# Odd experience



## Bigshadow (Feb 28, 2006)

Last Sunday night, my family and I were over near Daytona Beach, cruising around and on the way home we stopped for dinner at a Boston Market.  We were sitting at the table and this guy had come in (I didn't see him), and he walked past my table, which was not particularly odd although it was not really the main route the counter.  However, he had his hands in his pockets and he cut by our table.  As he did, I had this feeling that an attack was imminent!  My face flushed and stopped what I was doing and watched as he passed.  My wife was asking me if everything was OK, and I couldn't even talk initially.  The guy ended up at the counter and ordered his food and left (leaving by way of another route).  I don't know what set me off, it could have been his body language, and/or his distance from me, he was definitely within MY space.  Other people had walked by before and after him, but it never happened with them.

I was just curious if anyone has had this happen.  I seriously thought an attack was imminent!  I know this may sound stupid or silly, but I am trying to understand what happened, because I really don't understand what set off my alarms.  Anyone have similar situations occur? 

I can say I don't like that feeling!


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## AgentSmith (Feb 28, 2006)

well i'm by no means an authority on this but my sensei actually was saying something similar the other day when he was talking about his godan test...as he puts it, its not a sixth sense per se but more your subconscious becoming more in touch with subtleties like people's intent towards you and things like that...

personally i think it has something to do with our brainwaves...each wave happens at a certain frequency and maybe what happens is after training, our brains can pick up on those frequencies and match them to experiences we've had...so if someone behind you has malicious intent, a trained head may pick up on those specific brainwaves and find that they match waves that they may have had at some time in their life and identify their intent as malicious...that's just my thoughts though...


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## rutherford (Feb 28, 2006)

Bigshadow said:
			
		

> My face flushed and stopped what I was doing and watched as he passed. My wife was asking me if everything was OK, and I couldn't even talk initially.


 
How was your breathing?

:asian:


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## Bigshadow (Feb 28, 2006)

rutherford said:
			
		

> How was your breathing?
> 
> :asian:



To be honest, I don't really remember for SURE!  I think I was breathing   Although, I do remember exhaling toward the end of the situation, but I think my breathing went shallow and maybe quickened a bit during tho.    I don't think I held my breath.


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## Rick Wade (Feb 28, 2006)

That was your spidy senses.  No Just kidding.  That has happen to me to except it was a little more obviousthan what you are describing.

V/R

Rick


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## SAVAGE (Feb 28, 2006)

Paranoia.....:uhyeah: ........no its really your spidy sense:uhyeah: ......no its your sixth sense..."I can see attacking people...walking around with regular people":uhyeah: !

Ok now that I got that out my system...I think you are just more aware..from your post you mentioned things like going ast your table wasnt the quickest way to the counter...the fact that you noticed it sort of set your reactions up to be prepared....coiled springs in your legs and hands.

I would say that you are learning ZANCHIN...it is a part of self defense...many martial artists train for years with out ever realising that that is the core of SD..perception of safety...not just techniques. I am glad you have this ability..it is frightening at first..but like all skills it must be mastered...brought to heel and controlled..Good luck!


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## Bigshadow (Feb 28, 2006)

SAVAGE said:
			
		

> Paranoia.....:uhyeah: ........no its really your spidy sense:uhyeah: ......no its your sixth sense..."I can see attacking people...walking around with regular people":uhyeah: !


Somehow I knew I was going to be heckled for this!


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## SAVAGE (Feb 28, 2006)

Bigshadow said:
			
		

> Somehow I knew I was going to be heckled for this!


 
Sorry buddy...couldnt help myself!

I hope the rest of my post helped!


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## Bigshadow (Feb 28, 2006)

SAVAGE said:
			
		

> Sorry buddy...couldnt help myself!
> 
> I hope the rest of my post helped!


It did! Also, IMHO it was change of thread type in this forum, been getting bored with some of the topics.


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## Cryozombie (Feb 28, 2006)

Sounds like a lot of the "danger sense" stuff that Ed Martin talks about.

Maybe the guy was just a "bad dude" and you picked up on that...


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## Tengu6 (Feb 28, 2006)

Yup, I am very familiar with that feeling. One bit of advice, NEVER ignore it or second guess it. Even if you do not recieve any proof of your feelings it does not mean a potentialy bad situation was not avoided.

Read " The Gift of Fear" by Gavin DeBecker. That book covers that feeling in depth. While it is important to be aware of this feeling, it is important to use it for what it is, a warning signal. Do not let it paralyze you.

Markk Bush


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## Jonathan Randall (Feb 28, 2006)

Tengu6 said:
			
		

> Yup, I am very familiar with that feeling. One bit of advice, NEVER ignore it or second guess it. Even if you do not recieve any proof of your feelings it does not mean a potentialy bad situation was not avoided.
> 
> Read " The Gift of Fear" by Gavin DeBecker. That book covers that feeling in depth. While it is important to be aware of this feeling, it is important to use it for what it is, a warning signal. Do not let it paralyze you.
> 
> Markk Bush


 
Yup, so true! The one time I ignored it, I walked into a convenience store robbery.

BigShadow, perhaps something particular about him set you off but didn't rise to quite the conscious level. I think you did your training credit by mentally preparing. Glad you're safe.  artyon:


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## dianhsuhe (Feb 28, 2006)

Interesting timing of your post...

Just tonight while at dinner with my wife and her family (Birthday) we were seated near a booth where 2 guys were sitting and from the minute I saw them until they left, I felt REAL uncomfortable about them...

