Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

In conversations with a few guys around the dojo, we seem to have the same set of patterns we go through. For lack of a better term, I'll call this tactical awareness. A couple of us also joking call it the Jason Bourne Effect, simply because it's an automatic response at this point. I try to be aware of my surroundings, as well as their pro's & con's, all the time. I've done it so long it's an automatic reflex at this point.

Real World Example:
There is a nondescript two story office building on NW 63rd street, between NW Highway & Meridian Avenue, with two exits, one on the east side, one on the west side. It might be best described as a split-level building. The 1st floor is ground level if entering from the west, while the 2nd floor is ground level if entering from the east.

I subconsciously park on the west side every time. Why? I never paid much attention to my choice until my last visit to the building.

The east side has a glass door, with two small glass casings to serve as windows. The doorway is at the end of a hallway. The view from inside to outside is very minimal.








The west side entrance has a lot of glass windows to view the parking lot, and a wider entryway. Tactically, the west entrance is better because it affords a broader view of the parking lot. It's more difficult for a predator to set an ambush when there's a lot of visibility. It also avoids the hallway which is also known as a "fatal funnel" because it affords no option for movement or cover. My subconscious chose this automatically.





Any of my fellow Bourne-ites have some examples to offer up?

Here are a few tricks that seemed to help me in Baghdad. I'm not sure if they all would be considered part of the Jason Bourne effect, but it worked for me.

1. If all of the civilians around you seem calm (or bored, or mildly annoyed), then things are probably OK. You can't look in every direction at one time, but people's faces are like mirrors.

2. Mirrors, and reflections on windows, water, shiny metal, etc. can also help you see in all directions. Shadows help too.

3. Tips 1 and 2 work better at a subconscious level, but your mind must be very clear to employ them. Think of being in a type of "walking meditation". I would spend hours at a time doing this. You aren't looking at anything, but you are looking at everything.

4. For some reason if you glance at a crowd of a hundred people, and one of them is giving you the evil eye, he sticks out really fast. This is probably the guy that you need to worry about, unless he is part of a very intelligent team. He demands a greater percentage of your attention, but not all of it. Do not waste your time getting in a staring contest. You are much better off paying attention to his hands and waist.

5. Donkeys are good luck. My squad never got attacked when one was around, and we became mildly superstitious about this.

6. Once you make up your mind to attack somebody, do it as rapidly and violently as you can until you are sure that you are done. In my experience, you end up causes less damage to them if you attack this way because they freeze / give up / run. Speaking of running, the same principle applies. Don't half-ass it.

#2 is a great tip on counter-surveillance. If you haven't read the 'Rain' series of books by Barry Eisler, you should -- doubly so if you love Judo. Barry holds a black belt from the Kodokan, and worked for the CIA for a while and was stationed in Japan. The books are an awesome read.

#3 reminds me of the scene in 'The Last Samurai' -- mind sword, mind people watching... too many mind; no mind.

Kyle Sloan wrote:#2 is a great tip on counter-surveillance.

Actually, since we typically patrolled as a group of 7 to 10 people in a city with over 5 million people, our training in counter-surveillance was probably more of a life saver than our combat training. We would vary our routine as much as possible as far as departure times and routes (not an easy thing to pull off in the military).

On one day in particular we were going to leave later than usual. Then, before we left, we got a call to secure an area with a suspected IED. As it turned out, somebody had set up a bomb on one of our more common routes that we had to take in the morning to get to a local Iraqi police station. Fortunately, we weren't there yet, and some civilians reported it.

Donkeys are very perceptive and sensitive creatures.

Added pictures to original article.