For those of you that follow me, you know that I believe there are primarily 3 main reasons women get assaulted. And they are, body language, lack of awareness and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Today, I would like to talk more about awareness and consider some of the warning signs of possible attack. I call these NON VERBAL ATTACK INDICATORS.
Remember, in most instances, your assailant is looking for an easy target and more often than not, the bad guy will take his time to watch and assess his selection. There are some assailants that have been known to have studied their victims over a considerable length of time. When I do my self defense workshops, I will often refer to this as "window shopping". The attacker is trying to decide which women to attack, so he is window shopping for the one he thinks is going to be the weakest and put up the least amount of resistence. Remember, assault is meant to be quick.....and if the plan is to abduct you, the attacker wants to get you from point A to point B as quietly and quickly as possible.
Non Verbal Attack Indicators
What do I mean by non verbal attack indicators?
I am looking for unspoken signs that may indicate that I am possibly being targeted for assault. To the trained and experienced eye, they are quite noticeable, however, to the common person who is hardly paying attention in the first place, you may not recognize them.
What kind of signs?
Consider some of the following indicators:
Unnatural impediment to your movement - This could be a car or wall that you are positioned against that inhibits escape or prevents you from seeking help. This also could be a room with a blocked exit or even a building with locked doors. Assailants try to position you against an immoveable object to help keep you in place and which helps prevent escape.
Correlation of someone's movement to your own - As you wander through the local mall, you have spotted the same person at the mall entrance, 3 stores down, and now, just a few isles away. To me, this is stalking and you need to be aware for your safety. In the last few highly documented cases of child abduction, the store video camera showed the kidnappers stalking the child in different parts of the store and parking lot before abducting the children.
Any sudden change in a person's status as you get near or pass - This could be moving hands out of pockets, bringing the hands out from under a coat, or a sudden change in alertness, sitting more upright, etc. As the assailant prepares to strike, there usually is a greater sense of intensity. Look for a physical change in the demeanor of that stranger that's on the side walk approaching you.
Predatory movement -- This could most noticibly be circling positioning. This can happen on foot or in a car. You see someone at the entrance to the cafeteria, suddenly, they are a few tables down from you when you eat, only to be just in front or behind you as you exit the cafe. Anytime you feel like you are being followed, follow your gut instincts and seek safety immediately.
Target glancing – You see someone you are not sure about and every time you look at them, they turn their eyes away or glance down....almost as if on que when you look. It may be coincidental, but it also could mean they don't want you to see their intention, nor do they want you to recognize them.
Persons closing on you from oblique angles to meet your path - I sometimes refer to this as an angle of attack. You are walking in a parking lot and you see somone in the distance, but it appears that they are walking away from you. Only as you get closer to your car, you realize the path you are walking is actually going to intersect with the stranger. The angle makes it appear that you are safe, becasuse no one is directly approaching you, but eventually, the attacker will encounter you unless you change your direction.
A hand hidden from view - This mignt mean nothing, or be indicative of a hidden weapon, piece of rope, etc. If your in a position where you feel vulnerable, you want to be sure to see the hands of someone approaching or walking near you.
Bumps, shoves, pushes, or grabs - What appears to be just an accidental bump or push, could actually be a test? A test to see what kind of reaction you give. Did you notice? Did your body language change? Did you say something? These are all signs that the assailant could be testing you to better understand your resovle if you were attacked and/or abducted. Of course, in a crowded bar or in the stands during a USC game is different from walking into someone on the elevator. Keep perspective at all times.
Relative absence of other people or authorities - Goes without saying. The assailant does not want to be seen or heard when he strikes, so often times they will wait until no one is around. This is a time when you need to be more alert.
A vehicle stopping along side you slightly to the front or rear - If you feel like you are being followed by a car, you should drive directly to the police station or a public area where you can seek help. If you are broken down on the side of the rode, keep your windows locked and call for help and wait for help to arrive. Letting a complete stranger help you on the side of the road is very dangerous.
Any second pass of a vehicle - This goes back to the stalking concept. If you see the same person or car in mulitiple locations, time to worry. Seek help immediately.
Any intoxicated person - A potential risk for a couple of reasons. One, if they are under the influence, they may not realize what they are doing. Two, they may pretend to be intoxicated only to let your guard down and be fooled. Three, someone under the influence generally has a much higher pain threshhold, which might make it more difficult to defend yourself. The best self defense is to avoid the frat parties or the 5 points date, where you no alchohol is going to be present.
Overly enthusiastic offering of help - It's like the stranger that offers a small child a bunch of candy. Beware, you might be assisted by someone who generally wants to help you, but it also could be someone who wants you to think he is your friend and let your guard down and strike when you are not ready.
Obvious attempts at 'baiting' you - Often this technique is used when emotions are hot and anger is uncontrolled. This is used commonly during a domestic violence dispute. Control the urge -- walk away and seek help.
A parked car or van, next to your car in a deserted parking lot - An immediate warning sign, especially if there are plenty of prime parking spots located up close to the building you want to enter. This one is generally easy to see, so stay alert.
An isolated location, where the attacker would not likely be seen, heard or recognized - This could be a parking garage, a mall parking lot, say during the holidays where you are forced to park on the fringe of the mall lot or in a parking garage. This could probably be 1,000 different locations on campus.
Again, think of the time of day, relative danger and stay alert. Ask for assistance from the campus police if you are unsure or afraid.
These are just some of the top indicators that come to mind, but realistically, there are probably hundreds that could be called out and identified. For me, the most important thing you can do is try to AVOID dangerous situations where you are more at risk, i.e. walking around campus in the dark, hanging out in 5 points after hours, etc, and ALWAYS try and remain hyper alert. Just like the United States has a terriost alert status, so should you have one for your own personal safety.
Stay alert and be aware!
And you will have a better chance of spotting a non verbal attack indicator, that hopefully will be enough to thwart the would be attacker to go elsewhere.
Sensei Chris Feldt
Columbia, SC 29229
803-462-9425
