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Defending Your Zone

Here’s A Scenario:

You and your wife are walking along a familiar street one night. Other couples pass by, and then, somehow, you two are alone…except for the shady-looking stranger looming ahead. You watch him approach, instinctively knowing that something is wrong, but disbelief stops you from acting. Suddenly, he’s in your face, brandishing a weapon and demanding something from you.

You can’t hear him because your mind is screaming, “This can’t be happening to me!” But it is, and all that locker room bravado with your buddies talking about what ass-kickers and name-takers you all are seems to drain from you right along with the blood from your extremities. Your stomach churns, your bowels loosen, and you want to run, but it’s too late. You and your loved one are at the mercy of your assailant.

Think This Can’t Happen To You? Don’t be so sure. Being caught off-guard and flat-footed can happen to the best of us at any time and literally in milliseconds. But there was a moment in the above scenario where you could have prevented all of this– the moment the attacker entered your Zone.

My Zone?

The Zone is an invisible perimeter that martial artists, fighters, and tactical instructors use to define the point at which an opponent becomes a threat. Various fighting systems address this concept differently. It’s been called everything from one’s “area of awareness” to one’s “tactical arena,” but the Zone is simply one’s personal space.

Getting too close or invading that space should provoke one of several responses depending on the degree of the threat. One question that inevitably arises is “how close is too close?” Marital artist and tactical instructor Scott Hollingsworth sums it up this way: “If someone’s close enough to dance with, they’re too damn close.”

The Colors of Danger

In an effort to be a little more specific, other fighting systems have envisioned several concentric rings of different colors to represent increasing degrees of danger.

The outermost ring is called the Green Zone and begins at a radius of 15 feet from your body (or up to 30 feet in areas of known danger) and extending, presumably, to infinity. This is considered a safe area. Anyone 15 feet or further from you is not an immediate threat.

Within the Green Zone is the Blue Zone, a ring located between five and fifteen feet from your body. This is an awareness zone. Anyone entering should be assessed as either a threat or non-threat.

The innermost ring is the Red Zone, representing the area that is within a five-foot radius from your body. The moment someone enters this zone in a threatening way, they must be dealt with quickly and decisively.

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The Purpose of the Zone System

The objective of any zone system is two-fold:

  • First, the Zone provides a circle of awareness around your body. Being aware of your opponent’s position relative to your own gives you time to assess your situation.
  • Second, the Zone eliminates indecision. If someone you perceive as a threat crosses your line, you react…period. You do not concern yourself with dilemmas of morality or legality. You issue a warning when someone approaches your Red Zone, and then simply react once they cross it.

Training

Making use of the Zone concept does not require long hours in a dojo or years to master, but it does require some preparation in advance. The middle of a violent altercation with some crazed lunatic is probably not the best time to start thinking about being prepared.

Spend some hours with a friend in your back yard learning to judge distances. Discover how long it actually takes for someone to reach you from fifteen feet away (it will likely surprise you how quickly a person can close from 15 feet). Discuss scenarios and practice some basic defense techniques from various distances to better understand how to start defending your zone.

By training in this way you can attain a higher level of confidence and commitment which can greatly enhance your chances of success in a street fight.

True Story

A man who we’ll call Joe was walking his date back to his truck late at night after a movie. As they walked up the ramp of the parking garage, Joe noticed a suspicious-looking male approaching from ahead.

The man started talking to Joe as he approached Joe’s outer zone, asking the time, waving his hands, and generally trying to distract Joe as he closed the distance.

About the time the man entered Joe’s Blue Zone, Joe stopped, sensing something was wrong. He took a single step forward, putting his date behind him, and pointing directly at the man with his right hand. “That’s far enough,” was Joe’s only comment.

The man stopped, somewhat stunned by Joe’s directness. He spread his arms and tried to smile at Joe disarmingly. It was then that Joe heard a sound off to his right – a second assailant was coming up from Joe’s blind side.

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Controlling The Encounter

Without taking his eyes off the first man, Joe pointed his right hand in the direction of the second attacker. Joe’s left hand slipped under his jacket to the small of his back and remained there. Joe nodded to the first man, “Tell him to stop right where he’s at, now!” The first man hesitated for only an instant, his eyes now locked on Joe’s left hand.

The man looked in the direction of his partner who was still off to Joe’s side and shook his head once. He then slowly raised his arms and backed away. “It’s cool, man…” was the man’s only comment before he turned and ran off. The unseen person to Joe’s right fled down a nearby stairwell.

