Distance is one of the fundamentals of combat; there are many types: Controlling the distance, Kicking distance, Punching distance, Safe distance, the list goes on.

From a reality-based point of view, if you are in the position of defending yourself, you will probably be reacting to the threat.  This is why reaction-time and distance are relevant.

One of our principles is that “Distance gives you time” – (time to Evaluate the threat and decide on your course of action – Tactical Retreat/ Deploy weapon / Aggressive Defence / using your surroundings by placing something between yourself and the threat, etc).  Therefore Distance and Reaction-Time are often linked.

From the perspective of the Initial Attack, one of Zen Ki Bo‘s reality-based drills deals with what is known in law-enforcement circles as the “21 foot rule” (also known as the Tueller Drill).  This basically says that an offender armed with a knife can cover 21 feet (6.4 metres) in 1.5 seconds.  It takes at least that long for a police officer to Identify the threat, Draw his pistol and Discharge one or two rounds.  When you are hearing that for the first time it sounds like an impossibly long distance, it’s common for people to think that there is no way an offender could get to you from that distance before you deployed and fired your weapon – (I admit that the first time I did this drill, probably 15 or 20 years ago I believed that I would easily be able to draw and fire my pistol, but to my amazement the “offender” was on top of me and “slashing” me with a red permanent marker pen on my nice white tee-shirt before I could get a shot off.  It was obvious after looking down at all the red marks on my shirt that there was some credibility to the 21 foot rule).

Why is this rule relevant?  It is relevant because it is a Universal Truth.  It has been proven in training and in real-life many times.  That makes it useful to us – because the Principle is the same whether you are a police officer, Private Contractor, civilian or whoever.

Once you participate in the “21 foot rule” drill, you gain a little more insight into Distance.  And 21 feet is a fairly long way – think about all the people you come into contact with every day who are well within that distance. Based on a Tactical Mindset, all of those people are potential threats…

Just something to think about, and hopefully keep you a bit safer.