically does it too. It was weird for her when we were dating but now it's automatic, and it makes her more aware too.
Let's see some more videos like this! Would love to have yours (and your commenters) advice and tips in various situations. Keep 'em coming.
My wife thinks I'm "silly" but I always take the seat that allows me to see the room, not the wall.
Smart man
Last Line Of Defense im not of eligible age yet but they day I turn 21 in getting my concealed handgun license. It an essential these days. Your videos have really inspired the way I wanna carry and the position I want to carry.
Exactly the same.
On the rare occasion that we get to have dinner with a likeminded friend we subtly position our seats to face different entry points.
my wife is good enough that i could sit facing the wall and not worry about my back
Jason Paul my wife thinks I'm silly cause I wear big goofy looking glasses with mirrors on the side so I can see the wall while I face the room..
I always try to grab a seat where I can see what's going on. The problem is if say you go to a restaurant and they seat you, can't always get the corner table, but I do take the seat that lets me see the entrance/exit. The big thing for me, that I'm always "looking out for" is in my car. I'm always checking my mirrors when I'm sitting in there waiting for whatever.
Great video. Being 2 years until I can CC I always have find that fine line between seeing the whole room and and being in reach of the entrance when only being armed with a defensive blade. (Ka-Bar TDI for the win!)
Great video. I definitely pay more attention in recent years & carry every day 👍🏻
Smart phones are working against awareness all the time. Don't sit in a good 'tactical' spot, then stare at your phone.
or take a quick peek at your phone while walking around in the dark...
Night vision decimated for a good minute or two
Great video, I am always aware of my surroundings no matter where I am at. And always cover your six.
I love the topic! I hope you are going to talk about what happens after you have the tactical seat and the bad guy comes in. I would like to hear comments and ideas on getting family involved to get out of the line of fire or dealing with an unaware friend. Thanks!!
Whenever I go to Hooters or Tilted Kilt I always sit where I have a good vantage over the establishment for tactical reasons.
Spot on, great vid - thanks!
Excellent advice!!
I also always face the crowd/front door of the venue. I ask for the table closest to the kitchen as well. The mentality in sitting close to the kitchen is that by county code all restaurant kitchens must have a back door. Therefore, if the shit starts to hit the fan, I'm grabbing my wife and child and bolting out the back door. I'll call the cops when I get outside to safety. I will prevent having to pull my gun out in the middle of a crowded restaurant, as people will more than likely be running between me and the threat and make for a worse situation. No one will pay for your attorney to thank you!
I work as a detention officer in my local jail, so I especially need to do this, I constantly look at people's faces to see if I recognize them from being locked up. Luckily I live in a different county that I work so the potential for street retribution is substantially lowered
my wife has always thought I was odd to not want to sit with my back to ppl, it took a while but now she has gotten used to it.
good stuff, my family knows that I sit with back to wall and I am on the outside so i can get out of seat first. Family has been trained.
Sometimes if you can't get your ideal seat most places have huge glass windows you can see behind yourself from the reflection without being too obvious.
Wtf RUclips, I'm not getting these videos.
Too good to miss
I've only watched a couple of your videos, but I love them, thus far! Situational awareness is a greater weapon, than weaponry, in most circumstances... (Sure, if you were hit by a bomb, there's not a whole lot that you can do to avoid it...) However, I have diffused multiple robbery attemps, while I was unarmed, simply by seeing what was coming at me ahead of time, and reacting so aggressively, that the aggressor could not comprehend what was going on!
that's not to say that I should have been unarmed or that that would work in every case, but in my experience, when you start talking Street lingo, and stand up to a thug with the conviction to back yourself up at any cost, it works... And I'm only 5 foot 5, lol... :-)
Anyway, thank you for your video - and I think situational awareness is something that is highly overlooked.
Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for watching!
Very true, I've always done this and sized up all the folks in a joint since I was a teenager. Lol
I think is very important - always be aware must people aren't.
I am very good at that!
