Today I would like to talk about the things that happen before an attack. We have an acronym that I learned from former executive bodyguard Nick Hughes, SIVA.
S- Selection
I- Isolation
V- Verbal Contact
A- Approach
To try to keep this from being a very long article, we will just focus on Selection today. How do criminals that prey on others select their victims? How can we keep ourselves from being selected?
So, how do criminals that prey on others select their victims? There was a study conducted of these types of criminals in prison. The prisoners were shown 6 hours of video of random people walking down the sidewalks. Shockingly the prisoners all picked the same people they would have chosen as victims. Why is that? It had nothing to do with the size of the person, whether they were male or female, the race, or perceived religion. It all had to do with the way people carried themselves. If people seemed to be unsure of themselves or carried themselves in a manner that portrayed weakness, criminals knew they could be more easily taken advantage of.
So how can we keep ourselves from being selected? First off, we need to be aware of how we are carrying ourselves. You should keep your head up and shoulders back. Walking with your head down and shoulders slumped portrays weakness, or at least it appears as though you do not know what is going on around you. Speaking of that, pay attention to what and who is around you. You should scan your environment. It is easier to spot someone who is up to no good if you are looking around. You should walk with a medium stride and at a normal pace. If you are walking with a shortened stride, it portrays that you may be hurt, timid, or just inattentive. If you walk with an unusually long stride, it will draw attention to you and make you look like you are scared. Most of all relax. If you walk around scared, you will give off clues to others through your body language.
It is not hard to alter the way you carry yourself in public, but maintaining it is. You will have to remind yourself to continue. Maybe you can even tell someone else about it and ask them to call you on it if you start slipping.
Remember, criminals of this type want to avoid 2 things; to avoid getting hurt, and to avoid getting caught. So if all else fails and you are selected as someone’s target, fight hard and make a scene. You never know when an attack may happen, so stay sharp, stay focused, and train hard.
Brian
This blog is NOT sponsored in any way. Some product links are affiliate links which means if you buy something we'll receive a small commission.
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