I wrote recently about the preference for the term self preservation over self-defense. Self-Preservation is far more overarching and applicable, and as I wrote in that article, it is very multifaceted with many aspects to cover.

While the easily understood things like firearms usage, Empty hand skills, Knife methods, OC spray, etc., are all needed, we also need to look at our financial health, Mental and emotional health and stability, our relationships with others, proper vehicle maintenance and defensive driving, as well as medical and dental needs. All of these things are a must to live a happy and productive life, with longevity and the ability to enjoy that longevity. 

Of all the different components of Self-Preservation, I would strongly argue that Pre-Fight Threat Containment is the most important area we can work on, and the one most needed to keep us safe. This can cover things like De-escalation, verbal judo, managing unknown contacts, Situational awareness, understanding how violent criminal acts think and act, and having a mindset that understands reality of the world, as well as a determination of how we will conduct ourselves as needed (are we willing to use force – up to lethal – to defend ourselves?). 

And if Pre-Fight Threat Containment as a whole category is the most functional (and it is),  then the most critical part is what is called Deselection. It is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the training community, but tends to be very nebulous. What exactly is covered by this term, and how do we use it? 

Essentially, at its core, Deselection means that bad guys view you as not a good choice to victimize. They look at you and decide to look elsewhere for a victim. It is not necessarily that you need to look like some Apex Predator. That is not realistic for 99% of the population, and even if you are in the 1%, there are always more Apex Predators. It is not a singular thing so it alone does not ensure safety. 

The late, great William Aprill lectured on how bad guys have a very binary decision making tree. They look at a potential victim and if they think “yes”, it’s on. But if they don’t have a positive “yes”, then it is a hard “no. They don’t think “maybe”. If it is not obviously yes, then it’s a no-go. So for us, all we need is not to be a hard “yes”. 

Fortunately for us, thanks to decades of scientific research, we know what a hard “yes” looks like. 

The seminal and groundbreaking study “Attracting Assault: Victim’s Non Verbal Cues” by Betty Grayson and Morris Stein from 1981 gives us what we need most. They discovered exactly what criminal predators look for in a good victim. Things like awkward movements while walking, poor posture, odd gait, head and eyes downcast (consciously as well as through poor posture), etc gave off strong signals to bad guys. 

This information leads us to the single best way to get ourselves deselected, in an inarguable and scientifically driven way.  Having a modicum of physical fitness will strongly push us into being deselected. Period. Read the above victim cues. They all are antithetical to having some fitness. When you are out of shape – too fat, too skinny, too heart or lung weak – all of the above characteristics will be you. They are an inevitable outgrowth of a poor level of fitness. On the other hand, when you have a reasonable level of bodyfat, have a little bit of muscle, heart, and lung strength, you will exhibit the exact opposite of the “victim traits”. Your posture automatically improves, you will have a steady and purposefully gait, and it will be almost subconscious to have your head up and eyes looking around at the world in front of you. Criminals may not look at you as some kind of dangerous predator, but they will not see prey. 

And no other aspect of a multi-disciplinary self-preservation skillset will give so much of the benefits of deselection as health and vitality will. Carrying that concealed handgun won’t in and of itself, and carrying openly will more likely make you a target rather than get you deselected. 

And this is not about walking around with 5% bodyfat, squatting 300lbs, being able to run a 10k. Those are for sure great examples of a great level of fitness, but we don’t need that. Remember the criminal binary decision tree. We just need to not be an obvious “yes”. 

This crucial concept is what is missed by all those voices online that desperately try to minimize how useful and important health and vitality is for Self-Preservation. They will use infantile Straw Man arguments and say things such as “people get through life and death encounters without fitness”, as if that means it is a good idea. Millions of people also survive violence without a gun. Does that mean the same anti-fitness people think we have no need to carry a gun to help defend ourselves? There are people who have fallen out of airplanes from hundreds of feet up and have survived. It does not mean that is something that should be striven for….

But most importantly, I DON”T WANT TO HAVE TO BE IN A LIFE AND DEATH FIGHT. Regardless of whatever skill level and capability I possess, or whatever amount of tools I carry on my person on a daily basis, I prefer to only exercise those skills in the training environment. If I can keep from being ever involved by a criminal because they have deselected me simply due to the fact that I exhibit a tiny level of health and vitality as I walk down the street, then right there that fitness (at whatever level) has saved me from potential death or grave bodily harm, and has kept me from having to endure the post fight legal battle. All simply because I took a little time away from shooting, and spent it doing health and vitality training. 

I don’t know how anyone could say that was not about as effective a self-defense tactic as there has ever been.