Strategy and Tactics

People want themselves, their families, and their property protected from harm. You cannot just hope that nothing harmful happens or that someone else will provide the protection, you must make your own protection preparations. There are two types of protection preparations: strategies and tactical actions.

Protection Spheres

The need for protection increases as the distance to the threat decreases. The level of protection required increases as the distance to the threat decreases. Protection Spheres are circular areas of increasing radius that surround a person or property, each of which requires a certain level of protection. The level of protection required decreases with each increasing larger sphere, but the area to be protected increases. Difference types and levels of protection are required within each sphere depending on the area of the sphere and the importance of the object being protected.

Strategy

A strategy is a a long-range, in-depth, overall plan for maintaining long-term protection. It uses low-level, long-range strategic protection techniques to prevent situations where short-range tactical protective techniques may become necessary.  It is a state of mind where a person is thinking about defensive situations, is aware of his/her surroundings, and takes precautions to prevent a defensive situations from occurring. Strategies employ protection techniques that people can use for family, personal, and property protection. They help people develop a protection philosophy that will permeate their daily living and help protect them even when they are not necessarily thinking about protection. Thinking about how you might response to a personal self-defense situation is a protection strategy. Each strategy is composed of specific tactical actions used to accomplish the overall strategy.

Tactic

A tactic (tactical action) is a small-sphere action used for short-term protection. It takes place within an overall strategy, providing a high-level, short-range protective action that must is taken immediately against a threat that has breached strategic protections.  Taekwondo is a tactical action that supports the self-defense strategy. There are two types of tactical actions: soft and hard.

Soft Tactical Action. Soft tactics are indirect measures, such as barriers, obstacles, locks, fences, alarms, demeanor, confidence, etc. They delay, deter, or prevent attacks but they do not cause injury or death.

Hard Tactical Action. Hard tactics are direct measures such as kicks, punches, dogs, firearms, or other weapons.  They may also delay, deter, and prevent attacks but they use direct actions that may cause injury or death.

Strategy versus Tactics

Basically, tactics are short-term actions that are part of a long-term strategic plan. Although the two terms are closely related, tactics are not always in best interests of the strategy. The Japanese attack ob Peal Harbor in 1941 was a highly successful tactic, but was a dismal mistake as a strategy as it awaken a sleeping giant and led to the Japanese defeat. The United States' 2003 attack on Iraq was a tactical success, but appears to have been a mistake strategically. Shooting and killing a burglar caught in your home at night may seem to have been a good short-term tactic at the time, but after dealing with criminal and civil courts trials for years afterward, you would probably think that your overall defensive strategy was flawed; you probably should have spent more money on alarms and locks, it would have been much cheaper and less trouble in the long-term. Sometimes a failed tactic may turn out to be good for the strategy. If your strategy is to earn the goodwill of the people in a country, a tactical missile intended for a chemical warfare plant that misses its target may be a good thing if the target was in fact an aspirin factory.

Strategies and Tactics

Following are some strategies and their associated tactics that are discussed in topics within this strategies and tactics topic group. The tactics are not exclusive to the specific strategy, they may be used in another strategy as necessary.

• Family Defense Strategy. Defensive strategy to protect family members while they are at home or away from home
  • At Home Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to use while at home
  • In Transit Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to use while in transit
  • At Workplace Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to use when in a workplace setting
  • In Public Place Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to use when in public places
  • At School Place Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to use when in a school place
  • Children. Defensive tactics for children and parents.
    

• Personal Defense Strategy. Defensive strategy to protect your physical person or that of another person
  • Empty-Hand Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics that only use parts of the body. These are the techniques taught in Taekwondo and other martial arts.
  • Weapons Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics using weapons other than firearms:
    • Knife
    • Tear Gas
    • Pepper Spray
    • Stick; long, short, or mini
    • Miscellaneous objects, such as bottles, rocks, soil, furniture, etc.
    • Obstacles; using objects around you as obstacles
  • Firearm Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics using firearms:
    • Pistol/Revolver
    • Rifle
    • Shotgun
      
• Property Defensive Strategy. Defensive strategy to protect the home or personal property
  • Home Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to protect the home, its contents, and its surroundings
  • Vehicle Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to protect vehicles
  • Electronic Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to protect, computers, cell phones, PDAs, etc.
  • Privacy Defensive Tactics. Defensive tactics to protect private information.