49 Shares

Invisibility: is it possible to instantaneously change appearance?

Yes: continuing the discussion about invisibility (read How to hide your presence [MINI-GUIDE]), let’s see how we could rapidly change our semblances and why.

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).

Even this is certainly more a spy skill than a self-defense one: as we said for hiding heavy breathing (read Invisibility: how to hide heavy breathing), it is something that in certain situations can become very useful.

A few examples:

To confuse a pursuer
To exit unnoticed from a building under surveillance (for example of a private investigator)
To protect the privacy of a public personality
To save the lives of people whose rights are being trampled on
…

The starting point: the crucial aspects that makes us recognizable

In terms of camouflage, there are factors on which is easy and fast to work and others that are very difficult to alter, let’s see the most relevant:

Height
Shoulders width
Make-up
Dresses
Cleavage
Legs size
Body proportions
Hairstyle
Muscle / fat mass
Colors of eyes
Beard
Gender
Age
Species
Social status
Expression
Way to walk
Facial expression
Face lineaments
State of health
Mood
Pace and Speed
Level of fatigue
Level of tension
Mental occupation
Accent
Nationality
Job
Attitude
Logic
Number / type of objects we transport
Number / type of companions
…

What makes changing our semblances difficult

The complexity of camouflage strictly depends on the task we have to accomplish in the specific context we are involved. Only a few of the details we have listed have an objective alteration difficulty, all the others can be more or less easy to manipulate (effectively) depending on:

Our capabilities
The scenario we have to face

What are the variables that make it easier or harder?

Let’s explore some of the variables through some questions:

Do we simply have to get unnoticed from a distance or we have to be seen closely?
Can the observer change the perspective from where is looking at us (eg. from a monitor or live)?
Do we have to talk to the people we do not want to be recognized from?
How much time do we have to plan our strategy and how much to make the change?
How much the people are searching us know us? Do they see us every day or they only have a vague description of us?
How much time they have to evaluate us? Just a second? Hours?
What resources can we access to complete our disguise (clothing, people, equipment, etc.)?
Is it just us? How many people are there who have to go unnoticed?
…

All these factors must be deeply taken into consideration.

The best strategies to rapidly change our appearance

A few tips and ideas:

Work on the opposites but aiming at solidity and rationality – We must be contextual to the scenario (read Be invisible in the crowd: preparation and clothing); in certain cases even be flashy could be acceptable but only if perfectly blended with the scenario
Work on all the senses – A disguise becomes more effective, the more senses it is able to include (starting naturally from the most relevant in the specific context of the scenario to the less one); we could even go further, some sensory settings can even make the analysis of the observer less precise (for example, in some cases, giving off a strong smell can make the idea of an accurate inspection incredibly less bearable)
Work on reasonability – In addition to being contextual and sensorially credible (sight, hearing, smell, etc.), we must also be logically placed in the place where we must appear (or disappear); this means for example that we should build a valid explanation to where the target of the pursuers could be gone after the camouflage
Work on the speed of execution – We need to know how long it will take to make the change and possibly perform timed trials (obviously if the risk is worth it); this means for example that removing elements is better than adding
Work on uniformation – Another valid option to consider is to qualitatively decrease the analytical capability of the people we want to escape from, increasing with the number of subjects to be monitored and therfore decreasing the available observation time / attention; for example mingling to a group of similar people (motorcyclists, sports supporters, an ethnic group similar to ours, tourists, etc.)
…

Final notes

A few conclusive tips:

It is important to understand that to be different does not automatically means to appear different; sometimes even only changing a small but crucial detail we can reach our invisibility goal, in some other even alterating many elements we remain easily recognizable (it is necessary to learn to have an overall and detached vision)
The more we have pronounced physical attitudes, the harder is to get exchanged for someone else (eg. an uncommon height, flashy erogenous areas, muscle / fat mass, etc.)
Not all people are the same, each of us has more developed senses than others and / or more or less accentuated perception difficulties; knowing the observer’s strengths and weaknesses is a great advantage to work on extensively (whenever possible)
Last but not least, everything depends on the type of scenario but the biggest challenge always remain to deceive someone who well know us from a short distance and / or with interactions longer that few seconds; the closer you get to similar scenarios, the more you have to create expedients to disturb the analysis
…

In the next article of this series, we will introduce the concept of distraction (the art of diverting attention).

In-depth video courses

Basic stealth techniques – A video course about the fundamental notions of invisibility of 6 Dragons Kung Fu

In-depth articles

Be invisible in the crowd: preparation and clothing – How to merge our figure with the environment in which we are
How to simulate realistic self-defense scenarios – The best way to get used to invisibility is to make good-quality group simulations

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever tried to alter your appearance?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

Twitter Facebook

How to master 6 Dragons Kung Fu?

Are you searching for:

Daily training exercises?
Synthetic theory and concepts?
A step by step path from white to black belt?
A path (clear, consequential and gradual) designed to build real martial skills?
A direct contact with Master Kongling?

Go to our Patreon page and choose a training plan: starting from the Practitioner level, you will gain access to all this and much more.

Inside each Premium Lesson, you will receive the same teaching (practices, tips, concepts, small secrets and corrections) reserved to the live students of Master Kongling.

Important - Once a certain number of registrations are reached, no other participants can be accepted. For more information write to: [email protected].