I was talking with a friend of mine recently who does risk assessment consulting to the armored car business.  He told me a story of an armor car employee who walked out of a store carrying a bag with over $2 million (!!!), didn’t notice a car filled with 4 adult males in the handicapped parking spot next to the armored car, and was robbed by them.  The employee had his eyes open and he was looking around, but he wasn’t *seeing* what was around him.  When you are on the street you need to *see* your surroundings too.

I was working with some GI’s and Marines this last week on knife defenses and the key is situational awareness–don’t let someone get too close.  How close is too close?  Believe it or not, someone with a knife who is closer than about 8-9 feet can cut you faster than you can draw and fire a weapon.  If you doubt me, try it.  So as you walk down the street, be aware of who is close to you and whether or not their hands are visible and don’t let strangers get too close.