From an article about Apollo Robbins, a theatrical pickpocket.
Video (I couldn't embed): http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cu...l?mobify=0
When I read this, it occurred to me there were some game takeaways, specifically relating to approaching and body language. No, I don't suggest you learn how to pick her pocket, though that would be pretty funny. Instead:
- his level of awareness
- his sensitivity to the body language and cues of his "mark"
- how he uses his own body language to manipulate his mark and not "scare the cat" by being too invasive
- his use of misdirection (is that a good book?)
- how he controls attention
It's advanced, and most skilled approachers probably learn and internalize this without ever consciously realizing being aware of it.
And the article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/...l&mobify=0
Quote:Quote:
Among his peers, he is widely considered the best in the world at what he does, which is taking things from people’s jackets, pants, purses, wrists, fingers, and necks, then returning them in amusing and mind-boggling ways.
Video (I couldn't embed): http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cu...l?mobify=0
When I read this, it occurred to me there were some game takeaways, specifically relating to approaching and body language. No, I don't suggest you learn how to pick her pocket, though that would be pretty funny. Instead:
- his level of awareness
- his sensitivity to the body language and cues of his "mark"
- how he uses his own body language to manipulate his mark and not "scare the cat" by being too invasive
Quote:Quote:
Robbins needs to get close to his victims without setting off alarm bells. “If I come at you head-on, like this,” he said, stepping forward, “I’m going to run into that bubble of your personal space very quickly, and that’s going to make you uncomfortable.” He took a step back. “So, what I do is I give you a point of focus, say a coin. Then I break eye contact by looking down, and I pivot around the point of focus, stepping forward in an arc, or a semicircle, till I’m in your space.” He demonstrated, winding up shoulder to shoulder with me, looking up at me sideways, his head cocked, all innocence. “See how I was able to close the gap?” he said. “I flew in under your radar and I have access to all your pockets.”
- his use of misdirection (is that a good book?)
Quote:Quote:
“If I’m working single o, and I see a guy walking down the street with his wife and I want to beat her purse, I’ll walk up to him and say, ‘Hey, Coach, how you doing?,’ and I’ll reach across his wife to shake his hand. She gonna look straight into his face and be, like, ‘When were you a coach?’ And he gonna be looking back and forth between her and me, saying, ‘What coach?’ That’s when my hand goes into her purse, and I beat her.”
- how he controls attention
Quote:Quote:
But physical technique, Robbins pointed out, is merely a tool. “It’s all about the choreography of people’s attention,” he said. “Attention is like water. It flows. It’s liquid. You create channels to divert it, and you hope that it flows the right way.”
It's advanced, and most skilled approachers probably learn and internalize this without ever consciously realizing being aware of it.
And the article: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/...l&mobify=0