Act:  This is the stage where you act on all the previously stimuli and observations.  It is at this stage you may draw your firearm, use another self-defense tactic ... or leave the situation in its entirety.

Earlier, we mentioned the O.O.D.A loop has two caveats.  If at any point something occurs that changes the situation drastically, the O.O.D.A loop restarts with the new change in the process. 

You may have decided to simply leave a situation, but then someone assumes a fighting stance.  At this point, your O.O.D.A loop resets.  You observe the stance, orient towards the new threat and make a decision.

Maybe now you'll choose to draw a weapon, rather than leave, and act based on the new information.  The loop may be interrupted, once, twice, fifty times, or not at all.
 
The general rule of thumb however falls back to distance, and personal space.  The closer you are to someone, the more you will focus on that, and the less you will focus on the area around you. 

In crowed spaces, people will be close enough to pull your attention away from something important.  Remember, it all starts with observe ... so it's back to "observe everything".

Let us help you develop some of the special skills involved in becoming more observant...schedule a consultation today.

When it comes to deciding to carry during the winter, one must first answer a series of questions. What body type do you have? Are you slender, or are you stocky? What is your climate? What clothes are you going to be wearing? Finally, do you plan on carrying inside the waistband (IWB) or outside the waistband (OWB)?

Answering the questions will enable you to decide which amongst the Glocks will be best suited for you. The Glock 17 is the largest glock and has a standard 17 round magazine, but is the hardest to conceal due to its size.
 
Those with larger body types will be more easily able to conceal it than those of a more slender frame. The Glock 19 is a solid halfway point between round capacity with 15 rounds, and ease of concealment. Finally, the 43 is the easiest to conceal, but does not offer a large round capacity with only 6 rounds in the standard magazine.

When you consider your climate, you need to determine the amount of clothes you will be wearing when outside. The more bulky and heavy the clothes are, the more easily you can conceal, but the harder the draw might be without significant practice. If you are just going to be wearing a hoodie and jacket, you will have an easier draw stroke but a harder time concealing a large firearm like the Glock 17.

The holster you choose pairs with this as well. Should you choose to carry OWB, be aware that the firearm will be a bulge in a place where one wouldn’t normally be.
 
Practice your draw stroke as well, the author has a full sized 9mm pistol in a level 2 OWB holster that required plenty of dry fire practice to achieve a fluid draw stroke.
 
The level of a holster tells you how many layers of retention it has. Level 1 is friction only, and standard for IWB holsters, an example includes the T-Rex Arms Raptor holster.
 
Level 2 has a thumb snap or button that must be defeated to draw the firearm such as found on the Blackhawk Serpa holsters.
 
Level 3 and higher include all of the above and a button of some sort that one must press in order to draw the firearm, you can find this on a Safariland ALS holster.

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Credits: Officer Douglas Preston - SDTG