Prelude to Assault

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Reference (The content of this post is mine, quotes exact or modified are my effort and this post was inspired by but not the intent of the referenced book. It is recommended attaining this reference and making a study of its content coupled with validation through other sources, i.e., violence professionals with experience, etc.

The world can be dangerous, it can have violence at any time but such violence tends to have leading cues that tell you violence is on its way. These telltale signs, cues or triggers if you will, spell out that someone is about to do something that will be uncomfortable triggering that spidey sense of discomfort. When that occurs, assuming you are aware and observant, you will have time to "avoid, deescalate and/or escape-n-evade" the person ready to do harm. 

What you will encounter in many cases is a lack of self and situational awareness that is detected by a predator who will use that to attack with surprise so they can put you off balance and ruin your structure hobbling you to prevent any actions of protection and defense you might have triggered if you had been aware and observant. 

Awareness and observation does not mean setting your readiness to high alert because that is just no sustainable. It means you have accumulated enough knowledge and understanding that you can detect in an environment and its people the state of, "comfort -or- discomfort." Once that is detected then you ratchet up your awareness and observation to find the why of such discomfort. You look for anomolies in the group dynamics of the people and once you detect the anomaly you focus down further to detect and determine what it is that is making your spidey sense tingle so much. When it comes to those people you begin to look at the non-verbal behaviors and displays to determine the danger and its level, etc. 

The non-verbal will say or telegraph that those folks are about to act in a way not beneficial to you or others in the area or group. In an assaultive situation, a grinning face can mean or suggest mockery. If there is sweat pouring down one or more of the faces. Blood vessels pulsate, and if jaws are clenching. This tells you that the nervous system is aroused to a high dangerous level. In a context of anger, these types of cues can be vital warning signs. 

SKIN: moisture glistening of forehead or temples; above the upper lip; around the ears - Why? Facial sweat may indicate anger is on and getting out of control. Skin sweats when you are on the attack or are fearful of being attacked. Whether fleeing or fighting a sweaty face looks the same. 

FACIAL COLOR: is the face suddenly pallored or turning red? This may be because the flight-or-fight response has been triggered and emotions are about to let loose the dogs of war or fear induced escape-n-evasion or running away. Be careful, as with any of this, assume they mean you should be wary and then take further assessments before assuming one over another meaning. Observing shifts of redness to paleness is a cause of alarm but not necessarily action - yet. 

ARTERIES: In rage or anger, you may detect swelling pulsations that stand out on the neck or face. The most obvious being the neck area below the earlobes. Look to see of arteries are pulsating at the back of the lower jaw. Then look to the temple area in front of the ear. Also, above and below the lips, beside the nose, at the top of the cheekbones, and the middle of the forehead above the eyebrows. 

As someone gets ready to go off on others, these blood vessels mark the face like one has a pulsing red rash. Facial arteries can reveal the triggering of rage rather than just anger and it can be a potentially dangerous rage. 

JAWS: Humans bite and chew, to clench the jaws in anger and frustration, or to inflict pain. Anger may, usually, triggers one to clench their jaws seen by the muscles contracting in uncontrollable biting movements. In our ancestral past humans would clench jaws, teeth, and jaw muscles in a defensive role. 

When attacked, time stands still and details leave an indelible impression on one's mind. 

FIST: when one is angry, the displaying of a clenched fist is universally a sign of aggression. A tightly closed fist tells others that the person is in an aroused state of mind, as anger or in an excited state or due to fear. The clenched fist is a universal sign used to indicate a show of forceful emphasis and threat. 

EYES & MOUTH: large eyes, closed mouth, tense/tightened lips, and a frown may indicate a physical assault may come and look also for a momentary silence - the fight is on. 

GROUP DYNAMICS: people empower others in a group setting. It is called "ritualized mobbing" and it makes the individuals in the group feel closer and united. Look for signs in a group using much the same cues discussed to this point because such cues in group settings are infectious and spread like a bad virus. 

We should observe to see the "behavioral chain," of actions folks universally take when on the attack. This is usually when all else fails and you are exposed to potential attack. 

EYES: when one is excited, the eyes open wide, and then humans narrow them if feeling threatened. Sudden eyes wide reflect emotions of the flight-or-fight response. If the eyes are wide open, the whites show all around and above and below the iris then one should be on high alert because there is cause for alarm. When truly angry one widens the eye slits to make eyeballs appear noticeably bigger, rounder, and whiter. In an angry person, flashbulb eyes can be decoded as a danger sign of imminent physical attack. 

PUPILS: If significantly larger or dilated, the person is on alert, coiled and ready for action. When you perceive one as angry, enlarged pupils are a good signal its time to exit, stage left. If too close, then deescalation is on the table to provide an opening for escape-n-evasion. 

BLINKING: when the person is primed the eyelids get going. The blink rate of arousal goes significantly higher often reflecting an emotional state of mind aroused by the flight-or-fight response. When one gets excited the blink rate is faster while a calm person's blink rate slows. Eyelid movement is about our arousal levels triggered by the hindbrain, the old brain located at the base of the skull - the lizard brain if you will. When someone is upset or angry the blink rate goes way up and it triggers the old spidey sense telling us to step back and put some distance between you and them. 

BREATHING: when ready to go off or run our breathing changes. Under the effects of strong emotions our breathing rate increases. It is about oxygenation because due to an impending fight or flight oxygen provides more fuel to escape-n-evade or avoid. If one's breathing rate suddenly increases it is a sure sign one should become wary and look to avoid events or environments. 

SILENCE: in recent studies of assault warnings the most common recognized danger sign is silence. When you see tight lips along with silence it implies that the person has made a conscious decisions to do something that could span from withholding information to acting. 

FEAR to AGGRESSION: fear can change in an instance to aggression; aggression can change into fear. If in this situation go to the deescalation mode. Back away, leave the adversary an out and remain polite, polite, polite and prepare for the worst just in case. 

WARNINGS in a NUTSHELL

• anger/facial sweats; 
• flushed skin to pallor; 
• pulsating carotid and facial arteries; 
• clenched jaws muscles; 
• silence after rage;
• tightly clenched fists/hands; 
• rapid blinking; 
• flashbulb eyes.

Watch the hands and palms, hands are the prime tool for fighting/violence, holding weapons/concealing them, and keep attention on fingers, hands, and palms. Preparatory-intention cues/movements can reveal an assault is in the making before it begins leaving time to “get out of dodge!”

Reference (The content of this post is mine, quotes exact or modified are my effort and this post was inspired by but not the intent of the referenced book. It is recommended attaining this reference and making a study of its content coupled with validation through other sources, i.e., violence professionals with experience, etc.

Givens, David, Ph.D. “Crime Signals: How to Spot a Criminal Before You Become a Victim.” St. Martin’s Press. NewYork 2008. 

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