Don't be a Victim

[sgtmac_46]

Excellent, excellent point...I think it comes down to perspectives. Someone local to Latin America may be more likely to be a victim if they show signs of weakness. Someone visiting Latin America is definitely more likely to be a victim of a crime if they are recognizable as being from the north.

The crime makeup of Colombia, for example, is the opposite of what we have here in the U.S. Here, the urban areas generally have higher crime and the rural areas generally have lower crme. In Colombia, however, the cities are the safest places to be. The Colombian government knows that for the country to survive and grow, they need people from other countries to do business in and with Colombia. The cities are rigorously patrolled by the military, and a soldier will immediately intervene to keep an extranjero (foreigner) safe.

The rural areas, that don't see the commercial incomes from urban businesses, are extremely dangerous. This was seen by the unfortunate Americans whose plane crashed in the jungle, only to be immediately taken hostage. In a situation like that, martial arts skills wouldn't even be much help...even if you could free oneself of one's captors, it would be virtually impossible to escape the jungle environs without local help.

Excellent points! One needs to know the area they are in and what is 'expected' there.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Acknowledge folks who you think might be a threat.....a polite, but firm 'How you doin'' with a nod and a smile......but only smile with the mouth, not with the eyes.......make the eyes hard, as if you're thinking about killing them. Give them eye contact while you're talking to them, just as long as you're talking.....don't don't actually look them in the eye, look through them, then move your gaze forward.

Never let an encroachment of your space go on unchallenged......many potential predators will test your desire to defend your space.......let them get away with it, and they know you're a mark!

Talk nice, think mean.....have a plan.

Agreed but you can have cultural differences as to how much personal space you get from country to country. In the US I expect a lot in China I expect little to none.

But in America ABSOLUTLY defend your personal space if necessary and learn what it is if you travel.

Excellent, excellent point...I think it comes down to perspectives. Someone local to Latin America may be more likely to be a victim if they show signs of weakness. Someone visiting Latin America is definitely more likely to be a victim of a crime if they are recognizable as being from the north.

The crime makeup of Colombia, for example, is the opposite of what we have here in the U.S. Here, the urban areas generally have higher crime and the rural areas generally have lower crme. In Colombia, however, the cities are the safest places to be. The Colombian government knows that for the country to survive and grow, they need people from other countries to do business in and with Colombia. The cities are rigorously patrolled by the military, and a soldier will immediately intervene to keep an extranjero (foreigner) safe.

The rural areas, that don't see the commercial incomes from urban businesses, are extremely dangerous. This was seen by the unfortunate Americans whose plane crashed in the jungle, only to be immediately taken hostage. In a situation like that, martial arts skills wouldn't even be much help...even if you could free oneself of one's captors, it would be virtually impossible to escape the jungle environs without local help.

Same with China the cites are safer than the countryside. And in the countryside you may not have jungles but you can be pretty isolated, real easy to find and not a member of any of the extended families that are around you where the person that is the problem likely is.

 

[grydth]

Been mugged three times in my life: once in Barcelona, once on Santorini-just days apart. I looked the part for both of those: backpack, gaping everywhere,taking pictures. They were pretty unsuccessful muggings-I was barely 20, on my way back from a year's training in Japan, and I resisted. I was skinnier at the time, though, and a lot less menacing looking, and I was a tourist, and looked the part.Odds are good that I was seen cashing traveler's checks on both occasions.

The other time was early in the morning on the subway in New York, about 3 months later. I was alone, wearing a nice suit and a Rolex-still skinny. Don't know that I looked like a "victim," but I looked like "money," I guess. Rather wish I'd gone to breakfast with those girls from the party, instead of trying to go home.....

In any case, I don't look much like a victim anymore, and I learned some valuable lessons from those incidents that I try to pass on to my students-especially those who travel-like making eye contact, and how to walk, and, most importantly for me, positioning in public places: where to stand on a subway platform, which stall to use in the public restroom, which urinal to use, etc.

I have to wonder, though, if the "victim's signs" are universal, or if they are different in different countries?

I know they can be different in the Caribbean and South America, but I wonder about European countries....

elder, how did you get in trouble on Santorini? I mean, the ride up is a terror - unfortunately somebody got a photo of my expression - but I wouldn't figure there'd be much crime in that little village at the top. Knowing its a tourist mecca, and there aren't many get away opportunities for crooks, I'd expect very little crime there.... and maybe that is another lesson to be learned here.....

 

[elder999]

elder, how did you get in trouble on Santorini? I mean, the ride up is a terror - unfortunately somebody got a photo of my expression - but I wouldn't figure there'd be much crime in that little village at the top. Knowing its a tourist mecca, and there aren't many get away opportunities for crooks, I'd expect very little crime there.... and maybe that is another lesson to be learned here.....

Wasn't exactly a "mugging," though that's the way I've always interpreted it-though that did lead to other problems....

Long story short: they thought I was someone else.

