Colonel Jeff Cooper

Cooper’s Mental Awareness Color Codes• Colonel Cooper established the

Gunsite Academy• Was considered the father of

modern handgun training • His precepts also apply to the

average person on the street

Why do we Care?• The color codes of mental

awareness will keep you OUT of trouble!

• They will also help you to recognize when you are in trouble

I carry a gun, know martial arts• What you carry, what you know is

not of much use when you give the first shot to the other guy

• “Lose sight, Lose the Fight”• Chances are, if you don’t see it

coming you will never get a chance to employ your skills

Why Is this not just Common Sense?• First, common sense is not very

common• We try to avoid violence, that is not

the world we want to live in• Without mental preparation, an act

of violence is abhorrent to civilized people – you are not prepared for it

The Color Codes• Condition White• Condition Yellow• Condition Orange• Condition Red

• No – we are not talking about danger levels – this is not the airport

• This is how we think to keep ourselves out of danger

Condition White• Unaware and unprepared• Where we would be in a perfect world• Examples:

• Walking, hands in pockets, cell phone or ipod in the ears

• Sitting on a park bench reading a novel• Driving, already at work mentally• Arms full of Christmas presents, in a dark

parking lot

Condition White• Easily caught by surprise• Not reacting to your environment• Your skill in martial arts, weapons,

running like the wind, etc. does not help because you are not prepared to use those skills

Condition Yellow• Relaxed but alert• Not paranoid, but aware• Hands at your side, head up, looking

around• Examples:

• Walking out of Strawberry Mountain• Getting your morning paper (if we had one)• Sitting in a restaurant• What car is following you toward home?

Condition Yellow• Don’t look like an easy mark• Most criminals are cowards

• If they cannot surprise you, scare you, inflict injury without defense, they will go somewhere else

• Your response is much faster because you are aware that things are changing around you

• You distance yourself from corners, dark alleys, troublesome looking characters, surprises

• This is the state you want to be in at all times

Condition Yellow• Examples

• Strawberry Mountain Parking Lot• 2 – 20 year old males pull in behind

you• Someone enters a restaurant wearing

a trench coat

Condition Orange• Identifying a specific potential threat• Something out of the ordinary now has

your attention• Time to formulate a plan for evasion,

getting the threat to show his hand

Condition Orange• Examples

• The parking lot is empty except for two men smoking

• The truck follows you through three turns

• The person is wearing a trench coat, in summer

Condition Orange• Time to identify the validity of the

threat or extract yourself from the opportunity

• Formulate the plan for if it is real

Condition Orange• Example:

• You start for the car (with keys in hand) and the smokers attention shifts to you; or you decide to find someone else to escort you

• You make an unnecessary turn to see if the truck follows

• You decide to leave the restaurant

Condition Red• You know the threat is real• Set your limiting condition, mental

trigger• If your opponents steps over that

line, you act!• Time for the Combat Mind Set

Condition Red• The smokers attentions are on you

and they approach – what is your limiting condition? What action will you take if they cross that line?

Condition Red• The truck follows – if you are in

unfamiliar territory and don’t know where the police station is, what is your plan?

• There is a stop light ahead. If they climb out of their car what will you do?

Condition Red• As you prepare to leave the restaurant

the potential threat pull a weapon from under their coat and points it at the cashier. What will you do?

• The perpetrator signal you to come to the register. Where is your line in the sand? What action will you take when he crosses it?

Condition Red (or Black)• You are engaged with the threat• Have the mental checklist ready

• If he does X, I will do Y• If he indicates a threat to life or limb I

will respond• Evade if possible• If not, present the most intense defense• There are no points for second place

Is This Where You Want To Be?• Alertness, preparation, following

the thought process for awareness will hopefully keep you from ever having to make such decisions

• Once the line is crossed, do not hesitate, do not shrink or capitulate, that is the Combat Mind Set

Moral of the Story • Stay in condition yellow

• Be aware of your surroundings• Be aware that your risk profile is

changing• Already have a plan to avoid trouble• Visualize your day