The best suggestions yet. Thank you.
http://www.amazon.com/Combatives-Street-Survival-V-1-Positions/dp/B003MX5P2A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377760226&sr=8-2&keywords=kelly+mccann
It is all about awareness (again, very important, even for the range monkeys that spend all their time shooting paper targets and feel 'armed'), aggressiveness, and simplicity. Krav Maga, and similar combatives, augment your ability to notice things, meaning that you will probably not even be in a certain situation to begin with. They also impart a measure of confidence, and generally predators - be they human or animal - tend to target that which they consider weak. A mugger would rather target the person walking with a slouch, dragging their feet, with huge ear-phones bumping loud music making the person totally unaware of their surroundings, rather than someone who is walking upright, stepping with confidence, with their head of a swivel! Also, even if you have a gun, most range monkeys think that a perp who is targeting you will let you know before hand. Nope, that will not happen. A person trying to knife you will only let you know you are in a knife attack when the blade is penetrating your abdomen repeatedly. The only people who will brandish a weapon - be it a knife, a gun, or their fists - are drunk sots, people trying to be macho, or someone trying to intimidate you (e.g. give me your wallet). Someone trying to actually KILL you will do so in what is best described as an ambush.
Here is an example of a knife attack. I'd love to see how a range monkey would handle this, especially if the person keeps the blade hidden until he is almost next to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ah_0gia4A0
By the way my use of 'range monkey' should not make one think I disrespect firearms. I think a gun is the best equalizer available, and it is VERY useful. It is just that many people just go to the range, fire at paper targets, then walk around with a concealed weapon feeling 'protected.' They are not. Such a person does benefit from 'comfort,' and even such a person would find their firearm EXTREMELY helpful in a situation such as a public shooting (say some perp starts shooting around at a mall, the civilian can be able to shoot him) or in a home invasion situation (someone breaks into your house downstairs, and you have sufficient time to retrieve your firearm, collect your thoughts, and go engage the perp). However, in a street attack you will only know you are in a bad situation when the bad person is engaging you. Unless the person just wants to intimidate you in the hope you'll give your wallet (which you should), or is a drunk guy acting the fool, or is someone having a bad day and trying to share it with you, in a REAL attack MOST people will not have the time to draw and aim.
That's why people who regularly face real danger tend to go to shooting ranges that offer dynamic shooting scenarios. Shooting on the move, shooting under duress, shooting at disadvantegous positions, shooting when surprised, weapon retrieval, weapon retention, shooting in darkened environments, shooting when injured, shooting using your weak hand, using your knife to engage the target THEN retrieving your gun, using unarmed skills to distance yourself from the target THEN using your gun. At a certain range you may not have time to retrieve your weapon, and you will need unarmed skills.
A real killer, or a thug REALLY trying to kill you, will not be stupid to give you time to unholster your CCW. In such a case your life will depend on situational awareness - either you are not there in the first place, or if there you notice weird behavior that seems out of place ....e.g. you are walking to your car and you see some guy just standing nearby and something in your head tells you it is NOT making sense, in which case you probably go back into the mall for a coffee, or you walk toward your car with your mind totally engaged that there might be a situation going down. A simple thing like simply noticing something out of place can go miles in ensuring you never use your gun/knife/hands ...all you will need to use is your brain.
Anyways, enough yapping from me. All the best in your training.
I think the key is practice, practice, practice. THAT is what the classes are for. You get the technique down, in muscle memory, so you know what it feels like. So your response to the threat is instinctual. You also keep your inner guard up, by receiving blows from sparring partners so your body is not shocked by it. I have seen street fights where guys are so taken aback by actually being hit by someone, they freeze up.
JMHO, and good luck. I am 63 now too.