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At the base of deception: divert the attention

In this article, we continue the discussion about how to “disappear” in the crowd (read Be invisible in the crowd: eyes and attitudes).

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

As illusionists do, more importantly than having a good juggling ability, we need a good way to divert attention from the trick itself. The deception that makes invisible our passage must be contextualized in something that forces the observers’ brain activity to:

Remain below the warning level (read Deception and brain waves)
Be completely focused on another target (read Deception: distract the opponents)

A note By Master Kongling – Even if the theory appears simple, its implementation is not at all: we need to plan, test and build a solid experience.

How to lower the alert of the observers and become “invisible”

Let’s see a list of practical tips about how to act and move without arousing suspicion:

How to do not look like a wolf – Couples, families, tourists, sportsmen, attendants, workers, students, older people (depending on the situation) do not attract attention and do not raise the guard level
How to justify our presence – To bring a dog can always be a good excuse to justify our presence (even at night, even in deserted places); this way, we can walk or stop at our leisure wherever we want
How to stop – If we have to stop somewhere without arousing suspicion, we can pick up the phone, rummage in our bag or make use of other common items (use lipstick, drink mineral water, etc.)
How to take a photo – If we have to take a picture or a video we can pretend a rapid selfie (if that makes sense), a video call (we have to be spontaneous or do it for real), we can change the music track on our device (with headphones on, etc.); another portion is to use apps that secretly activate the camera (that for example we could position in a pocket)
How to look upward / downward – If we have to look down we have to let something drop, to search and find it; if we have to look upward let’s, for example, dress in a jacket (let’s use creativity but keeping ourselves 100% natural)
How to look behind – If we have to look behind us we have to find / take reflective surfaces (glasses, mirrors, cutlery, metal boxes, smartphones, etc.), anything that can make sense in the context we are
How to get closer – Cigarettes and lighters in our pockets should not miss, they allow us to get in touch / contact with any type of person (for example, if we want to get closer to a person X, let’s simply ask the person-not-involved Y but close to X if he / she has a lighter)
How to take time – Chewing gum or candy allow us to take time; we always need them (the more complex are they to open, the better they are); if we have to leave a place but we need a few extra moments, opening, for example, a candy pocket can be a convenient expedient
How to do not attract attention – Never stop walking / acting to think, to act or to observe, if we have to think let’s do it while performing an ordinary action (eg. send a message with a smartphone)
How to do not interrupt the flow of the scenario – Do not let us leave the usual paths of the people, if we change direction, we have to give meaning to our change; this is valid both for spatial movements andfor mental paths (we must observe the dynamics of the scenario and replicate them in the most faithful but natural way possible)
…

A note by Master Kongling – The best way to learn is to film us.

How to raise the alert of the observers and become “invisible”

As we said at the beginning, if we have to do something that would certainly arouse suspicion, we have to act like illusionists. We must plan how to divert attention from the trick, to focus it on a “harmless” event that can arouse greater interest:

A sensorial stimulus – A big noise, light, smell, etc. (or a combination of them)
A logical stimulus – A series of consequent actions (1-2-3, A-B-C, etc.), a false alert, a necessary reaction, an overloading, etc.

Each of these stimuli can be:

Active (voluntarily generated by us)
Passive (already part of the scenario)

Let’s see a few examples:

Ubi maior minor cessat – “Ubi maior minor cessat”, where there is the major, the minor is neglected (or becomes negligible); if we are suspicious we can make something or someone else become much more interesting than us
A multitude of stimuli – When the simultaneous stimuli are exponentially high, the mind goes into confusion and the alert gives way to dismay, to the amazement
Opposite directions – Given 2-3 identical and synced stimuli that move (spatially or conceptually) in diametrically opposite directions, the mind makes a choice by preferring one over another but with a short delay due to the necessary analysis (a handful of instants that in many cases can be fundamental)
…

Final notes

How to solve the most common problems:

Never have an elusive look, if a person looks at us for more than 5-10 seconds, we have to look his / her eyes with a vacant look but not for a longer time; let’s also avoid the so-called “spy eyes”, if our target can directly see what we are looking at, let’s turn (naturally) the whole head instead of rotating only the pupils (it’s terribly suspicious)
If someone is watching us insistently (more than 5-10 seconds), he / she is attracted by us (we have done something suspect); after a rapid analysis (if we do not have forcibly to escape), let’s walk in his / her direction and (if reasonable), let’s ask him / her for a small help / information (realistic, quick and simple things); if we have not been discovered, let us not turn away, it would easily signify to confirm the suspicions
…

In conclusion, it must be stressed again that these are just mind-working examples, in real-life scenarios (read How to simulate realistic self-defense scenarios), we always need:

Preparation (study a strategy, try the role, and prepare the loopholes)
Discipline (keep a cool head and never stop to recite spontaneously)
Concentration (react quickly, adapt the theory to practice and be ready to improvise)

A note by Master Kongling – Why do we study this kind of deception (partly from Ninjutsu)? Why do we reason from a point of view that, ethically, it would seem that of a criminal? The reasons are three: the first is that knowledge is never harmful, it represents a way of immunizing ourselves from the action of the “bad guys”; the second reason is that among our readers there are various professional figures who, in the service of the law, need to know how to tail (plainclothes policemen, private investigators, etc.).

In-depth video courses

Basic stealth techniques – A video course about all our fundamental invisibility methods
Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu exercises – A video course about how to build real martial skills
Mind self-control hacks – How to improve and exploit the capabilities of our mind to reach our goals
Deception / lie detection: how to – How the lies work and how to discover them
Self-defense: not violent self-preservation – How to solve self-defense scenarios without recurring to violence
Self-defense basics: how to – The full S.A.F.E. path to self-defense of our school
How to build strong self-discipline – How to develop the only skill that gives access to all the other

In-depth articles

The paths of deception – How 6 Dragons Kung Fu addresses and exploit deception
Invisibility: the best night stealth color – What was the real color of ancient ninja uniforms?

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever accidentally caught the attention of a stranger?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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