Self Defence Strategy : Situational Intelligence

Staying Left of Bang

The U.S. Marine Corps Combat Hunter program was developed to solve a problem: how do you identify a threat before the attack happens? 

 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Marines faced ambushes, IEDs, and suicide bombers. By the time the explosion occurred—the moment they called "Bang"—it was already too late. The only way to survive was to detect the threat earlier, while it was still developing. To stay Left of Bang.

The Marines discovered that attacks are rarely spontaneous. There are almost always warning signs—pre-incident behaviours, anomalies in the environment, people who do not fit the baseline. The question was not whether these signals existed, but whether you could see them in time to act.

The same principle applies to personal safety. "Bang" might be a mugging, an assault, a confrontation that turns violent. Everything to the left of that moment is where you still have options. The further left you operate, the more control you have.

Situational Intelligence (S-INT™) is a complete system for personal safety  and self defence developed to reduce likelihood of assault and enable timely intervention and actions if necessary.

 It has two purposes: first, to do everything possible to stay Left of Bang—to detect threats early, avoid dangerous situations, and prevent problems before they develop. Second, to ensure that if a situation does occur despite your best efforts, you are you respond effectively and dynamically

Prevention is always the priority. But reality does not always cooperate, sometimes you do everything right and still end up facing a threat. When that happens, the same skills that support prevention—awareness, preparation, decisiveness—become the skills that help you survive. The goals is to always be the one acting not reacting

The system has six steps, and each one keeps you further left on the timeline:

• Context and Data Understanding your situtaion 
• Anticipation and Preparation (activating your readiness)
• Awareness Environmental awareness and sensitivity
• Action Decision Makes and Context Switching

The goal is to stay as far left as possible. Prevention is always preferable to response—by the time the attacker engages, your options and timeframe  have collapsed. But threats do not always announce themselves in time, sometimes, despite your best efforts, you end up at Bang. 

When that happens, the same awareness and preparation that could have prevented the situation now helps you take the right dynamic  action .

 

How this systems help you stay safe

• Earlier detection. You spot trouble before it reaches you—giving you time to avoid it.
• More options. The earlier you see a problem, the more ways you have to resolve it.
• Faster Action. Reduces impact of fight/freeze response and enable action..
• Better decisions. You choose wisely instead of reacting under pressure.
• Calm under pressure. Whether preventing or responding, you feel in control because you have a process.

Step One: Context

Context is the foundation. Your goal is to understand the situation you are entering, what you want from it, and what challenges come with it. By understanding the context early on you allow yourself plan appropriately and orient yourself to potential risks and options.

Element 1: Situation Type

Identify the type of situation. Each type has different characteristics and risks:

• Social. Parties, dates, nights out, gatherings with friends or strangers.
• Professional. Work events, conferences, business travel, client meetings.
• Transit. Commuting, walking, driving, public transport, parking structures.
• Unfamiliar. New cities, new venues, new people, places you have never been.
• High-risk. Isolated locations, late night, alcohol or drugs involved, known dangers.

Situations may be combinations of different types. A first date in an unfamiliar area at night combines social, unfamiliar, and high-risk elements. Naming the situation type tells you what kind of thinking is required.

Element 2: Desired Outcome

What is your objective for this situation? Defining your outcome focuses your preparation and helps you assess which risks matter most.

• Get home safely. The primary objective for transit situations.
• Enjoy yourself while staying safe. Social situations,First Dates
• Complete business objectives. Professional situations.
• Assess Person: First meetings, dates, new contacts.

Your outcome determines your priorities. Any risk that threatens your objective requires attention. Any decision that compromises your objective requires reconsideration.

Element 3: Inherent Challenges

Every situation type has built-in challenges—risks that are always present regardless of specifics:

• First date with someone new: Unknown person, possible isolation, social pressure to be polite, reluctance to seem paranoid.
• Walking home at night: Limited visibility, predictable route, unfamiliar areas, fewer witnesses, reduced options if something goes wrong.
• Night out with alcohol: Impaired judgement, ego-driven conflicts, crowded environment, reduced awareness.
• Travelling in an unfamiliar city: Unknown territory, language barriers, tourist targeting, no local knowledge.
• Public transport late at night: Limited exits, confined space, unpredictable passengers, fewer staff.

