People often ask “How do I recognise the attacker in the street?”. What I do is look at the way people walk, listen to their voice, what they are doing with their hands, and then I can get an idea of whether they are a threat. I don’t bother looking at their contrived actions, and their and carefully studied demeanour. No, instead I look for the almost imperceptible impressions he gives off. For example the unconscious movements he makes with his eyes, mouth and head – because this is where people betray themselves. By knowing what to look for, you can therefore avoid being fooled. The tiniest detail is often the most revealing, and most of the time people don’t study themselves adequately to work on these things.
It is unlikely that someone who has studied their demeanour, and the impression they make on others, will allow themselves to lose control. This would only put them in danger on the street. This is why young and naive people are often the aggressors: They don’t have the experience and wisdom to conceal and overcome their natural inclinations. Or to put it differently, they waste a lot of energy on unproductive behaviour.
The strongest individuals will know how to work on their aggressive tendencies and won’t waste their time on pointless exchanges with others. Yes, the most courageous heroic individuals have within them the same monstrous tendencies as violent attackers1. Aggression is very normal, but it is expressed differently depending on the person. If you are inwardly strong you do not need to show off about it, and if you need to show off you are not inwardly strong.
Knowing that people only look at appearances only, many weak and insecure people strut around arrogantly creating hostility wherever they go. This is a tell tale sign of weakness. It is only an outward appearance of self confidence, inwardly they are children who are accomplishing nothing. And of course, children can be dangerous too. Whilst these types are dangerous if, say, you bump into to them drunk on the street out with your family, then of course it is difficult to get everyone to safety and you may be forced to stand your ground. Unfortunately these situations occur relatively frequently, because opportunistic predators often strike when an individual is with vulnerable others. However, I do not wish to talk about that, because any number of martial arts publications deal with what to do practically. In fact this is all they seem to deal with. Although it is an important subject, I instead want to talk about intuitively knowing what will happen in certain situations according to the laws of human nature.
What I am mainly concerned with is identifying a dangerous attacker in somebody who is seeking to take the scalp, symbolically speaking, of someone equal to themselves. Why do people pick on those who are protecting or associating with the weak? Because they know such a persons forces can be divided, between watching over those they are protecting, and fighting off the aggressor. It is a tactic of divide and conquer. So if you want to avoid such a situation my only advice is to be very careful not to attract attention to yourself. Do not let pride get in the way.
As an exercise, whenever you are out and about get a general feel of the area. Is there a sense of tension in the air? Are the people walking around aimlessly creating a general environment of listlessness? Then avoid these places and don’t come back there with people under your protection. These environments attract seemingly pleasant people, but their is nothing to nourish their better nature. Instead, go somewhere out the way, into the countryside, or a slightly more expensive venue. The behaviourally unsophisticated have no taste for these place and don’t know how to operate in them. These are by no means insignificant details.
Many people visit areas and places which attract maggots, vermin, and wild animals, figuratively speaking. Here, they expect to find enjoyment and pleasure. However, they inevitably find trouble. In these dumping grounds which warehouse all sorts of vagrants and idiots (so that they don’t pour onto the street) – trouble is just around the corner. You have been warned. Develop a habit of avoiding these places if you want to be be able to remain at ease when you are outside. The people might seem pleasant enough, but actually in say, a nightclub, there cruelty and instinctive calculations become apparent after a few drinks.
Do not suppose you can come out unsoiled from places like the nightclub on a Friday night. People who are usually sensible and strong willed have got themselves dragged into a fight. It only takes a moment of bad judgement. People smash glasses, slap each other, bump into everything, without ever noticing what effect this has on their own inner condition and others around them. Well, I can only say that it causes great disturbance, whether people are conscious of it or not, and makes them resentful, annoyed, and grudging. People think they can’t do without these places, but it only takes a few years of practice to and you will no longer feel the same way.
As an exercise, start by going whilst not drinking and you will realise that people get drunk precisely because of the foul atmosphere and coarse attitudes of the people in there. By all means drink if you like, a glass of wine never did anyone any harm. People often notice that by doing this they come away tense due to all the meaningless blather that comes out of peoples mouths, which resembles the sound of a machine gun. Then of course they go back to heavy drinking. Instead if you avoid these places, after a few years you may well realise you’re better of without them.
All that needs to be said is that if you associate in bars and night clubs with people looking to ‘lose themselves’ then that is exactly what they will do. In other words, the level of consciousness going on in these places is very low and therefore peoples behaviour is volatile from one moment to the next. There is no doubt that people are looking for fun in these places, but instead what you get is a lot of people groping around miserably, which sours the atmosphere. If you sleep with a dog, you are likely to get fleas. In the same way, if you hang around in many of the nighclubs and bars out there, you are likely to have your state of mind changed to suit the environment and you will no longer be thinking lucidly.
A man spills the pint of another man who blames him for spilling it. The first man insists it was the other guys fault. Neither backs down and hostilities begin. There is beer on the floor, people everywhere, and one wrong move can result in splitting your head open on the hard floor. If it goes to the floor in a wrestling match, other members of the group will pile in smashing bottles and trying to kick your head in. The bouncers will not discriminate, and will often act violently towards the two parties. I have seen this many times, as men on the doors will often look to gain their stripes any way they can. An observer looking at the scene impartially would realise that the two men were collaborating in the same task: A competition to see who was the toughest.
Once you set a scene in motion the consequences are then out of your control. In the above example a 50/50 fight begins. It doesn’t matter what your training is, you are embroiled in a fight which can only work to your disadvantage. You may think you are entirely in the right but that just shows how ignorant you are. When we look at the causal mechanisms of a fight it involves two forces colliding. If you want to take control of the situation I suggest taking the role of the impartial observer and you will see that you can transform a bad situation into a good one by rising above it. Walk away.
As long as people think in terms of beating the aggressor with violence they will never be capable of transforming the situation into a good one. They will continue to give off arrogant glances and signals to other violent individuals, all the while supposing they had nothing to do with the fight when it kicks off. And then situations of this kind will torment them wherever they go. It is they themselves who have given this evil in others power over them. I hope this is quite clear, that you only need to work on yourself principally to stop the aggressor. In other words, by seeing violence as something independent of their influence, they have availed themselves of the means to pre-empt it. It is only because martial arts training has become so lifeless and without philosophy that there is no one to remind them of this fact.
The problem is that many people are ashamed of themselves for not fighting back or crushing the opposition. But it is because they fight without intelligence. If you have a philosophy of doing whats morally right and watching the signals you give off to others, you will act with confidence and assurance. You will know you did everything you could to avoid calamity. On the other hand, rubbing people the wrong way and giving off arrogant gestures tends to make you feel discouraged and lacking in inner confidence. Morality is considered so old fashioned that nobody bothers with it. But actually, the moral teachings in martial arts are designed as a practical guide to developing will power and courage. One of the main reasons martial arts is so ineffectual today in peoples lives is that it lacks this moral fibre.
References
1 See Strength of weakness https://harmanater.com/2020/03/12/strength-of-weakness/
1 thought on “Identifying Aggressors.”