Gimme Five Feet!!!!

[NETim]

I watched a video tonight produced by a nationally known "street smarts" guy. In it he mentions that when a potential threat approaches, challenging him with "Gimme Five Feet" will (might?) stop him as cons know what that means.

Other than that, it was pretty standard stuff IMHO. Instead of "Condition White" or "Yellow" he used "Code One" or "Two." Why, I don't know. Everyone uses Cooper's system that I'm aware of. It's not like it's copyrighted or something.

Anyway, "Gimme Five Feet!" Good? Bad? Indifferent?

[Zhurdan]

Mind telling us who it was or what channel? Youtube? I'd be interested in seeing it.

Hell, I'd ask for 21 feet.

[NETim]

Mind telling us who it was or what channel? Youtube? I'd be interested in seeing it.

Hell, I'd ask for 21 feet.

"Safe In The Street" by Marc MacYoung, produced in '93.

I'd want 'em stopped long before 5 feet as well. Just wondering if the phrase would be effective as a deterrent or more akin to waving a red cape in a bull's face.

[MD7305]

The "gimme" part immediately made me think Lynard Skynard "Gimme Three Steps" but that's cause I'm a product of my environment. "Gimme five feet, gimme five feet mister, and you'll never see no more."

[gringop]

An old expression from the California penal system, supposedly it would engage the ex-cons subconscious memory and they would back off. Goofiest thing I have ever heard of.

You might as well shout "You'll spend a night in the box!" in the hope that they have watched Cool Hand Luke and would think you are The Captain.

I've got some MacYoung books, they are entertaining with little self defense value.


Gringo (Animal) P

[NETim]

An old expression from the California penal system, supposedly it would engage the ex-cons subconscious memory and they would back off. Goofiest thing I have ever heard of.

You might as well shout "You'll spend a night in the box!" in the hope that they have watched Cool Hand Luke and would think you are The Captain.

I've got some MacYoung books, they are entertaining with little self defense value.


Gringo (Animal) P

I wondered the same thing. My thoughts are that I would be playing someone I'm not, and the words really wouldn't be authentic.

[TCinVA]

I watched a video tonight produced by a nationally known "street smarts" guy. In it he mentions that when a potential threat approaches, challenging him with "Gimme Five Feet" will (might?) stop him as cons know what that means.

Absent some sort of data to back that up, I'm going to have to bring up the example of one guy asking the other "You read the book, I read the book, but did the bear read the book?"

The criminal who is trying to encroach on you isn't interested in a conversation. He's likely trying to fixate you on what he's saying and isn't terribly receptive to what you're saying. How you vocalize whatever it is you vocalize and your body language when doing so are likely to be much bigger factors than what, specifically, you're saying.

Telling someone to "back the ***CENSORED*** up!" didn't have any impact for me. Upping the volume to 11, taking an aggressive posture, and beginning my draw had quite an impact.

[Zhurdan]

Having worked at a bar for several years now (part time job), body posture speaks much louder than words, as I'm sure most of you already know.


[joke]"See, what you do is, you turn your right hip away thustly, giving the illusion that you have a gun. You place your hand on your right hip thustly and speak in an authoritative tone. Oh, and If you remember one thing from today, it's this: the mind is the only weapon that doesn't need a holster." [/joke]

Making solid eye contact (not staring though) seems to work well at an even further distance.

[Cecil Burch]

I'd take anything MacYoung says and file it under "fantasyland".

[TCinVA]

I'd take anything MacYoung says and file it under "fantasyland".

Good enough for me.