When you know the inherent challenges, you can prepare for them. B understanding what could go wrong so you can control or influence the likelihood and severity.

Apply it:

Before any situation, answer three questions:

1. What type of situation is this? Social, professional, transit, unfamiliar, high-risk—or a combination.
2. What is my desired outcome? What do I want to achieve, and what must not be compromised?
3. What challenges come with this situation type? What should I expect simply because of the kind of situation this is?

Once you have the context, the remaining steps become focused and targeted.

Step Two: Data

Before entering any unfamiliar situation, gather specific information about where you are going. This is advance work—understanding the environment before you arrive.

You have wide range  tools that make this simple:   satellite imagery, street-level photography, real-time reviews, and Ai supported research.

Four areas to research:

1. The location. What kind of area is it? What is its reputation? Safe neighbourhood or risky? What is nearby?
2. The venue. Indoor or outdoor? Busy or quiet? What is the layout? Where are entrances and exits?
3. The route. How will you get there and back? Where will you park? What are your transport options if plans change? How does this change at different times?
4. The people. Who will be there? Do you know them? Is anyone a potential concern?

Tools for research:

• Google Maps and Street View. See the exact location before you arrive. Check what the street looks like, where parking is, what the entrance looks like, what is around it.
• Reviews. Read recent reviews of venues. People mention safety issues, parking problems, and neighbourhood concerns.
• News search. Search the area name plus "crime" or "incident" to see what has happened there recently.
• Local knowledge. Ask someone who knows the area. Friends, colleagues, or online forums can provide information a map cannot.
• Social media. If meeting someone new, a basic check can confirm they are who they say they are.
• AI tools. Use AI to assess a location and compile a fact sheet quickly.

The higher the risk, the more data you gather. Travelling to a new city? Research areas to avoid. Meeting someone from the internet? Know the venue and verify their identity. Late-night event in an unfamiliar area? Confirm how you are getting home before you go.

Step Three: Anticipation

With data in hand, think about what could go wrong. This is threat assessment—identifying potential problems before they happen.

Four categories of risk:

1. Environmental. Problems created by the physical space: poor lighting, isolated areas, limited exits, places where you could be cornered, hazardous terrain.
2. Social. Problems created by people and dynamics: alcohol, drugs, aggressive individuals, group tensions, situations that could escalate.
3. Predatory. Deliberate targeting: locations where criminals operate, times when you are vulnerable, situations that attract opportunistic threats. Predators may seek vulnerable individuals—lone targets or those impaired by alcohol or drugs.
4. Personal. Threats specific to you: an ex-partner, a neighbourhood dispute, someone who has made threats. Also your own habits and behaviours—assess whether you need to adapt them for this situation.

These categories help you think systematically. Run through each one for any situation you are entering. When you have already thought about what might happen, you recognise it faster and respond faster.

Step Four: Preparation

The purpose of anticipation is to enable preparation. This is contingency planning—establishing responses before they are needed.

There are two types of preparation:

Strategic preparation is ongoing work to build capability: learning self-defence, staying fit, developing awareness habits. This is investment for when it matters.

Tactical preparation is specific to each situation. Based on your data and anticipation, what should you do to be ready for this situation?

Preparation checklist:

• Transport. How are you getting there and back? What is your backup if that falls through?
• Check-in. Does someone know where you are going and when to expect you back?
• Phone. Is it charged? Do you have a way to contact someone if needed?
• Clothing. Can you move freely? Run if needed? Are you displaying valuables?
• Alcohol. How much will you drink—if at all—in this situation?
• Safe Havens: Where will you go if something happens (local fire station, 24 hour shoos, hospital, police station)
• Other People: How can other people help you, e.g fellow travellers, scheduled check in, Emergency contact
• Exit strategy. How will you leave if things go wrong? Under what circumtanes,  What is your excuse? Where will you go?

