For the counselors going into a client’s home, I said that if you feel that anything is off or makes you uncomfortable, find a way to remove yourself. That could be making an excuse, a hasty escape, deescalating, or even lying and using deception, if doing so will result in you getting out of there and getting to safety.
After the session a woman told me about something that had happened to her years ago, where she used this concept to get away from someone. At the time she mentioned that she was single, by herself, and had 5 years of karate training.
She was walking down a street and a man approached her and grabbed her wrist. She mentioned that she hesitated for a short moment, then gestured and said, “My husband is going to be here in just a second,” and pointed towards a building entrance.
She said that in that moment she had formulated in her mind what she was going to do if her deception attempt didn’t work to escape.
He panicked, let go, and took off.
What was important about her deception tactic was that it was convincing.
- She gestured to an unknown threat to her assailant that was outside of his cone of vision.
- Her tone and word choice was convincing enough to make him believe her non-existent husband was coming for him and that would be trouble.
- She had a back-up plan to escape the grab if the gesture didn’t work and was reviewing it in her mind (she didn’t tell me what that was, but I assume it was something to improve her position that she learned during her 5 years of karate training).
Have an idea of who you are and what your strengths are.
Can you role-play and act convincingly? Can you lie convincingly? If so, utilizing deception could be a great addition to your verbal skill-set to help you get out of certain situations.
Train smart & stay safe,
Evan D.
Owner/Lead Coach
NOVA Self Defense
We offer corporate and group on-site self-defense seminars in the Seattle/Tacoma and Washington DC areas.
www.novaselfdefense.com
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