Awareness
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Cooper Color Code
Many martial arts schools, self-defense courses, and police academies teach the Cooper Color Code of mental awareness. This is a simple way to describe levels of mental awareness.
Cooper divided awareness into four color categories (TKDTutor added the last one):
| Total Relaxation. You are unconcerned with your surrounding environment. For example, you may be in your own home, relaxing, and engrossed in a TV program. |
| Daily Awareness. At this level, you are aware of your surrounding environment. This is the routine daily base level of awareness where you casually observe your surroundings and periodically assess risk and threat. You are conscious of what is happening around you and are able to detect potential trouble. For example, you may enter an elevator with a stranger. You are aware of a potential problem though there is no actual problem as yet. |
| Ready State. A conscious focusing and assessment of an emergent threat and possible evasive responses. At this level, you are prepared to defend yourself. There is an obvious cause for alarm, such as someone cursing you. |
| Fighting Mode. It is based upon a perceived threat where the fight-or-flight response kicks in. You must act now with a decisive and aggressive attack or counter attack. |
| Total Panic. You are out of control and unable to comprehend or handle thesituation. |