Krav Maga Bristol Target Hardening

Krav Maga Bristol Instructor Jim Halton writes about the concept of target hardening and what it means to you…

An area often overlooked in the martial arts but one which in the security industry is of massive value.

Attackers will often look for “soft” targets. Most attackers will look for physical weakness, the people who are most at risk are:

Children
Women
Anyone who is physically small or who seems unable to act in self defence
Anyone who is encumbered (eg with children, bags etc) *note: I have personally found myself in this situation when I had my 1 year old son with me, thankfully training provided me with the tools to acquire a good result.

Krav Maga Bristol

Actually it some respects it does, here are a few of them:

An attacker isn’t looking for a fight, he is looking for a victim
He doesn’t want consequences or comebacks
If an attack looks like it will be hard work, he won’t bother and will choose another easier target
People on their own are more likely to be attacked than people in groups
Stay alert at all times
If you are suspicious of someone or something, don’t be embarrassed to take defensive measures

An attack will have legal consequences eg Police are hard targets as criminals know that if they attack a Policeman he a) has backup and b) you will be caught and punished. Similarly CCTV can act as an effective deterrent in the same manner.
An attack has physical consequences eg if you have a dog with you, if you are big and tough looking, maybe carrying some sort of improvised weapon such as a walking stick
An attack will present problems of another kind – someone who is observant, scans their surroundings.

Target Hardening Tactics

Hide the gain: take measures not to display your wealth, clothing, watch, car etc
Stay with people that you trust
Book taxis at night rather than walking on your own in areas you don’t know
Walk with confidence
Be alert – don’t be so consumed by the task in hand that you are not aware of your surroundings
Don’t wander around drunk