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3 Powerful Techniques for Leaders To Make Smarter Decisions
My face was on fire. It felt like I’d just been bobbing for french fries. I could only open my watering eyes wide enough to see the bodies of the attackers coming toward me. I grabbed my sidearm with one hand and extended my other to block them from grabbing my weapon.
“Just do the techniques you learned, stay calm” I kept repeating to myself.
The attackers came back again. I spun around and covered my weapon again so they couldn’t get the pistol out of my holster.
“Good! You’re done. Get out of here!” the instructor barked as I stumbled blindly towards the open field and fell to the ground in pain…and a little laughter.
We’d just gone through our first pepper spray qualification in the then-new Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor-Trainer course in Quantico, Virginia.
The idea was to get sprayed in the eyeballs with a generous stream of pepper spray then calmly use the techniques we’d learned to retain our weapon while being attacked.
It was all about staying calm to perform effectively under adversity.
This emotional control employed to not “freak out” when things get tough is also called arousal control (as in emotional arousal…
