Fractions of a second... you're out on the street doing your business checking out a suspicious person or making an arrest and... BAM... the suspect attacks. One minute "routine" the next you're thrust into chaos. In an instant as the body readies itself for fight or flight you must make a decision on what to do and complete the action to stop their assault or save your life. The entire incident will probably be over in less time it took me to write this sentence - that fast.

"Time waits for no man," so goes the quote but a firmer understanding of time, distance, reaction and response time will further your winning violent altercations on the street.

Some Definitions

Reaction Time Is a mental process in which you perceive the stimulus until you mentally download a response.

Movement Time Is the time from the beginning to the end of your movement.

Response Time Is the total time from the perception of the stimulus until the end of your physical movement.

As an example, you see a suspect make a hand movement toward his waistband as if he is attempting to draw a hidden pistol. This stimulus triggers a mental signal of mortal danger and a need to draw your own pistol (Reaction Time). You begin your combat draw-stroke and end with your pistol at eye level in a modern isosceles stance (Movement Time). Put it all together and you have Response Time.

From Stimulus to Response

Of course all of the above is moot if you aren't paying attention. Caught in Condition White (complete unawareness otherwise known as head up the derrière) events may transpire before you are able to "get your game on."

You must be knowledgeable about the law and use of force and practiced in decision making under stress. It is not enough to have fast twitch muscles and amazing response time if you hesitate because you don't know if you have the legal right to use force. These legal lessons must not be simply learned in the classroom but also in force-on-force role playing exercises. One of the effects of the Sympathetic Nervous System reaction (fight or flight) is the inability to make good cognitive decisions. Although we will never equal the stress of the street in dynamic confrontation training, we come closer to learning to swim with the sharks by training in the ocean than we do by swimming in a wading pool.