Self Defense, Just Like Magic

[tellner]

While looking something else up I came across an interesting news story about the great magician David Copperfield. This April he was in the Palm Beach area after the last of six shows. Four young robbers with guns approached him and two of his female assistants. The women gave over their money, cellphones and passports. When the criminals went for Copperfield he showed them his pockets and successfully concealed his valuables by sleight of hand. The robbers drove away. One of the assistants got the license, and the malefactors were captured soon afterwards.

It's a funny story. It has some important lessons for self defense.

First and foremost, the magician and his companions kept their cool and didn't do anything to escalate the situation. It would have taken very little for four teenagers with guns to turn it into a bloodbath. The bad guys got what they asked for and left. That's about the best you can hope for in that situation. Yeah, they were taken off guard at first. They thought the robbers wanted autographs. But they recovered well and didn't panic. Would a pistol have made the outcome better? Probably not. There were more of them. They had the drop on the party. There were unarmed innocents with guns pointed at them.

Copperfield's act has included mentalist tricks. Many of these rely on the ability to remember things seen only fleetingly. It would be reasonable to assume that this helped them catch the license number.

Even more important was pitting his strengths against their weakness. Copperfield is a world class illusionist. He put what he is good at - sleight of hand and playing to an audience - against their mental weakness. He captured their attention and used his professional skills to control the situation in an unrehearsed, completely improvised act with a hostile audience on a stage he didn't prepare. Not many performers have chops like that. The article doesn't say so, but I'd be willing to bet that he used his abilities at handling an audience to de-escalate the situation.

This wasn't self defense as most people think of it. There's a lot more of Her Wits About Herthan Put 'em Down, Take 'em Out. It wasn't dramatic. The robbers weren't heroically disarmed until the police caught up with them. It was a brilliant success accomplished with the best tools at hand. I'm only sorry he wasn't able to pull a rabbit out of his pocket and make the robbers disappear.

 

[Warren]

Good on him and and a great analysis by you.

I wonder if he has special pants. That would have made it easier to do the prestidigitation.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

It would be reasonable to assume that this helped them catch the license number.

That would be a huge assumption. Since when is reading a license plate a mentalist's trick. The article said he read the plate while he had his assistant making the 911 call. In other words, he had time to hand her the phone and look at the license plate. No mentalist trick there, just eyesight.

The robbers weren't heroically disarmed until the police caught up with them. It was a brilliant success accomplished with the best tools at hand

Oh, you mean compliance and observation?

Of course, how much stock can you put into an article that has the title of the article wrong. The title is,

Magician David Copperfield robbed after show at Kravis Center

, only as described in the article, Copperfield was the only one in his group that was NOT robbed.

I didn't know Copperfield was such a comedian.

"We look forward to coming back to Palm Beach in the future," Copperfield said. "Obviously, we are safe there."

...or maybe it was sarcasm.

 

[gunsmith]

I lived in that area

for awhile and I could tell it was a good area for a mugging.
they were unaware of their surroundings...condition white?

 

[wingnutx]

SIgfried and Roy would have sicced the tigers on them.