Did the fact that Joe had a loaded Walther PPK .380 handgun tucked in the small of his back and that Joe was also a Tactical Training Instructor help get him out of that situation? It probably didn’t hurt, but did the bad guys or even Joe’s girlfriend know any of that? Nope.

What the bad guys did know was that Joe seemed very aware of his situation and was prepared for a confrontation. Joe reacted to a violation of his zone aggressively and immediately and it was that reaction which repelled his attackers.

The Bottom Line?

Weapons and defense training are immensely beneficial and are like ammunition, but the real weapon is your mind. It’s your mind that must be decisive, confident, and alert so you are prepared for any situation that calls for defending your zone. Because of this, major part of being prepared is understanding the Zone itself.

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124 thoughts on “Defending Your Zone”

  1. Very good information..As a Former Combat Marine, And Police Officers, That is very useful advice and information. Keep it coming. I try to stay up on , and informed on the best Defense.

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  2. Great story and lesson on staying aware of our surroundings and getting the training to know what to do in such a situation.

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  6. Is Joe left-handed? If not it was a bad idea to point at the second threat. And didn’t Joe’s companion update him about the second guy’s movements?

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  7. Being situationally aware has to be a everyday part of your life because whether you like it or not you are either an overcomer or a victim.
    It is the WILD WILD WEST and you had better have the winner mindset or you could lose everything.
    Being someone who was robbed at gunpoint behind a register I can vouch for always being prepared for whatever may come your way.
    Being a veteran I can’t stress training enough.
    Those who would do you harm are definitely prepared to catch the unwary offguard.
    Be prepared. Always.

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  8. Great article I do my best to always know what is going on around me.(I stop and put my back on a wall when texting or answering or making a phone call.So many people walking around with their faces and minds buried in their phones.Not Safe. This gives me a little more to work with.I like the “zone” concept.

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  9. As a police sergeant I can attest to the importance of maintaining what we call the reactionary gap. It’s almost exactly what you introduce here. It’s also interesting that a trained police officer needs almost 21 feet to draw and fire two rounds at an attacker with a knife. Be aware and practice your tactics as much as you can.

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  13. ALTHOUGH I DID KNOW THIS AT ONE TIME, BUT HAVE KINDA FORGOT ABOUT IT. SO THANK YOU FOR THE REFRESHER COURSE. IN THIS CRAZY DAY AND AGE EVERYONE CAN USE ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET. SO THANK YOU GUYS. EVERYONE SHOULD USE EVERY ONE OF THESE TIPS FROM YOU GUYS TO HELP THEM SURVIVE IN THIS CRAZY WORLD OF OURS. THIS WORLD SEEMS LIKE IT’S GETTING WORSE INSTEAD OF BETTER. SO BEWARE PEOPLE. WE ALL NEED EVERY BIT OF HELP THAT WE CAN GET. THANKS AGAIN. AFA DAVE STARRATT.

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  14. we now live in a world of 2 social camps; the one is legally armed, the other is also armed. this is the real world. because of this, attacks happen less often. when the bad-guys come, they will likely brandish weapons; which gives them a 2-second advantage over the victim(s). the outcome is like a toss of the dice or a flip of a coin. if bad-guy says, “give me ‘such n such’…” victim has a chance to reach his weapon. bad-guy knows this & will probably close in & search then grab. now bad-guy leaves with money & victim’s gun. what is the answer? carry small compact gun in hand, in secret. and as soon as the event begins, pull, point, pop. bad-guy may also be quick: but “give me liberty: or give me death”. and the bad-guy dies, too. angela

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  17. That reminded me the story of joe we were at this shopping centre in Brisbane and as i was walking with my wife in broad daylight i got this felling or vive of someone watching us and i just happen to scan the area around us and noticed how the place was not letting in to much light. We were standing outside this shop front and this dude i did not like the look of was coming towards us at a funny angle and fast so i got in front of my wife he got within 10ft of me then suddenly vered off and around us what i did not see about 5ft behind us was a Security Guard coming our way .

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  19. Same thing happened to a friend of mine but did not habe a hppy ending!! Both were beaten and stabbed several times each. He died on the way to the hospital so di his girlfriend!!

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  20. Just after college graduation the grade-school bully and two of his friends came after me and my date, after a movie. I backed up to the wall of the parking garage to cover my back, then put two rounds into him RIGHT THERE (!!).
    With a witness for everything, the local police happily arrested all three of them.

