One of the best forms of self protection going. As a wise man said: "If man throw spear at head, move head!" So what characteristics do you look out for when you're out and about that would cause you to change direction to avoid a person?
arrogance and toughguy-ness. that combination will cause fights whenever the guy feels challenged or even unhappy, if he is "tough" or arrogant enough. other than that, i try to percieve more than most people, because i probably wont recognize a dangerous guy until he lets me.
Avoidance - I do it a lot. If I get the mere thought that maybe I should avoid someone in the street I will always go out of my way to follow that intuition and I don't care if I am wrong or delayed. One example: My older brother and his girlfriend (who reckoned herself as a hard nut) came to visit me when I was at University. We were walking into town and 50 yards ahead was a man going beserk in the road, shouting and screaming and starting to kick at cars that were going by on the road. I mentioned that it would probably not be wise to go past him but they didn't share my feeling of danger. Anyway, it was my home town and so I just took the next turning off the road and went the long way round. They reckoned nothing would have happened but I ensured that by avoiding the situation in the first place. Another example when you can't leave an area: When I worked at Kings Cross Station in London (a known red light district) I would often be at the bus stop late waiting for a bus and lone men in cars with passenger window down would kerb crawl - even though I was clearly in my work uniform! - so I would often have to constantly move around near the bus stop to avoid the nutters in cars and the ones on the street (who harrass lone females waiting for buses) Characteristics I look for - anyone who looks odd in their surroundings e.g. a lone male in the woods without a dog (which dog walkers frequent) anyone acting mentally disturbed e.g. kicking cars!! Gangs of loud kids looking for trouble on the street Not usually a danger to me but will avoid if I can do so easily Men in parked cars/vans with windows down or doors open Where I live: parked in a tree lined dark road with commonland either side so clearly not outside their home or near any businesses etc. These last two are avoided but not for self defence reasons: Beggars at cash machines (ATMs) - not dangerous, just a nuisance Anyone wearing a charity tabard or holding a clipboard These people are the bane of my life - wanting my money or info for market research! I would recommend avoidance
Well where I live I see a lot of the scenarios budogirl mentioned. I frequently see old man shouting out insults and throwing stones at passing cars. I get terrorised by a gang of foreign teenagers at least once every three months and as for those advertisers selling stuff! I feel extremely angered at not feeling secure when walking down my street and knowing that there are bad people and nutters wherever I go! Every one of those situations I avoid. I actually scan every street in my neighbourhood to check that the coast it clear! I agree with you Budogirl about avoiding these things. A month or so ago when I was walking home from school and three foreign teenagers on bicycles spotted me. They called out to me but I knew by the way they were throwing twigs at each other that they were to be avoided so I walked on. Then I found them cycling beside me and they tried to block my path. They shouted out highly racist insults and threats to my family and threw the twigs at me, challenged me to a fight and even spat at me. I ran as fast as I could breaking a busy road when the red light was on. I was kicking myself for ages at not showing them the wrath of TKD but I knew I did the right thing. Still there are ways to avoid scenarios like that. 1) Constant Vigilance 2) Walk in groups 3) Walk around with a large guard dog. (Theres a small woman who lives a couple of blocks away who owns two large fierce looking Doberman Pinchers - no-ones going to attack her in a hurry!) Regards
Sometimes you aren't able to avoid any one type of person.... say walking about in a city such as New York. It is best to just be aware of ALL those you come into close proximity of. It is those you least expect are those that may pose the most danger to you.... this is why we tell our children to be aware of the nice person offering candy to you.
Yep Its best to trust no-one on the streets! Any human being has the potential to do great harm. I avoid eye contact with people on the streets and try and look like I know where I'm going. If you look lost it could make you look like a sitting duck
One of the biggest factors (speculatively) towards failing to avoid trouble could be failing to listen to yourself. When you know something's a bad idea, a particular direction's a bad one to take, etc. listen. Sure sometimes you can't do much about it, but at least then you know. Kids are often too young to listen to themselves.
