The Telegraphing of Violence

By Arnie Lipson

Part of understanding combative skills, is the understanding of when to resort to their use. Many people in our society come from the “I can’t hit them until they try to hit me first” school of thought. That sounds safe and proper, until we realize that by the time they attempt to attack us, it is already too late. There are numerous signs that an attacker may telegraph to us that indicate a violent act is about to occur. We refer to these as pre-incident indicators. I have seen numerous videos of police officers getting attacked, and citizens who were victims of violent crime caught on a hidden camera. I worked the street as a police officer, and as a deputy sheriff and have fought several low lifes that wanted to do me harm. In each and every attack, a certain combination of pre-incident indicators was present. Let’s look at a few.

An attacker may move his gaze from the hands to the face or chest area, then back again. This could indicate a “sizing up for the attack.” If they are looking all around, back at you and then looking around again, they may be choosing the avenue of escape they will use after the attack, as well as checking the area for witnesses. They may then look directly at the target area that they want to strike, which is a natural thing to do.

When an individual is verbally abusive, and cocks their head back as they speak, it’s a good indicator of aggression. The difference of an inch or so in how you hold your head could mean the start of a fight. Putting the shoulders back also indicates active aggression. The facial expression will telegraph the intent to use violence. The muscles in the face tighten just as a strike, shove, or lunge toward the victim is about to occur.

The position of the attacker’s hands were key in predicting an imminent violent attack. If one or both of the hands are hidden, they are possibly concealing a weapon. Sometimes the attackers I observed were fidgeting or wringing their hands just before they attacked. This indicates nervousness or anxiety about what they were ready to do. On one video, I saw an attacker run the fingers of his right hand through his hair several times just before punching an officer. It seemed he was working up the nerve.

Just prior to an attack, the aggressor sometimes glanced away, and took the little precursory step to the rear before the big punch came. Sometimes it was just a slight weight shift. Another nervous action was rocking back and forth just prior to attacking.
Remember to watch that elbow and shoulder. In order to hit you, they MUST move them first.

This is just a small sample of the many pre-incident indicators that you may see just prior to an attack. We could certainly list several more. The important thing is to be able to identify them in time. If you observe only one of them, it may not indicate an imminent attack. If a few of them are present, it is more likely that something is coming.

When I write a use of force report on the job, I always include all of the pre-incident indicators that I observed. Especially when I strike them first. For non-law-enforcement people, listing these indicators on the police report may not necessarily keep you out of trouble with the judge if you strike first. (We have seen this first hand ) However, it will greatly enhance your ability to end the fight immediately, without you getting hurt. Have your attorney bring out the pre-incident indicators that you observed, making it necessary for you to initiate the attack for your own safety. Each one of our sequences is designed so that we end the fight before it starts. If you notice, none of them start with a block, duck, or defensive move. As I said before. Do unto others, as you would have them do to you, but do it first. (Jeff Cooper)

Understand what actions telegraph an attack. Recognize these indicators for your safety, and be sure you don’t telegraph yourself.