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  22. I enjoyed the story, it brought back memories from the past, mostly good but another time when I was very lucky and was able regain some lost ground even though I took some pretty good hits my blind siding oponet knew he stepped in it and backed off. Still it wasn’t a pretty sight for me. It could have been a lot worse. Back then I didn’t know much about the zones. Even though I’m now past 64 my senses are still very strong, though now days I try to stay out of those situations. I know at my age I don’t have the wind that I use to, so better technique than I used to have is a must, I don’t hesitate anymore, it’s step in and injure, injure, injure untill I feel safe and it does not matter how many they are, course if they are too many? I hope they make it quick.

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  23. Nice if that was or wasn’t a real life situation it doesn’t seem to matter as i can understand why the assailants would question what was going on if he was or was not armed is also irrelevant as joe definitely didn’t seem like an aesy target that could even work here in Australia where guns are not as available for self defence as they are in America

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  24. Good read. Situational awareness is a must . If approached by a would be attacker sometimes your confidence or a bring it attitude is enough to deter a weak attacker. Not always though.

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  25. Unless of course the assailants called his bluff with a weapon of their own. Then he’s dead. It’s easier and safer to give them what they want unless the assailant is attempting harm.

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  26. Be ready at all times.
    Have something with you to defend your self at at times.
    Know what is going on around you.
    And if you must defend yourself/family. And use a gun,ect.
    Never talk to the police with out a lawyer with you.
    Just give your name & ask for a lawyer. Then shut up until you have one with you.
    Know you rights & use them.
    And be safe.

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  29. Excellent advice. Add to that a good hardwood or metal cane will often work against a single assailant. There are other defenses. BUT THE BEST DEFENSE IS AWARENESS.

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  31. Interesting way to get out of a situation. Like playing poker not letting the other person know what might be in store if they continue any further.

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  33. Very, Very,good, Bob, your zones when distance is closing, is time to make commitment to act, ears peaked, eyes wide open, Stearn voice! Thanks, R. Ray

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  34. I like that story . Years ago I was trained in martial arts and became very good at it .Had a few altercations but haven’t had any for a few years .But ,like you said the zone area is very important and as a man of 77 years old I still to this day am aware of the zone area ad my mind focuses on how and what to do immediately .

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  39. This is a very useful article. Notwithstanding the fact that Joe had a hand gun, he was aware of his surrounding and most importantly, he was ready to engage the bad guys once his personal space was invaded.

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  42. This is a good example oh situation awareness and thank you for the true story and being aware of your surroundings at all times and the situation I try to stay aware all the time thank you

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  43. Great system.Great article. Great outcome.
    I may not leave alot of comments but I sure have learned alot from Fightfast. I have even unfortunately gotten to use some of the moves. All I can say is the ones I chose to learn first worked. Well.

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  44. In all actuality , was there a gun or just mind control involvement ! Say for instance the attackers didn’t believe Joe and kept coming quite possibly with weapons of their own. Now let’s see it from that view!

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  45. It’s very tricky to keep away from people under certain conditions like in stores or shops were we expect to be in close proximity to others. If when outside you see someone with whom you’ll intersect or cross paths and you pauses or changes course, it may be seen as an indication that you think poorly of another person or group. Then again, it might be wise and it’s not harmful. As a matter of fact when you keep distance from others, and avoid them, you have provided them with a safe zone by removing yourself from their path.
    Like I stated, it’s tricky which is why awareness of where you are, where you are going, the obstacles you will encounter (walls, fences, streets with fast moving traffic, potential hiding places, etc) and intuition or gut instinct are important.

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  46. Hello Bob, lucky they decided to back down, two onto 1 man and his lady friend would seem a win win situation, glad the challenge alone worked for him and his lady friend.

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  47. TO:- Sam Rose.
    I used to keep my head “On a swivel” as you put it, but I was so busy looking around checking if anyone was getting too close, my head unscrewed itself and it fell off, lmao.

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  48. Scenario: Man #2 who is out of your sight has a gun and/or simply yells “FREEZE, MOTHER_____!” Now what does the average Joe do?

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  49. I keep a aluminum bat tucked between the drivers side of my car door and seat. Ever since I met a person and they had a friend with them, the friend got in directly behind me, wrapped his leg around my neck so the other could attempt to rob me. Fortunately I bit leg and things worked out ok for me. Not with out getting 3 earings in 1 side of my ear ripped out though. I shouldn’t have let it happen.

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  50. My outside zone encompasses twenty one feet and its called ‘The Tueller Zone,’ and I never go out in condition White, plus I’ve always got at least three knives, a tactical pen and a 1000mw 532nm green laser on me! And yes! I will eventually be carrying a gun! And, the stuff that you’ve shown me will also be a big help too just in case!

    Just received my latest knife from you guys over at TRS, and just like the other one it was sharp right out of the box! Just have to get used to the spring assist on it!

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