Page 16 - Door Supervision Training Booklet

Just before a person hits something his natural action is to look at it. If you see your aggressor suddenly glance at your stomach area or chin, prepare for him to try to strike you there. As you are watching his eyes take note if he suddenly drops his eyebrows, as this also may be a sub- conscious action to protect the eyes during a fight.
Lips - the lips often tighten over a person's teeth just before launching an assault against another person. Either that or the lips are pulled back showing clenched teeth.
Facial Colour - people's faces are usually full of colour when they are feeling worried or are under stress. If during a conflict, however, the face suddenly drains of colour it may be a sign of rage or loss of control, and that the use of physical violence is imminent.
Breathing - breathing deepens visibly when someone is about to strike out. The chest can often be seen to rise and fall deeper and quicker just prior to an attack.
Upper Limbs - people naturally tense up their shoulders and arms when they are about to fight The shoulders tend to raise, the arms bend at the elbow and the main fighting tools, the fists, are usually clenched and raised above waist height. These, again, are usually the last signs you will see before the person strikes you.
Lower Limbs - in order to get the body into the best position to fight, someone about to attack will often turn slightly so that their body is at a slight angle to yours. This is normally done with their strongest arm raised and ready to strike. Often they will also drop slightly by bending their knees just before the attack.
Door supervisors must learn to recognise these warning signals in people in order to be able to correctly predict when someone is about to attack them.
Reacting To Aggression
If during a confrontation with someone you notice any of the warning signals mentioned previously, then you will not have long to react, as the attack against you may not be far away.
You should immediately make more space between you and the aggressor by either moving back or by putting a hand up between you and him. If the person has already started to come towards you, use loud and assertive verbal commands such as "GET BACK". This will let him know that you are ready to defend yourself, alert other members of the public to stand back, and will hopefully attract the attention of other door supervisors who may be able to come to assist.
You should adopt a defensive stance with your own open hands up above waist height in case you need to use physical means to defend yourself. Any force you use must be only that which is reasonable and necessary to avert the attack (see Use of Force).
The following list of do's and don’ts should help you in the de-escalation process of confrontations, hopefully preventing them from progressing to physical acts of aggression.
DO's
• Use effective monitoring techniques
• Make early interventions at incidents
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