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Old 04-29-2010, 09:30   #1
BravoCharlie
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Managing Unknown Contacts

So, what does situational awareness mean? How do you do it?
...Only kidding. I simply find it humorous to lead off with that.

On a serious note, I had the chance to briefly train with a narcotics officer-turned SWAT capt (don't quote me on rank/title, head of his SWAT unit is all i recall) this past weekend on controlling the critical distance of "a couple arms length" and less when dealing with unknown contacts (hence the term "Managing Unknown Contacts" - a Southnarc-coined term). He began by demonstrating how easy it is to allow a stranger into your within-arms-reach zone and then how quickly, even when the vic expects it, that the BG can land a fatal strike with a blade et al. Interesting, of course, but not entirely new info, right?

What he went on to display was how to non-violently confront and handle strangers who may be approaching you; the emphasis was that you can't just pull out a concealed weapon every time a stranger walks up, but any one person can easily meander up next to you and position themselves in a way to be a violent actor against you - successfully. He also went through how you physically prepare yourself in situ on the occasion the stranger in fact turns BG.

I was quite impressed as he proposed and demonstrated a way to still assert strangers with kindness and keeping your safe distance. He demo'd maneuvering to detect any accomplices on impending attacks, ways to escalate the situation as appropriate, and other high-value means of staying safe as a "normal citizen".

I would highly recommend any civilian look into his methods (I'll link below) and see if you can't get some h2h time with him. Oh, and to address any potential concerns, I am in no way sponsored or endorsed for this post/publication.

Best,
BC

http://www.shivworks.com/

PS - One of his more enlightening and humorous stories of the often-abused "Situational Awareness" theme was when he was making street buys on the narc team. He had been on the street for a short while and came across a new act on a buy. He rolled up (in car) to the handy man, handy man comes up and starts talking the typical gibberish of "money first" vs. the buyer's "rock first." A few verses into this dialogue the buyer (our narc officer) hears a tap on his passenger side window, and being so SA he quickly turned to check it out, SA to the bone, right? Unfortunately, the second he turns his head to the right the handy man lands a solid sucker punch and takes the buy money. It brought about a good point of recognition for me in terms of not letting SA be a routine that refreshes every time you're in a new place/area, but a device that allows you to think as well as react - not just react.

Last edited by BravoCharlie; 05-03-2010 at 13:51.
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Old 05-03-2010, 12:51   #2
Razor
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Southnarc is a great trainer, and has been discussed here on a number of occasions. Just to be clear, "Managing Unknown Contacts" or MUC is a term he coined, and you should be sure to mention that if you use it somewhere to give credit where it's due.
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Old 05-03-2010, 13:55   #3
BravoCharlie
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Razor,

Good point - I should correlate the title of my post with it's creator/licenser instead of leaving it unattended. I did, however, make sure to search "managing unknown contacts" and "MUC" (i think i searched for muc... and being unsure about that is a flaw in all honesty) before posting so I didn't re-tread - hopefully I didn't miss any such existing posts. Have you had a chance to train with Southnarc? My brief experience with him (them?) was very impressive, but I'm curious to see what others' opinions are. Thanks again Razor.

Best,
BC
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Old 05-03-2010, 14:42   #4
JJ_BPK
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"i think i searched for muc... and being unsure about that is a flaw in all honesty) before posting so I didn't re-tread - hopefully I didn't miss any such existing posts." BC
In 10 seconds I found 10 posts mentioning "Southnarc", his classes, and web site.

Google Foo and SA are attributes that one cultivates,, much like a fine wine...
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Old 05-03-2010, 17:32   #5
BravoCharlie
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In 10 seconds I found 10 posts mentioning "Southnarc", his classes, and web site.

Google Foo and SA are attributes that one cultivates,, much like a fine wine...
Haha, I like that. And I concur JJ.

I too found those posts when I did my search, and reflecting on my intended goal of creating this thread, upon reading those I felt comfortable I would be introducing new information that was not of a repetitive nature. My goal was to provide a brief rundown of his "Managing Unknown Contacts" course/training, let others know it existed and it did very well (I thought) on addressing it's intended topic, and offer a convenient link to any new-to-Southnarc readers that would direct them to further information. Fully aware of the famliarity this community had with him it may have been wise to mention something to differentiate the goal of my post from a possible perception of complacent/lazy posting, or at least clarify to a better degree in my response to Razor that my search was focused on finding posts related to the topic of managing unknown contacts and not re-creating any information relating to that.

To be honest, my only real concern was possibly posting this in the wrong area of The Bear Pit. Again, all, please be at ease knowing I have heeded the all-powerful search button (and more thoroughly after being politely reminded by The Reaper during a gung-ho reply in the SF Questions area). I appreciate the constructive critiques and will ensure to employ lessons learned in the future.

I welcome any/all input and if I have unknowingly made any grave errors please pardon me and bring them to my attention. Thanks again gentlemen.

Best,
BC
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Old 05-04-2010, 22:25   #6
Blitzzz (RIP)
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"Managing Unknown Contacts"

"Managing Unknown Contacts", What are we talking about? Managing something you haven't seen or heard off....Best Answer is Alfred E. Newman "What me worry?"
Sorry if I'm a bit flip.
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Old 05-05-2010, 00:37   #7
ZonieDiver
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Originally Posted by Blitzzz View Post
"Managing Unknown Contacts", What are we talking about? Managing something you haven't seen or heard off....Best Answer is Alfred E. Newman "What me worry?"
Sorry if I'm a bit flip.
Be a bit flip if you wish, Blitzz. As far as I am concerned, the best way to "manage" unknown contacts is to be ready for any and everything... but I am an FOG and YMMV.
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Old 05-05-2010, 11:54   #8
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Have you had a chance to train with Southnarc?
Yup, and hope to do so again this fall. Good guy, good material, time and money very well spent.
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Old 05-17-2010, 19:26   #9
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Unfortunately, the second he turns his head to the right the handy man lands a solid sucker punch and takes the buy money. It brought about a good point of recognition for me in terms of not letting SA be a routine that refreshes every time you're in a new place/area, but a device that allows you to think as well as react - not just react.
IMHOO, one can't ever be 100% immune to misdirection. Even with experience-built intuition, instinct, luck, etc. That's why we train for worst case scenario. Hope for the best, expect the worst.
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Old 07-04-2012, 23:12   #10
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I've had the privilege of training with Southnarc now on several occasions. I've found him to be nothing but a consummate professional. My wife has even trained with him and he was nothing but instructive and professional with her. I cannot reccomend hik or his training enough. The MUC training maybe the single most important step to avoiding a fight in many cases when properly employed. I'm also fairly certain it's kept me and my wife out of trouble multiple times.

Glad to hear you enjoyed if as well.
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