Distraction
You are isolated and in an
extremely dangerous situation.
The only way out is to retain one's composure and wait.
(I Ching)
Easily distracted?
Distraction is a very serious self
defence skill and should be studied at length.
The ability to manipulate another person's attention is critical before and
during a confrontation.
If applied skilfully from the onset, it can neutralise a potential threat and
nothing actually occurs.
This is fighting without fighting.
Sun Tzu wrote of this skill in the Art of War because it is the act of defeating
the enemy without needing to strike.
If you are forced to defend yourself, distraction becomes a valuable skill to
employ.
Deceit
The Art of War says that deceit is the key to victory.
It is essential to keep the assailant off-balance using a variety of misleading
mechanisms.
The list mentioned is not exhaustive, just a few ideas worth considering.
Distraction serves to make the opponent
think or experience an emotional response.
If this happens, they are momentarily vulnerable and you should attack.
Verbal blocking
Asking an odd question or making an incongruous statement causes
people to hesitate.
Muggers often ask people for the time or if they can "spare some change" as an
opening method.
By causing the person to think or respond emotionally, you create an opportunity
for action.
A strike
A strike needs to disrupt the attention
and composure of your opponent.
It needs to be unexpected and shock the system.
The two best striking methods for distraction are 'bumping' and 'plucking'
because of their abruptness.
Do not strike to stun or feint, strike to unsettle.
A strike from one hand can distract the attention from the other side or from
beneath.
This approach is part of the hidden-hand punch method.
You should not 'broadcast' the strike - it needs to be spontaneous.
Change
Yang Cheng Fu style tai chi
has a largely asymmetrical form.
One movement can have many different viable applications.
This helps to make it unpredictable.
The very same movement performed twice can be used entirely differently, the
essence intact but the application altered.
The form involves many changes of weight and direction, deliberate feints and
distractions designed to confuse an opponent.
It is essential to capture the fluidity of water, changing and moving at every
opportunity.
Attire
Your clothing is part of your distraction method; it advertises certain
things about you.
Women tend to be more adept than men at using attire, appearance and body
language as a distracting device.
Anthropologists such as Desmond Morris identified the significance of female
attire back in the 1960's when miniskirts first became popular.
Ideally, you need to look strong and appear comfortable with yourself.
Some women try to accomplish this by emulating male attire but this does not
actually indicate strength - it suggests inadequacy.
For men, the use of clothing is also very important.
Ideally, you need to look relaxed and confident but not macho - looking 'hard'
can be seen as a challenge.
Smart clothing?
Your clothing can suggest many different things about you and project an
impression that people will use when assessing you as a target.
So how does the clothing distract, exactly?
Consider: if you enter a bank (seeking a loan) wearing a smart suit, shirt and
tie you may receive a different quality of service than if you wear a tracksuit.
It is not who you are that matters with distraction, but rather - how you
seem...
Remember - self defence is not necessarily a battle in the street... the same
skills are applicable in any relationship or situation between people.
This is why Tao Te Ching, I Ching and The Art of War are avidly read by
business people in America and Asia.
Posture
Your body language serves to give non-verbal clues to the
opponent.
Being able to control these signals is very important.
It is more difficult for people to approach you with aggression when you look
relaxed, strong and friendly.
Take some time to consider posture...
The tai chi form and drills have some very deliberate postures intended to
project menace or vulnerability.
None of them are accidental.
Other postures appear innocuous and those are the most dangerous of all.
Inappropriate behaviour
How easily offended are you?
Can somebody upset you with words, gestures or physical contact?
Consider this carefully.
In self defence these are your weaknesses and also potentially those of your
opponent.
Our self defence work deliberately invades personal space.
It takes you uncomfortably close to another person and keeps you there,
manipulating their body at extreme close range.
Acting in a manner that offends the other person is an excellent way to distract
them because typically people have invested their opinions and values with
emotion.
Emotion causes confusion.
Mistakes?
Don't be fooled into making a move at the wrong time.
The opponent may be playing you, manipulating you at every turn.
Silk arms trains a student to offer targets deliberately in order to lure the unwary to exploit the opportunity.
What may seem like a
good chance could easily be a set-up.
The Art of War warns against being taken-in by what looks accessible - proceed
with caution.
Page created 5 August 1999