Mar 4, 20203 min read

What Happens BEFORE An Attack? Pt 3

Updated: Dec 27, 2020

We are talking in this series of articles about the things that happen before an attack. As we discussed in the previous 2 articles, we have an acronym that I learned from former executive bodyguard Nick Hughes, SIVA.

S- Selection

I- Isolation

V- Verbal Contact

A- Approach

Today we are going to talk about Verbal Contact. As always, keeping yourself safe begins with awareness. Our goal is to not be selected in the first place, if that fails then we want to avoid being isolated. Sometimes, we mess up, or we just can’t help it and find ourselves in a situation we just don’t want to be in.

Many times a criminal will try to make verbal contact with you once you are isolated. This can be for one of two reasons, sometimes it is to get you to drop your guard, and sometimes it is to overwhelm your senses.

If they are looking to get you to drop your guard they may ask you a question. This could allow them to get closer to you before doing whatever they have planned. Otherwise, they may be trying to overload your system to allow themselves to get closer to you. This one is less likely to happen unless you are completely isolated. In this case, the criminal would be trying to get you to mentally shut down and be overtaken by panic.

In either case, the best way of dealing with this once a criminal has made it this close is to keep your wits about you and keep your distance. Even if they seem nice, you need to keep them at a distance. This will help to ensure your safety if they are up to no good. If you are completely isolated and they come at you very loud and aggressively trying to get you to shut down, you must stay alert, aware, and keep your distance. If you have a natural tendency to shut down in an overwhelming situation, or even if you don’t, you need to practice this by putting yourself in stressful situations and pushing through. Not all stress is horrible, personally I have a fear of heights, but some friends of mine and I went indoor rock climbing recently. I knew that I was safe, but it did put me in a higher level of stress. I have gotten where I like putting myself in an uncomfortable situation because that is where I will grow as a person.

No matter what, never forget that criminals of this type want to avoid 2 things; to avoid getting hurt, and to avoid getting caught. So if you are selected as someone’s target and isolated, fight hard and make a scene. You never know when an attack may happen, so stay sharp, stay focused, and train hard.

Brian

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