Microexpressions: Lie Detection 101

When I picked up playing Texas Hold'em poker, I read a lot. I read books by the poker pros, I read tournament strategy, I read statistics and probability and I read about bluffs and tells. It was in the latter selection of reading that I began to really focus on body language and microexpressions. I read books on lying and lying theory. I read books on common body language reading and how to baseline people. But microexpressions really interested me in that they were a split-second "slip of the tongue" except in this case the tongue was your face and the slip was an involuntary muscle reaction of the mind. I could not believe what I was reading. Was there really a method of lie detection that worked on everybody and I just did not know about it? I had to research more.

The 48 Laws of Power: The Mirror Effect

"The mirror reflects reality, but it also is the perfect tool for deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do, they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a lesson." -Robert Green, the 48 Laws of Power

In the continuing coverage of the book, 48 Laws of Power, there is probably no law I've employed most in life than the Mirror Effect. Whether it may be repeating the action of someone else to better illustrate their wrongdoings, or to quickly befriend a group at a party, the Mirror Effect is a swiss-army knife of deception practices. As usual though this tool should not be the only strategy in your toolbox. Predictability is never becoming.

Drunken musings of a street fighter: Basics of street defense learning to punch

Step one: What to look for in a fight

what street fighters may look like

I am going to try to teach you how to punch within a street setting. First of all you have to be able to know when your opponent is about to strike. Anyone who has not done any martial arts will instinctually go for a power punch. By this I mean they will use their right hand to punch if they are right handed. The thing about doing a power punch at the start of a fight is that you can see them coming a mile away if you know what to look for. The primary mistake they will make is raise their elbow up. This is a big taboo in punching unless you are throwing a hook but I am not going to get into that in this post. The thing about raising your elbow is that you slow down your punches and also let your opponent see that they are coming. The correct way to throw a punch is to keep your elbows in tight and straight. The next big mistake people make that you should look out for is that they over extend themselves or even step with their punch. If the person you are fighting is drunk they are nine times out of ten going to do this. Now that you know the signs to look for let’s give you the correct method of fighting back.