SELF DEFENSE: The Six Areas of Unfair Advantage You Need to Pursue

If you ever need to defend your life or the lives on those under your care, you want to have the advantage over the aggressor. You want all your capabilities and faculties to give you an “unfair advantage” over them.

In a sense if they are threatening your life, any response you take is “fair” as they’ve forfeited their right to life by attempting to take yours.

The Six Areas to Gain Unfair Advantage

1. Your Mental state
2. Training
3. Equipment
4. Ready-access, Deployment, and Time
5. Your Physical state
6. Network / Team

The natural inequality and scarcity of the world mean that not all of us can attain the same level for all six areas. However, you should attempt to max each of these to the best of your ability, within prudence.

For instance, you might have a small stature, poor vision, low muscle mass, be alone and awakened out of sleep, but you can overcome those limitation with better equipment and training.

As the old Colt quip goes…

God made man. Sam Colt made them equal”

Let’s break down the six areas of Defensive Advantage:

1. Your Mental State

This means many things: presence and clarity of mind, the ability to judge a situation, quickness to act, awareness of surroundings, forethought before entering a situation, pre-planning, and entertaining possible scenarios.

Do you freeze when confronted with a surprise or are you able to jump in with decisive action? Inaction is usually deadlier than sub-optimal action.

Take stock of the above items, how prepared are you mentally?

2. Training

This adage…

We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.”

…is absolutely true. However, the good news is most criminals have not trained extensively with firearms and defensive techniques.

In a typical defensive scenario you are already at a disadvantage due to the enemy having the element of surprise. Training is one of the best ways to gain back an advantage. You should be very familiar with the use and function of your equipment.

Besides just effective firearms handling, training in: de-escalation, medical care, and scenarios, are all invaluable. Don’t discount dry fire practice, drawing and holstering, movement, and other training you can do without actually shooting.

Paying for training is an easy decision, if you are bothering to have equipment.

3. Equipment

This is one of the easiest of the six because all you need is armchair research and money. The mistake is thinking because you have a Glock stowed somewhere in your closet which you pull out and admire once a year, that it will magically come to your aid.

However, if you do not actually have the implements of an effective defense, you’re severely limited in your options and flight might be your most prudent course.

Look for a forthcoming article on the levels of defensive equipment arsenal to see our building block suggestions -from pocket knife to handguns, to rifle, ammo, and on.

At a high level, here is what you need to consider for equipment:

For guns:

• Caliber – What size round will be effective? Can you handle the recoil? Is it widely available?
• Magazine capacity – Higher is better. When you take into account you will miss and there could be multiple threats, how many rounds you can quickly bring to bear is key.
• Platform / Format – Handgun, shotgun, rifle, etc. each one has strengths and weaknesses. If you can only have one, a semi-auto handgun is a great choice. However, there is a reason most professional soldiers talk about your handgun is what you use to fight to get to your rifle.
• Rate of fire – A semi-auto handgun can quickly send out a dozen deadly emissaries. A bolt action rifle, pump shotgun, or revolver can only do so much.
• Recoil management – If a gun is painful to shoot, you won’t train with it, and you won’t be as effective. A gun with managed recoil lets you get back on target faster and in general you will shoot more accurately.
• Reliability – One of the worst disadvantages you could encounter is your gun malfunctioning or breaking. Your holster needs to be SOLID too.

For Equipment in general, think about:

• Medical supplies (tourniquets, med kit)
• Ammunition
• Communication (phones, radios)
• Hearing protection and enhancement
• Flashlights
• Body armor

Assess your levels of equipment and staging in these categories:

• Every-day-carry (EDC) – basically, what you generally have on you (pocket knife / multi-tool, conceal carry gun, phone, wallet, pen, etc.)
• In-vehicle – med kits, tools, blankets, zip ties, jumper cables, duct tape, etc.
• Go-bag – A backpack you might travel with in your day-to-day. Could contain more supplies like the above and even a carbine / small format rifle.
• Bug-out bag – What you need if you choose to leave home. Think camping.
• Home supplies / Bug-in – For most people this is the place of greatest advantage and safety. You can have all kinds of equipment at the ready: ammo, food, extensive kits of all of the above.

4. Ready-access, Deployment, and Time

You can have had great training, but if you don’t have your equipment on your person or handily deployed, that may not matter.

There is a fascinating Warrior Poet video interview with Stephen Willeford who stopped a mass murderer in the worst mass shooting Texas had ever experienced.

In order to respond, he had to access his safe to grab his AR-15, but then he had to take time to load mags!

I can promise you, he now has mags at the ready and doesn’t need to fumble with loading should he ever happen to be unexpectedly thrust into an altercation again.

The same concepts of readiness apply more so outside the home. If you conceal carry, you should carry as much and as often as you are able.

For home defense, how much time do you really think you have from a threat attempting entrance? Firearms at your fingertips is a delicate balance, and protecting access from robbers, guests, and children are very real concerns. There are ways to overcome this; you just need to honestly assess and plan beforehand.

When considering defending a house, there are ways you can buy time and decrease the potential to be surprised. Look into kick guards, lighting, alarm systems, dogs, and of course just making your house look like a tough target.

5. Your Physical State

This is last on my list because, for many, the ability to change this is not possible. The disabled, weak, or elderly are not always able to improve their physical state.

For those who are able to improve their physical state, leading a healthy life that allows you to respond and save lives is a noble opportunity you should chase.

Some of the Physical State advantages you can improve

• Your Cardio (can you run a mile without flopping down in pain?)
• Muscle mass and ability to move things
• Agility / flexibility
• Reflexes and muscle memory
• Even how you dress yourself and what shoes you wear can put your physical state at different levels of advantage.
• Do you have extra fat that puts a strain on all of the above?

6. Team / Network

Often forgotten in these discussions, but having one person with you or even a network of people in proximity, is a massive defensive advantage.

There is strength in numbers. This applies to going on an errand solo or to being at home. Those around you, like family and friends, are an asset.

It is said that one big differentiator in a catastrophe is your network. Are there people you can depend on and mutually assist?

Imagine taking on a roving band of five thugs. If you had one other person with you who also has “unfair” advantages, you now have a force multiplier. It is the third brain concept: two people working on a problem together are oddly enough not 1+1=2, but more like 1+1=3+.

When you take stock of each of these areas, how are you doing? What are 2-3 actions you can take or habits you can form to increase your “unfair advantage”?