Pre-load your decisions:

Decisions made in advance execute faster than decisions made under pressure. Use "If-Then" statements to pre-decide your responses:

• "If someone follows me for two blocks, I will enter a shop or public space."
• "If my date suggests leaving for a private location, I will decline."
• "If I feel uncomfortable, I will leave immediately without needing to justify it."
• "If I see multiple warning signs, I will act on them."

By deciding now, you bypass the hesitation that gets people hurt. The decision is already made—you simply execute it.

Step Five: Awareness

Awareness is active attention to your environment—scanning for anything out of place, anyone paying unusual attention, any change that signals trouble.

Attackers move through stages before they act: selection, surveillance, planning, approach, attack. Each stage produces observable behaviours. The purpose of awareness is to detect these behaviours early—while you still have time to respond.

Four tools make this practical:

Tool 1: The Colour Codes

You cannot maintain high alert constantly—it is exhausting and unsustainable. Instead, match your alertness level to the situation. Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper developed this system, which remains the standard framework for awareness management:

Green: Relaxed. At home, in a safe space, with people you trust. Your guard is down. This is appropriate—you need rest.

Amber: Aware. In public. Relaxed but paying attention—scanning your environment, noticing who is around you, staying present. This is your default state whenever you are out in the world.

Red: Focused. Something has caught your attention. A person, a situation, a feeling. You are actively assessing a potential threat and ready to act.

Green is for home. Most of the time in public, you are in Amber—relaxed but aware. You shift to Red only when something triggers your attention. If the threat does not materialise, you shift back to Amber.

Tool 2: ACE

Run this mental checklist every time you enter any space:

A — Access. Who can get to you? Where are the entry points? Who is coming in?

C — Control. Who is in charge? Is there security? Staff? Who would you go to if there was a problem?

E — Exit. Where are the exits? Identify every way out—not just the way you came in. Doors, windows, fire exits, back entrances.

Walk in, scan the room, note access points, identify who is in control, locate exits. Position yourself with your back to a wall, facing the entrance, with a clear path to an exit.

Tool 3: Baseline and Anomalies

Every environment has a baseline—a pattern of normal behaviour. Threats reveal themselves by breaking that pattern.

When you arrive in any environment, take a few seconds to establish the baseline: What is normal here? What are people doing? What is the energy level? What sounds and movements are typical?

In a busy café, normal might be: people talking, looking at phones, eating, coming and going. In a quiet car park at night, normal might be: silence, occasional footsteps, cars starting.

Once you have a baseline, anomalies stand out. Anything that breaks the pattern gets your attention. You are not watching everything—you are watching for anything that does not fit.

An anomaly is not only the presence of something threatening. It is often the absence of the normal. If you enter a location that should be busy and it is empty, that absence is data.

The Rule of Three: A single anomaly may be coincidence. Three anomalies indicate a pattern requiring action.

Example: A person wearing unseasonable clothing (1) + loitering without apparent purpose (2) + watching you specifically (3) = three anomalies. Act.

This rule provides a practical threshold. You do not need certainty. You need three data points.

Tool 4: Trust Your Intuition

Intuition is not mystical—it is your brain processing information faster than your conscious mind can articulate. When something feels wrong, your subconscious has detected a pattern your conscious mind has not yet recognised.

That uneasy feeling might be triggered by body language, micro-expressions, environmental cues, or accumulated signals that do not add up. Research consistently shows that victims of violence almost always sensed something was wrong before the attack—but many ignored or rationalised that feeling because they did not want to seem paranoid or rude.

Do not make that mistake. When your intuition signals danger, act on it.

Step Six: Action

When something feels wrong, act immediately. Do not wait for certainty.

It is better to leave early and be wrong than to stay and discover you were right. This is early intervention—taking action while you still have options.

