As a long time police trainer, I am of the opinion that many recruits begin their careers wanting to become the warrior that protects society from evil, only to become disillusioned at the first sign of serious resistance from a predator. I believe it may only be a symptom of growing up in a very non-contact world. Much of the violence that adolescents and teenagers experience comes in the form of interactive video games and countless hours glued to the television. When actually put into a dangerous and potentially life threatening scenario, many of these younger officers tend to fall apart and may even later question their career choice.

I understand that self preservation is a natural instinct and that intentionally putting yourself in harms way is an unnatural act, but this is what many of have chosen to do. I also believe that fear is a normal and necessary defense mechanism that was built into our DNA in order to preserve the species. That being said, it is absolutely necessary to learn to work with, around and through fear if we are to perform our protection duties.

It has been said that no one is fearless; however we can learn to fear less. For purposes of self-protection, Ill use the term fear to describe the physical and emotional result of a lack of preparation, awareness and/or confidence. Although we may fear being injured or killed, it is the fear of the unknown that produces the most anxiety. Imagine a time when you thought something was going to hurt you, for example, getting a flu shot. You braced yourself, maybe even clenched your teeth, closed your eyes, tensed up and waited for the painful injection. Remember the relief when you realized that it was not so painful. In fact, it didnt hurt at all, and you wonder why you were so concerned beforehand. Had you remembered that you have received many injections over the years and few, if any, were painful, you could have saved yourself a lot of unnecessary stress. Does fear have a useful function in our lives? Of course it does. It prepares us to be mentally and physically ready to respond to a threat. Fear should be recognized, acknowledged, and acted upon.

Although many fear responses are psychological and emotional, there are also physiological changes that occur. An elevated heart rate, trembling, rapid breathing and a noticeable loss of fine motor skills are among the most obvious changes that our bodies experience. The longer one experiences these physical effects without doing something to combat them, the more difficult it becomes to make a conscious decision to act. This produces the freezing effect and ultimately causes a complete surrender of rational thought and self-preservation instinct. This goes far beyond what many call butterflies in your stomach.

On the positive side, these are the same physical responses that are present in elite athletes prior to an event or contest. There are many stories of world-class athletes running to the bathroom minutes before a challenging situation. Some even make the pre-contest jitters part of a mental strategy to prepare them to perform. They have learned to recognize these symptoms as their cue to get mentally prepared to play. The difference between a competitive athlete and someone in a physically threatening situation is the seriousness of losing the confrontation. Just as the athlete gets physically and mentally prepared for a contest, we must do the same. The more you know about your enemy/opponent, the more you can prepare for the confrontation. As preparations are made, knowledge increases and confidence begins to replace doubt. These are the elements that help us control fear: preparation, awareness and confidence.

Psychologists have made a good living by dispensing advice and techniques to combat fear. I dont have the expertise or the inclination to compete with professionals who do that as a vocation; however, I do know what has worked for many people who find themselves in harms way more often than they like. There is a three-step process that has proven to be quite effective at combating fear.

1. Identify the threat;
2. Dissect and de-mystify the threat;
3. Physically train to deal with the threat.

Identify the threat. This involves knowing the enemy, and is a necessary threat assessment process. Defenses can only be developed after knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. Using the sports analogy, watching game films of the other team assists us in pre-planning effective responses. In personal protection scenarios, it would be helpful to know who, what, where, when and how a threat may present itself. Since that would be near impossible in all situations, we must become students of human behavior, and base our preparations on knowledge gained from past incidents and attacks. This technique has been used successfully by military strategists for centuries, and is widely used by coaches and corporate executives today.

Dissect and demystify the threat. What is it about the threat that makes it so frightening? Is it the fear of getting injured? Killed? Embarrassed? Those are legitimate fears, but are they inevitable or only remotely possible? As a child, did you have an unnatural fear of something? Were you afraid to open a closet in the dark or look under a bed when you heard a strange sound? Somehow, hopefully, over the years this fear passed as you realized that there was no real reason to fear. If you still possess these fears, keep working on them. However, if you have finally conquered these fears you are to be congratulated!

Analyze the current threat and try to determine:

a.) How likely it is to occur, and
b.) What level of danger is posed by the threat?

You can then prepare to avoid, or face and counter that threat. Training and preparation. As with most endeavors, there will be times when learning new techniques and honing previously learned skills becomes necessary. Rather than attempting to become an expert in all things martial, your time may be better spent in becoming proficient in other skills that will prove equally useful, and in developing your awareness capabilities to help you avoid sudden danger. Defensive tactics and firearms skills may not be as useful as defensive driving in certain situations. Stressing one over the other may prove to be disastrous, and waiting for your black belt or master pistol rating may take a good portion of your time that could be better used learning to avoid problems in the first place.

During a new police recruits orientation, I tell them that they will need to master many skills if they are to be successful at their job. Many of those skills are physical and require a certain level of proficiency. However, there are many psychological skills that will be called upon much more often and that time spent on these areas will pay big dividends throughout their career. Managing fear is at the top of my list.