I grew up in a not-so-nice neighborhood in L.A. and came to recognize when the situation was about to pop off. I saw it over and over again at school, after school, at parties, just going places, at bars and clubs and so on. I knew exactly what to look for, but later on when I moved to Texas I took an Eskrima course where much of it focused on what to look for besides what to do about it. The terms they used and exposed me to were new, but I recognized the behavior. They just gave names to behavior I'd recognized all along. Then on the box whenever we got an assault or robbery victim patient when the police were interviewing them in the back (as we patched them up prior to transport) I heard about the same sort of behavior over and over again. After awhile I could almost do my job in my sleep, so I listened in on what they were saying to the officer. One district I worked in was basically the ghetto and the next one was more rural but was like one big trailer park. We got a lot of assaults, robberies and attempted murders.
So I'm no subject matter expert on it, but I can read the cues clear as day and I can more send you in the right direction for people who are better versed in it and spend more time reading body language and pre-assault cues than I do. I'm just some yahoo who grew up in a bad neighborhood, had some fun and games with that, took one course that gave titles to these concepts and added a few other ideas that I hadn't thought of and then had a job where it confirmed some of it.
They say that 93% of communication is non-verbal and while I'm not sure on the numbers I do know that the majority of communication between people isn't verbal.
It's more about reading the signs and listening to your intuition when you think something's up. A lot of people ignore it and try to reassure themselves when they shouldn't. They should be moving, communicating with the people with them and gearing up. A couple good books in the same realm are '
The Gift of Fear' by Becker and '
On Killing' and '
On Combat' by Col. Grossman.
At any rate here's a bit of material on pre-attack indicators and one video on body language.
www.policeone.com/columnists/jim-glennon/articles/1639260/www.policeone.com/police-products/training/articles/1660205-Pre-attack-indicators-Conscious-recognition-of-telegraphed-cues/------
Cops and their attackers/signs they miss
www.forcesciencenews.com/home/detail.html?serial=62stoppingpower.net/commentary/comm_cop_killers.asp------
Some pre-attack/pre-assault indicators
-- "
The target glance". Eye contact is big in the animal kingdom even among animals of the same species. It's a way of establishing dominance. It's no different with humans.
-- "
Furtive communication" (between accomplices)
-- "
Clenching" their fists or teeth
-- Touching temples in aggravation (usually in ego-based conflict during an argument)
-- Eye blinks
-- Obvious restlessness and inability to quit moving
-- Rocking back and forth
-- Stance and footwork (If they're squaring up their feet that's generally bad).
-- "
Hand shift "(say that they're holding an everyday object that can be used as a weapon)
-- "
Flanking" (protect yours and go for theirs). A common tactic is to distract you while their buddy slips in behind/beside you and attacks.
-- Hesitation in responses. Honest people generally answer right away.
-- "
Puffing up". When animals are in conflict or confronting another animal a common tactic is to puff themselves up to make them seem larger and more of a threat. Humans do the same thing.
-- Louder than normal verbal responses
-- "
Weight shift" before an attack. In attacking people want better balance.
-- "
Blading" their weak side toward main target. Most people are right handed and will usually strike or shoot/stab using their dominant hand.
-- "
Tactical Maneuvering" where it puts them in a better position to attack from.
-- "
Mirroring your movements" (indicates that they're stalking you).
-- "
Removing Clothing" (better able to swing, stab or move].
-- "
Weapon check/patting" (reassures them that the knife/gun is still in place as bad guys don't often use holsters and the weapon can shift during movement). They want to know exactly where it is. Usually it's just a pat on their strong side to their waistband or pocket.
-- "
Scanning" before an attack (looking for police, to see if you have someone who might aid you, to look for video cameras or even just someone with a phone who might be recording the incident or who might use it to call the police).
-- "
The approach". Using a pretext to approach you. They'll often play all innocent and ask you for something as an excuse to get closer (ask for the time, directions, ask for change or a cigarette or whatever). This lessens your response time and gets them within reach.
-- Go to shake your hand when it isn't needed and the situation doesn't call for it.
-- Then the attack. They'll try to blindside you with their fists or a blunt object or stick or shoot you right out of the gate.
Criminals don't want to get hurt. They want the highest amount of reward for the least amount of effort. Or it might be an ego-based attack to show their homies how tough they are and to give them street cred.
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Video on body language :
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Pre-contact cues. You can see the aggressor pumping himself up to make him appear larger, the loud talk, the footwork and the use of wide gestures.
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Knife attack with narrative on pre-assault cues
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Officer involved shooting w/narrative on pre-shooting cues (foreign)
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Gang shooting w/narrative on pre-attack cues (ironically enough this occurred a couple blocks from one of the places I used to live).
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Robbery with pre-assault cues
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IMHO if someone wants to protect themselves their time would be better spent learning about situational awareness and reading body language rather than spending the time at the range turning 3 inch groups into 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards with their 1911, but such things aren't up to me. :Shrug
If you're good enough with a pistol to target vital organs at any distance less than 25 yards under simulated stress that shit is usually good enough.
Practicing on a non-square range, working out, learning to read body language and training in weapon retention and empty hand skills would be more the way to go. That doesn't mean that I think people should neglect their pistol work, just that they should branch out a bit. If they keep going to the range they'll get there eventually anyway.
An ECQC course would be an excellent idea. I tried to basically do the same thing with that Eskrima course (blend empty hand, knife, impact weapon and gun skills as back then they didn't have those courses), but now they do. No reason to not take advantage.
