The fighting Knife Guide to Reading a Person
Posted on September 25, 2007
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Whether you’re a law enforcement officer, a soldier or whatever your trade, one tool you should add to your toolbox is the ability to read others. I can’t say that this tactic is perfect or fool-proof; however it works very well, if used often and practiced frequently.
Many people are uncomfortable with being observed or read. One of the most important things you must learn to do is to not allow your target to know that you’re attempting to read him or her. This is easier said than done.
The first thing you should do when assessing an individual is to relax. Loosen up by clearing your mind, relax your shoulders, and especially relax your face.
One of the easiest ways to relax is to pretend like the individual you’re questioning is a well-known acquaintance. This doesn’t mean that you should be over friendly; however, you should put on a familiar demeanor. Don’t feel like you have to talk down or intimidate the person. You should make them somewhat comfortable.
The eyes tell all.
Always pay attention to your target’s eyes. It is believed that eye contact is one of the biggest telling points of an individual. This is not always true.
Many times in individual will not make eye contact because he is intimidated by you or is nervous by the current situation. This does not mean that he is guilty, hiding something or up to no good. It simply means he is nervous.
Eye contact becomes important when it appears forced. If the individual you’re speaking with appears to make eye contact with you for an unusual long amount of time, a red flag should go up in your mind.
The idea is to key in on unusual patterns in human nature. The most unusual pattern that becomes obvious quickly is a forced action such as forced eye contact. This usually means that there is something the individual is hiding, uncomfortable with or could be a clue indicating that this person may take an unfavorable action.
Always pay attention to where your target is looking. Do not pay attention by actively moving your eyes to focus on what your target is looking at. Simply utilize your peripheral vision to observe what your target is looking at.
A good example would be if you’re a police officer and you wear a gun on your side. If you notice your target making quick eye movements, glancing at your firearm periodically, this could mean that he is thinking about lunging for it.
I wouldn’t advise alerting your target that you do observe him looking at your firearm. I would simply blade myself placing my firearm out of reach.
Observe the hands with your peripheral vision.
Watch for clenching or moving fingers. This is a sure sign of a nervous individual. This does not necessarily mean that the individual intends to do something aggressive; it simply means this individual is extremely nervous and does not like the current situation.
If the target’s hands are always in his or her pockets, this is a sign that the target is attempting to get comfortable. This means that the target is trying to persuade you through body language that he has nothing to hide and is absolutely comfortable.
Always observe the shoulders.
When a target squares his or her shoulders toward you with one shoulder slightly forward; this is an absolute sign of danger. This indicates that the target has the courage to assault you. This does not indicate that this will absolutely happen. However, the target is capable.
My advice to you in this situation would be for you to slightly adjust your position by moving just a bit to the outside of the target’s lead shoulder. This is known as moving out of the fatal funnel.
If the target’s shoulders are bladed toward you; this would indicate that the target is uncomfortable. This indicates that the target does not feel like he or she is in control of the situation. This may indicate that the target could possibly flee as well.
Another unsettling fact about a target that blades his shoulders toward you is that he or she may be trained in some form of hand-to-hand combat. The only way to defend yourself against this is to keep the target off balance. You do this by slightly positioning yourself where your body is actually to the rear of the shoulder closest to you.
Observe the mouth.
The mouth can also dictate nervousness. Nervousness is indicated by the quivering of the lips. Another indicator of nervousness would be if the target continues to bite his or her bottom lip.
Signs of aggression.
- The eyes widen slightly.
- The jaws clench.
- The fists clench.
- The target continues to manipulate his or her position slightly behind your forward shoulder.
- The target size continue to glance into a particular direction.
- The target continues to glance at your hands or firearm.
- The target keeps his hands at his side with the palms open.
These are basic principles of identifying the possible actions or thoughts of a target. These are not always accurate. However, with a lot of practice, you can definitely learn to read a target quickly and rapidly utilizing these principles.
Pay attention to people, placement of their hands, their eyes when speaking, their shoulders and learn to associate these movements with moods and emotions.
People generally act very similar in different situations. Learn to associate gestures with possible emotions. Practice by just being observant of people. Your ability to assess people will grow rapidly with practice.
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