A friend was telling me about an officer who checks the exit doors in the movie theater to make sure they aren't propped open
I was at a theater one afternoon with my dad a couple years ago sitting towards the top in the middle. Another middle aged man was sitting in the same row a few seats down from us. He had a backpack with him. Part way through the WWII movie he got up and exited through the door at the front of the theater near the screen, leaving his backpack in the seat. I waited about 30 seconds then got up and went to the concession stand in the lobby to tell them I was concerned. In the lobby I saw the man standing by the popcorn machine getting butter on his bag of popcorn, so I decided to walk over to him and ask why he had exited out the front door. He said he had wanted to smoke a cigarette before buying his popcorn, and saw me and figured his backpack was safe with my dad and I, that we wouldn't steal anything. I laughed at that point and told him that i was worried that he had left it because he was intending to blow something up, and wasn't coming back. He said Nope, he was on his way as soon as he had coke, and he was. Just goes to show situational awareness pays off.
also might want to do a clip for women like walking to cars at night or in a parking garage. my wife always looks between each car as she's walking to or from her car something she learned from taking a self-defense class.
I always sit so I'm facing the doors or main walkways but it can be very difficult sometimes because my partner and my friends don't really get the reasons behind it and dont care about it so sometimes won't move or deliberately sit where I want just to joke around with me lol.
Great video topic, sucks that we have to/feel the need to do this, but the way the world is these days you never know what could happen.
yep, always on yellow & like to see entrance.
I hate it if windows or glas walls are behind me... and I don't really like it, to have anybode I don't know, directly on the bench behind me... so I always, and I'm a pretty activ and known member in my church, sit in the back, because we have an little area there, near to exits, where you sit on chairs, not on benchs. I sit near to a pillar, where I could take cover, I can hear two exits and I even can see all three of them. I like that place! :)
Sounds like a good spot!
Last Line Of Defense Thx, I like it very much. Even the heater/air conditioner is build in the floor of this place. So it's warm in the winter and fresh in the summer! :)
I never sit with my back towards the door, I also give the room a quick look over when I enter the room. And in the 90% of the clientele in the store or restaurant I don't have my head buried in my phone.
Everywhere I go, I profile every single person in the immediate area and keep my exit routes available. If someone seems a bit off, I mentally tag them and stay in an elevated condition yellow. If it is a group of people, I just do what i need to do and leave the premises asap to avoid a potential liability.
Yup, even though 'profiling' is pretty frowned upon in our politically correct country - it is a very important aspect of situational awareness.
Lol
good information....thx
Now i know why i sit at the back classroom.lol
It's to the point that my wife and kids know where I'll want to sit to get the best spot for situational awareness.
Suppressor video please!!!
so when are you going to finish your series on the AR-15?...yes I am aware of that situation.... ;)
digging the beard man!
Kurt Henrie lmao what beard
+Christmas Gummyworm haha well he's trying. Plus I'm not allowed to grow a beard anymore so I'm a bit jealous.
Kurt Henrie police?
Haha, I definitely couldn't grow a beard even if i tried - just some scruff.
Last Line Of Defense that's definitely a plus, think of all the money of razors you save
Talking about situational awareness when seating, remember it when you are seated in your car also
m.wsfa.com/wsfa/db_344805/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0wskPhjj
Great content, epic bed head;)
I do the same thing
I thought this was just called common sense.
You would be surprised how many people lack this simple concept.
Common sense isn't so common ;)
it took a bit but my wife does not think im crazy any mire for scanning just about every room i go in
Yeah, my wife actually has such good situational awareness that she automatically sits in the less ideal seat when she's with me, cause she knows where I want to sit, haha.
My wife gets on to me cause I'll usually ask her to switch with me if she sits in the seat with the better view of the place haha!
Who are you to give advice like this
Thanks for watching all my videos and taking the time to comment! 👌
who down-votes a video like this and why?
Idk, criminals? haha
It's to the point that my wife and kids know where I'll want to sit to get the best spot for situational awareness.