The Action Hierarchy

When you notice something concerning, you have a range of responses. Start at the top and escalate only if needed:

1. Reposition. Move to a better location. Put distance between yourself and the concern. Get closer to an exit, to other people, to staff or security.
2. Scan environment. Assess who is around you. Locate exits. Identify potential hazards, improvised weapons, and shields.
3. Create distance. Cross the street. Change carriages on a train. Move to a different part of the venue. Put obstacles between yourself and the potential threat.
4. Leave. Make an excuse and go. "I have an early start." "I need to make a call." "I just remembered I have to be somewhere." No one is entitled to an explanation.
5. Set a verbal boundary. If someone is encroaching, a clear statement can stop them: "I need you to step back." "I'm not interested." "Leave me alone." Said firmly, this signals you are not an easy target.
6. Physical response. If all else fails and you have no choice, respond physically. This is the last resort. The goal is never to reach this point.

The earlier you act, the more options you have. At step one, you have full control. By step five, your options are severely limited. Small moves made early prevent desperate moves made late.

Do Not Wait for Certainty

Research analysing over 1,400 attacks on public figures found that the first two seconds are critical to survival and better outcomes. What happens in those two seconds—whether you are aware, positioned, and ready to act—largely determines the result. This is why early recognition matters more than reaction speed. By the time you are certain an attack is happening, the critical window has already passed. The advantage belongs to those who recognise the threat before it is launched.

You cannot out-react an attacker who has already committed. If you wait for certainty—for the punch to be thrown, for the weapon to appear, for the threat to become undeniable—you have already lost the critical window.

Act on instinct. Act early. If you are wrong, the cost is minor—you left a party early, crossed a street unnecessarily, and seemed cautious. If you are right, you gave yourself the only advantage that matters: time.

The Switch

Sometimes, despite everything, you end up in a situation requiring physical action. The Switch is the ability to flip instantly from a relaxed state to a survival state—without hesitation, without doubt, without freezing.

This is not aggression. It is controlled, decisive action when action is required. When you need to act, act. Do not hesitate. Do not negotiate with yourself. Make the decision and execute.

2.7 Putting It All Together

Here is Situational Intelligence applied across three scenarios:

Scenario 1: A party in an unfamiliar area

Context: Social situation in an unfamiliar location. Outcome: enjoy yourself and get home safely. Challenges: unknown people, alcohol, getting home late.

Data: Check the address on Google Maps. Street View shows residential area with street parking.

Anticipation: Getting home late, people you do not know, alcohol affecting judgement.

Preparation: Arrange transport. Tell a friend where you will be. Decide to limit yourself to two drinks. Pre-decision: "If I feel uncomfortable, I leave."

Awareness: On arrival, park somewhere well-lit. Enter and run ACE—note access points, identify the host, locate exits. Position yourself to see the entrance. Stay in Amber throughout.

Action: Later, someone is watching you, moving closer, starting conversations that feel off. Reposition closer to friends. The behaviour continues. Trust your instinct, make an excuse, leave.

Scenario 2: Walking home at night

Context: Transit situation in familiar territory with high-risk elements—dark, quiet, alone. Outcome: get home safely.

Data: You know the route. One section has poor lighting. There is a quiet underpass.

Anticipation: Environmental risks from poor lighting. Predatory risks from late hour and few witnesses.

Preparation: Phone charged, keys in hand. Vary your route occasionally so you are not predictable. Pre-decision: "If someone follows me for two blocks, I enter a public space."

Awareness: Walk in Amber. Establish a 10-metre awareness zone. Check behind you regularly. Identify blind spots—laneways, parked vehicles, recessed doorways.

Action: If intuition or awareness creates unease, act immediately. Cross the road, take the longer route, avoid secluded areas, turn back, go to a safe place and call for help.

Scenario 3: A first date with someone new

Context: Social situation with unknown person. Outcome: assess whether this person is trustworthy. Challenges: not knowing who they really are, social pressure to be polite.

Data: Check their social media. Research the meeting place.

Anticipation: Personal risk of someone misrepresenting themselves online.

