Friday, May 12, 2017

Gators, Orcs and Presence of Mind



An alligator grabbed Juliana Ossa by the leg, and she forced it to open its jaws to release her. A life-threatening attack is a life-threatening attack, whether by 'gators or orcs. Would you have as much presence of mind to respond as the ten-year-old girl in this news story?

She explains how she did it:

‘I put my two fingers up its nostrils and it couldn’t breathe and had to breathe from its mouth and then let my leg out.’
‘The gator didn’t do anything because he was too busy biting my leg and too busy with his claws in the sand. He didn’t have any attack moves to take out my fingers.’  (edited for spelling) 
She demonstrated control under stress which allowed her to use a simple technique to secure her escape. The mindset should remain the same whether in Moss Park, Florida, an alley in New York, the Metro in D.C. or a deserted parking garage in Chicago.

Juliana had received enough training to know what to do in the event of an alligator attack, and her training gave her enough confidence to act decisively when the attack occurred. Do you have the mental and physical skills to carry you through a life-threatening attack?

Click here to see more posts on retaining control under stressful conditions.