We often talk about having an awareness of our surroundings and the potential threats within them however having an awareness concerning yourself is also important i.e. how will you react and respond in a violent altercation, not how you like to think you will, but how you actually will. There are many range shooters who believe that simply carrying a gun is an answer to situations where there is an active shooter - they like to believe that they would respond in a certain way when placed in such a situation without actually taking the time to think whether they would engage or disengage (should the opportunity present itself) from it, if it actually happened. There are many martial artists who look on their prowess at sparring, and take from that, that because they managed to overcome their initial fears and reticence concerning this form of training that they wouldn\'t freeze, stall or stutter when confronted with a drunken, shouting behemoth who is denying you space and time etc. Don\'t get me wrong sparring has its place, as does time spent on the range however unless an individual actually considers and visualizes how they would respond in such situations they will never be able to transition from the training environment to the real world. 

The first thing to understand when dealing with violence is that your first response will be one of denial i.e. this can\'t be happening. If you don\'t think this is the case then you are already in a combat ready state (you\'ve identified the threat and are already formulating a response plan), or you\'re not being honest with yourself. If you were involved in an active shooter situation, such as the shopping mall in Kenya, where you were going about your business and then started to hear shooting, your initial response would be one of denial - especially if you\'ve not heard live fire in an urban setting - and you will search your mind for any other reason for the noise, other than one that might pose a threat to yourself. Are you aware of this? Are you aware that if a man with a gun suddenly burst into a movie theater you were sitting in, you wouldn\'t think it was a joke or prank? I have seen many people laugh in the face of violent individuals just because they couldn\'t accept the reality of the situation they were in and the only conclusion left to them was that the person must be joking. 

You may think you\'re trained but are you really? There is no substitute for real-life experience but at the same time few of us have it, and it does become rusty and to a certain degree out of date. The way to experience violence, without having to deal with it is through visualization. Visualization is not dreaming or imagining but constructing a reality in your mind and working through it - and it involves honesty; if you haven\'t/can\'t kick a gun out of somebody\'s hand don\'t put that in to your visualization process. Visualization here is to reinforce what you can do, and put it into a real world context. You must also acknowledge how you would naturally respond. 

Take a technique you have practiced in a classroom/studio setting e.g. 360 block and punch, and imagine a scenario that you could potentially face where somebody might throw a looping haymaker (where you would perform such a technique), such as when dealing with an aggressive drunk who bumped into you on the street, in a pub/club etc. In your mind assume your de-escalation/interview stance and imagine the conversation with them; go through what you would say to them, and imagine their responses. Visualize the drop of the shoulder and all the preliminary movements that have to happen before the punch is thrown, acknowledge the recognition time this takes, and then visualize your response. Understand that the confrontation doesn\'t end after your punch connects (imagine what this will feel like) and that you will need to continue your striking; imagine EVERY strike as a definite one, don\'t trail off the process with the idea of...\"and then I\'ll just throw some Hammer-Fists. Visualize each strike. Go through the whole process from start to finish, with your aggressor ending up incapable of continuing the fight. Feel your emotions as well. 

When you visualize you should do it from two perspectives: firstly from your own view, and then from those of third parties i.e. as if you are watching yourself. This process will also help you understand the situations in which you are likely to face potential threats as you have to create the situations where such realities occur. Nobody just pulls a knife on you, they first approach you etc. You must visualize what this looks like as well. 

When you consider that many of the individuals you will have to protect yourself from have first hand experiences of violence, and you probably do not,  you will need to gain those experiences through visualization.