Preparation: Drive yourself. Tell a friend where you will be. Decide on no alcohol for a first meeting. Exit line ready: "I have an early start tomorrow." Pre-decision: "If they suggest a private location, I decline."

Awareness: Listen to your intuition. Notice how they behave towards others—staff, strangers. Maintain environmental awareness.

Action: Towards the end, they suggest going somewhere more private. It feels too soon. Trust your instinct and decline. "Let's do this again sometime, but I should head off." If they are unhappy with your 'no', leave even more quickly. Their reaction to your boundary tells you everything.

The pattern: In all three scenarios, preparation happened before anything went wrong. Awareness was relaxed but present. Action was early and undramatic. No confrontation. No physical skills required. Just paying attention and being willing to act.

2.8 The Bottom Line

Situational Intelligence keeps you Left of Bang—and gives you the awareness to respond if a situation develops. Prevention is always the priority. But when prevention is not possible, the same system helps you act faster when it matters.

Many threats are predictable. They have warning signs. Dangerous situations can be avoided by someone paying attention.

The six steps:

1. Context. Understand the situation type, your desired outcome, and inherent challenges.
2. Data. Gather specific information about where you are going.
3. Anticipation. Think through what could go wrong.
4. Preparation. Make decisions before you need them.
5. Awareness. Pay attention while you are there.
6. Action. Act on what you notice.

With practice, this becomes automatic. Safety stops being something you remember and becomes something you do.

These methods come from the best in the field. Now they are yours. Use them and protect yourself like a VIP.

 

Putting Situational Intelligence into Action

To turn the Situational Intelligence (S-INT™) framework into a lifelong habit, you must transition from theory to daily application. This is the most critical phase of your self-defense training.

1. Secure Your Daily Routine Don't wait for a "dangerous" trip to use these tools. Run the six-step framework on your everyday life—your commute to work, your local gym, or your favorite grocery store.

• Establish your Baseline: Identify what is "normal" for your neighborhood so that an anomaly stands out instantly.
• Review Regularly: Re-assess these familiar routes every few months or immediately if something changes, such as a change in lighting or a new construction site that creates "blind spots".

2. Apply to the New and Unknown The "Readiness Gap" is widest when you are in unfamiliar territory. Make it a rule to gather Data and perform Anticipation before

• Meeting new people or going on first dates.
• Traveling on holiday or visiting new cities.
• Attending social or professional events in venues you've never entered.

3. Build the Habit The goal is to move these steps from conscious effort to subconscious habit

• Pre-load your decisions: Use "If-Then" statements today so you don't have to negotiate with yourself during a crisis. 
• Trust the process: By consistently practicing ACE (Access, Control, Exit) and the Rule of Three, you ensure that you are always acting rather than reacting. 
• The Bottom Line: Once this framework becomes a habit, you effectively operate "Left of Bang". You stop being a target of opportunity and become a prepared obstacle that most predators will choose to avoid.

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The Six Steps

1. Context. Identify situation type, desired outcome, and inherent challenges. 2. Data. Research location, venue, route, people. Use maps, reviews, local knowledge. 3. Anticipation. Assess four risk categories: environmental, social, predatory, personal. 4. Preparation. Checklist: transport, check-in, phone, clothing, alcohol, exit strategy. Pre-load If-Then decisions. 5. Awareness. Colour Codes, ACE, baseline and anomalies, Rule of Three, intuition. 6. Action. Hierarchy: Reposition → Scan → Distance → Leave → Verbal → Physical.

 

Key Tools

Colour Codes. Green (home). Amber (public—your default). Red (focused on potential threat). ACE. Access (who can reach you). Control (who is in charge). Exit (every way out). Baseline + Anomalies. Establish normal. Watch for anything that breaks the pattern. Rule of Three. One anomaly is possible coincidence. Three anomalies require action. If-Then Decisions. Pre-decide responses to bypass hesitation under pressure. Action Hierarchy. Reposition → Scan → Distance → Leave → Verbal → Physical (last resort).