Hard to put my finger on it but the one guy kept walking/weaving his way through the dining room, more than once, (sit-down Tex Mex restaurant) to where the servers were and it was almost slow motion-

Nothing happened but I got what I call "bad ki" from those guys... Just now I mentioned it to my wife and she felt funny about them also- They looked like average guys but something was amiss...

Just my little .02 cent story-


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## Henderson (Feb 28, 2006)

Intuiition will never lie to you.  Most likely, there was something about him to be leary about.


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## Don Roley (Mar 1, 2006)

Henderson said:
			
		

> Intuiition will never lie to you.  Most likely, there was something about him to be leary about.



Good point.

Tengu6 has already reccomended the book "The Gift of Fear", and I know that Luke Molitor requires people to read it before they receive a blackbelt from him. Go, read it, NOW!!!!!

A brief rundown of what he says is that the subconcious will pick up things the concious mind will not. You feel a feeling, but can't place the reasons why.

Sometimes, the reasons are not valid. But if your unconcious mind knew them, your feelings would not go off.

Lets say that this guy actually had a weapon on him. Maybe he was a LEO. And as he went by you he was thinking about Osama Bin Laden and how he would love to kill him. His body language would tell you he was armed and was thinking of murder. But you would not know that the feelings were directed at another person.

It is one thing to take precautions when your instincts go off. As long as you don't do anything like draw a weapon on the other person, don't feel strange for acting on your hunches and being more cautious.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 1, 2006)

The Gift of Fear by Gavin Debecker is a great book!
Always trust your instincts. I taught a class just last
night to around 40 college coeds and tried to impress
this point to them as well. Good job for being aware
and recognizing that something was not right.

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com


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## Bigshadow (Mar 1, 2006)

Tengu6 said:
			
		

> Read " The Gift of Fear" by Gavin DeBecker. That book covers that feeling in depth. While it is important to be aware of this feeling, it is important to use it for what it is, a warning signal. Do not let it paralyze you.
> 
> Markk Bush



Thanks Markk, that book is on my list to buy.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 1, 2006)

Hey David,

It is a great book.  I gave it out to my students this year.
One of the best books ever, to read on this subject.  It is
good to see other people having their students read this 
book to!  

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com


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## Bigshadow (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the info.  At least this pretty much confirms I am not nuts, maybe crazy, but not nuts!  :rofl:


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## Bigshadow (Mar 1, 2006)

Brian R. VanCise said:
			
		

> Hey David,
> 
> It is a great book.  I gave it out to my students this year.
> One of the best books ever, to read on this subject.  It is
> ...



Thanks.  I am going on Amazon.com now to purchase it.


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## Bigshadow (Mar 1, 2006)

I just bought 

The Gift of Fear : Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
On Killing : The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society.


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## ManOfVirtues (May 1, 2006)

I know first hand what you are talking about. Afraid its paranoia getting the best of you. But like everyone says, if it feels wrong, it probably is.

My fiance and I live in a perticularly bad part of Omaha. On more then one occassion have a scared someone trying to get onto my property. Car Jackings have become more and more common, watching an SUV follow you around the block to your house that you know something is a mis about. 

every other week or so we practice sensory skills, removing the sight to promote the sense, mimicing the 5th dan test. Prior to my Bujinkan training I had an extensive history in Ki training. 


Its amazing what your subconcious picks up that your mind ignores.


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## Bigshadow (May 1, 2006)

Cool! Thanks for the thoughts!  I have really come to realize that it is natural and that it is OK.  Also, even if I am wrong, and nobody gets hurt, it is OK, to be wrong.  Although, I have had some new experiences since this one that have been quite interesting.  The most recent one, was this weekend while my wife and I were staying in another city on a weekend getaway.  

Although, this time, it was a someone on the street (panhandler or that sort) who approached us from behind (although he was already on radar before we had even turned the corner of the block).  However, this time, my experience was different.  I moved my wife in front of me as the person approached us from behind, just as he approached the edge of the "Safe" range behind me, I quickly turned on the person and I looked him straight  in the eyes and in a resolute voice said "what do you want?!?".  The person started acting drunk and quickly mumbled something about being in trouble and high-tailed it out of there, diving into a local pub as quickly as he could. 

The difference with this experience versus the last, was I felt completely calm, as if I was in training.  I also looked him straight in the eyes and felt as though no matter what he tried, he was not going to succeed and at the same time, I was relaxed.  After he moved on, I went on about my business.  I wasn't fearful or excited or felt like I had somehow escaped death, I simply just went on as if I was completely in tune with everything around me.  Actually, it felt very care-free, the whole time.

Not really knowing how to explain this, but I am beginning to not feel as though I have to be "on-guard" all the time.  I feel as though, if I just not worry about things and just let things flow, I will be given the forewarning I need when danger arrives.  Just like us walking down the street this weekend.  I wasn't on-watch, just all of a sudden my attention was drawn to this person.  I wasn't trying to spot a bad person, the bad person just showed themselves, so to speak.

Weird stuff for sure!


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## ManOfVirtues (May 1, 2006)

Very nicely done, IMO.


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## Hand Sword (May 2, 2006)

Your subconscious definitely picked up on something. Something I'm familiar with in my life experience. Perhaps the gentleman's mind was changed when you became aware, or he lost nerve, if he was going to rob the place. Anyway, something was there! Always trust that sense in the future.


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## Kreth (May 2, 2006)

I had a similar experience to Dave's a few years ago. A co-worker and I closed an Irish pub on Manhattan's lower east side, and I was taking the subway back to my hotel. I was bit worse for wear, so I was leaning against one of the support poles. An individual entered the car I was in, and appeared to be scoping things out. When he was about 10 feet away, I straightened up, and stared straight at him. He abruptly turned around and went back the way he had come.


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