Μερικές συμβουλές για τον εκφοβισμό-τρομοκράτηση από τον ειδικό
αυτοάμυνας Dave Turton.
"INTIMIDATION"... "To deter by threats",
"to frighten into submission". Two
dictionary definitions of the word.
We've all faced it, used it and been
influenced by it.
We grew up with it and all our adult
lives are continually being altered by
it. But what exactly is it, and how do
we conquer it?
Perhaps the first step is to try and
understand a little about it, never
forgetting that sometimes intimidation
is so subtly hidden that we often
miss it.
My old Sensei once said that intimidation
works best when we allow it to. We can
often refuse it, but most often, we don't.
We experience many forms of intimidation
from a very early age and it becomes the
norm almost as soon as we understand
language. "If you don't eat your dinner
you won't get any ice cream" or
"wait until dad gets home, he'll give you
a good hiding". As children we face it
daily, from this and other forms of
intimidation from parents, teachers, peers,
older children etc.
It's not surprising then, that we become
so used to being intimidated, often so
much, that we actually come to expect it.
Animals (including us) use many forms of
intimidation, with the hopeful result of
this being more or less the same
possibilities...
The defeat of the prey or the retreat of the
enemy.
Man of course can be EITHER the hunter or the
prey.
By beating their chests, gorillas intimidate
others so they are no longer a threat. Other
animals use other forms of intimidation
including visual: Some creatures mimic
looking like more dangerous ones, simply to
avoid being eaten. Others use sound, snarls,
screams etc to intimidate would be predators.
The list is endless but the object is always
the same: to intimidate would be attackers
from actually attacking.
Human forms of intimidation are similarly
diverse and include the visual, verbal and
physical. There ARE others but for the
purpose of the newsletter, three will suffice
and we will take them in order showing how
they affect us, and how we can best deal with
them.
Hopefully, also in the process, you will be
able to turn the tables on your aggessor
"Even in a non-violent situation,
FEAR of consequence can have serious
repercussions.
Consider the following, you have just
passed your driving test just 6 weeks
ago and you are a fairly mild 18 year
old. Your older brother asks you to
pick up his £100,000 Maserati from the
garage. You on the other hand have
only ever driven a Nova...
You would be so intimidated by the
Maserati that even though theoretically
you have all the abilities you need
to drive ANY car, this one makes you
very scared. You worry about the
consequences, what if I crash it,
he'll kill me. The dreadful WHAT IF?
enters your mind, a state of mind
recognisable and common to all who
face danger.
You see, before physical skills can
be brought into play, the mental,
emotional, psychological and other
non-physical aspects of intimidation
have first to be recognised then
overcome.
I'm sorry if I dragged you through all
the previous, just to get to this point,
but as I said earlier, the actual
understanding of the problem is the
first honest step in solving it.
When two boxers meet to sign the contract
for their fight, it is almost common
practise to have a stare out or to rant
and rave, insult each other and generally
show how violent/tough/unstable they are.
When they meet in the ring, they use the
ritual of the STARE OUT to continue their
intimidation.
The Sumo-Tori do the same, there is the
build up via staring, glaring and
posturing. These are mental intimidating
weapons and are as crucial to the actual
CLASH.
In fact the fight is often won and lost
at the face off!"