Even shorter: I guess sometimes we all do look alike. :lol:

There are (were?) seafaring "crews" that work the island when cruise ships are in port-otherwise there really isn't much crime.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Is this the report?

Title: Attracting Assault - Victims' Nonverbal Cues
Journal: Journal of Communication Volume:31 Issue:1 Dated: (Winter 1981) Pages:68-75
Author(s): B Grayson ; M I Stein
Publication Date: 1981
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119570905/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=95452

The terms 'victim selection' are good for googling on this subject.

The ncjrs report is simular. NCJ 095452 is the number. But I'll say it's pretty much the same line of thought!

Deaf

 

[aedrasteia]

quote from the NCJRS report abstract:

"The primary difference between perceived victims and nonvictims revolved around a 'wholeness' or consistency of movement. Nonvictims had an organized quality about their body movements. Perceived victims were nonsynchronous or antisynchronous in their movements."

Has anyone read the full report?

my thought has pretty much nothing to do with common safety advice
(look like you have a destination, look like you know where you are going...). Its about coherent movement originating in the body core

I came to martial arts (judo first) from 14 years in dance - high intensity ballet - and organized, synchronous movements were discussed actively - mainly centered around the simultaneous, intentional movements of all extremeties, major and minor, around the "core" of the trunk, torso and hips. Balance was the central requirement, especially if you were female and on full pointe/half toe. Extension into an arabesque while balanced on just the toes of one foot used all the muscles in the torso and back.

Martial arts felt odd but familiar when i started - everything was "off" (feet not turned out?? how is that possible?) but made sense and I immediately got it about 'hara' or 'dantien'. lots of stuff was difficult and/or uncomfortable but balance and body organization was much easier.

Athletes can train this - almost any purposeful body activity, practised over time, gives this to people. And some people seem to be born with it - they are the naturals. I once tried to teach some basic ballet to basketball guys - once they got over goofing - they caught on.

i think thats what the perps noticed. and i wish the researchers had done more interviews with the subjects.

so how to actually use the info from the study, about "wholeness and consistency of movement" in helping people be safe?
__________________

 

[sgtmac_46]

quote from the NCJRS report abstract:

"The primary difference between perceived victims and nonvictims revolved around a 'wholeness' or consistency of movement. Nonvictims had an organized quality about their body movements. Perceived victims were nonsynchronous or antisynchronous in their movements."

Has anyone read the full report?

my thought has pretty much nothing to do with common safety advice
(look like you have a destination, look like you know where you are going...). Its about coherent movement originating in the body core

I came to martial arts (judo first) from 14 years in dance - high intensity ballet - and organized, synchronous movements were discussed actively - mainly centered around the simultaneous, intentional movements of all extremeties, major and minor, around the "core" of the trunk, torso and hips. Balance was the central requirement, especially if you were female and on full pointe/half toe. Extension into an arabesque while balanced on just the toes of one foot used all the muscles in the torso and back.

Martial arts felt odd but familiar when i started - everything was "off" (feet not turned out?? how is that possible?) but made sense and I immediately got it about 'hara' or 'dantien'. lots of stuff was difficult and/or uncomfortable but balance and body organization was much easier.

Athletes can train this - almost any purposeful body activity, practised over time, gives this to people. And some people seem to be born with it - they are the naturals. I once tried to teach some basic ballet to basketball guys - once they got over goofing - they caught on.

i think thats what the perps noticed. and i wish the researchers had done more interviews with the subjects.

so how to actually use the info from the study, about "wholeness and consistency of movement" in helping people be safe?
__________________

Wholeness and consistency of movement comes from a deliberate mindset as much as any physical training.

One can pick out an easy mark in a crowd if one thinks like a predator....a person......if we want to know how to not look like prey, we need to think like a predator and see what they see.......

 

[hafoc]

Been mugged three times in my life: once in Barcelona, once on Santorini-just days apart. I looked the part for both of those: backpack, gaping everywhere,taking pictures. They were pretty unsuccessful muggings-I was barely 20, on my way back from a year's training in Japan, and I resisted. I was skinnier at the time, though, and a lot less menacing looking, and I was a tourist, and looked the part.Odds are good that I was seen cashing traveler's checks on both occasions.

The other time was early in the morning on the subway in New York, about 3 months later. I was alone, wearing a nice suit and a Rolex-still skinny. Don't know that I looked like a "victim," but I looked like "money," I guess. Rather wish I'd gone to breakfast with those girls from the party, instead of trying to go home.....

In any case, I don't look much like a victim anymore, and I learned some valuable lessons from those incidents that I try to pass on to my students-especially those who travel-like making eye contact, and how to walk, and, most importantly for me, positioning in public places: where to stand on a subway platform, which stall to use in the public restroom, which urinal to use, etc.

I have to wonder, though, if the "victim's signs" are universal, or if they are different in different countries?

I know they can be different in the Caribbean and South America, but I wonder about European countries....

Would you mind describing each incident? It would be useful to know, did they approach you from the front, side, or behind? Did they talk to you first? Was a weapon involved?