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[FredInChina]

Osu,

To survive in a crowd, you must make the distinction between a crowd rush where a crowd is moving towards something it desires, and a stampede where the crowd is scared and moving away from something.

Let's take away the cases where the crowd rushes towards you... you are in front of it and either you are a rock star and they love you, or you have been pointed at and have become an object of hatred... either way, the crown wants a piece of you.
What to do?
You can't beat it, join it: run with it and find somebody else to point at and yell and try to divert the interest and/or anger to some other poor bugger...
Make no mistake, we are talking survival, not morals... get someone else to be torn apart and use the chaos to disappear as fast as you possibly can... live another day to reflect on your actions; now is not the time.

So you are now into a crowd and you suddenly realize that you should not be there... Something bad will happen, you feel it.
----------> Get away right now... make your way towards the edges, then towards the exits or side roads... go home, have a hot milk and a cold shower. The cost of your ticket or your perceived cowardice will be sweeter in the morning when reading the news of 192 dead, trampled by the mob!

You've felt it coming, but did not take action... you are now stuck and the pressure is growing... (then the lights go off, then the screams start, then you see the flames, then you lose your footing, then you die... slowly and painfully trampled!)
How to avoid that?

• upon entry, make a note of where the other exits are (not just the way you came in... that, everyone knows already, and you can expect the passage to be obstructed) ----- Check if these exits are not obstructed of locked (it happens all the time in Asia!)... if they are, leave! If the exits are at the bottom of the stairs, with doors that you must PULL open, leave in a hurry!
• stay sober & don't smoke the funny smelling stuff, it is not broom straw!
• remain at the edges, don't get stuck in the mass of it.
• Crowds are like fluids, there are currents... don't fight them head on. go with the flow and try to make way towards the edges.
• keep your arms in kamae position (guard up) - it will help you with keeping your ability to breath, and you can use these arms to keep your balance.
• preserve your energy - don't scream, there are already enough people doing that.
• Don't piss off your neighbors, communicate with them with your hands, eyes, head, smile, whatever works ---- they are in this with you, not on their own choice, and want it to stop as much as you do.
• if your feet lose contact with the ground, don't panic (but a little prayer might help): keep going with the flow.
• if you lose your shoes --- so be it, you lost your shoes... don't go fishing after these prada at 699, your life is worth more. You can say "sh*t, I lost my new shoes" twice, if that helps!
• if someone gives you a hand, take it... I don't think someone will have evil intent in under the circumstances.
• if someone is losing his footing and asks for help, lend them a hand, but make sure that you can regain possession of your hand when you need to ---- no sense having someone taking you under.
• if at some moment you are trapped, and this will happen, you are a trained karateka, you can take some pain and are hopefully conditioned... you will be one of the last to die of suffocation...
• Arrive early & leave early (or late) to avoid the rushes.

If you are caught in a demonstration where things go to a clash with the police... no matter where your sympathies rest, the police side is your best bet.
Use your passport, wave it over your head while going towards them, be non threatening, ask for help.
If that does not work, escape via a side road, ask for help in some homes, store, shop, etc...
Retreat to the far end, locate yourself against a wall or in a door, look busy and don't provoke demonstrators, sometimes all some factions want is some action.
Don't make a stand, run! unless you have to protect someone... But in that case you have forgone your survival to the survival of another; just be clear about that.
If you are singled out and a crowd rushed towards you, I sincerely hope you read the first paragraph.


Be safe

osu!

[supergroup7]

Osu

Thank you FredinChina.. thank you so much for this information.

Osu

[Evergrey]

OSU! good stuff!
I've had to climb to get out of a press before, it was scary!

[meguro]

Sounds like first hand experience, Fred. Were you a rock star or fan back in the day?

[FredInChina]

Originally Posted by meguro

Sounds like first hand experience, Fred. Were you a rock star or fan back in the day?

hehe, I've lived many a life meguro...

Osu!

[AlblanCR]

Osu! Nice research and coopilation of tips Fred, this is some valuable information that can come very handy and make the difference between suffocating and surviving. Thanks for sharing! Osu!

[dudueciab]

Really great topic!Instructive, and usefull.
Thanks!

Osu

[jcbel]

These guys obviously didn't read your post!

Go to 0:50.

WARNING: LANGUAGE

You Tube

[Hangtime]

LOL,

I wonder how many teeth were lost, and noses were broken in THAT mosh pit...

OSU!

[Dent]

Osu!

Planning a K4L meet, JCBel?

Osu!

[jcbel]

Only if I get to wear a sumo suit while doing that!

Sorry about the language I viewed the clip with the volume turned down.

[Dent]

Osu!

(No problem)

Mosh pit and sumo suits for all!

Osu!

[Mixmasta01]

Originally Posted by FredInChina

Osu,

To survive in a crowd, you must make the distinction between a crowd rush where a crowd is moving towards something it desires, and a stampede where the crowd is scared and moving away from something.

Let's take away the cases where the crowd rushes towards you... you are in front of it and either you are a rock star and they love you, or you have been pointed at and have become an object of hatred... either way, the crown wants a piece of you.
What to do?
You can't beat it, join it: run with it and find somebody else to point at and yell and try to divert the interest and/or anger to some other poor bugger...
Make no mistake, we are talking survival, not morals... get someone else to be torn apart and use the chaos to disappear as fast as you possibly can... live another day to reflect on your actions; now is not the time.

So you are now into a crowd and you suddenly realize that you should not be there... Something bad will happen, you feel it.
----------> Get away right now... make your way towards the edges, then towards the exits or side roads... go home, have a hot milk and a cold shower. The cost of your ticket or your perceived cowardice will be sweeter in the morning when reading the news of 192 dead, trampled by the mob!

You've felt it coming, but did not take action... you are now stuck and the pressure is growing... (then the lights go off, then the screams start, then you see the flames, then you lose your footing, then you die... slowly and painfully trampled!)
How to avoid that?

• upon entry, make a note of where the other exits are (not just the way you came in... that, everyone knows already, and you can expect the passage to be obstructed) ----- Check if these exits are not obstructed of locked (it happens all the time in Asia!)... if they are, leave! If the exits are at the bottom of the stairs, with doors that you must PULL open, leave in a hurry!
• stay sober & don't smoke the funny smelling stuff, it is not broom straw!
• remain at the edges, don't get stuck in the mass of it.
• Crowds are like fluids, there are currents... don't fight them head on. go with the flow and try to make way towards the edges.
• keep your arms in kamae position (guard up) - it will help you with keeping your ability to breath, and you can use these arms to keep your balance.
• preserve your energy - don't scream, there are already enough people doing that.
• Don't piss off your neighbors, communicate with them with your hands, eyes, head, smile, whatever works ---- they are in this with you, not on their own choice, and want it to stop as much as you do.
• if your feet lose contact with the ground, don't panic (but a little prayer might help): keep going with the flow.
• if you lose your shoes --- so be it, you lost your shoes... don't go fishing after these prada at 699, your life is worth more. You can say "sh*t, I lost my new shoes" twice, if that helps!
• if someone gives you a hand, take it... I don't think someone will have evil intent in under the circumstances.
• if someone is losing his footing and asks for help, lend them a hand, but make sure that you can regain possession of your hand when you need to ---- no sense having someone taking you under.
• if at some moment you are trapped, and this will happen, you are a trained karateka, you can take some pain and are hopefully conditioned... you will be one of the last to die of suffocation...
• Arrive early & leave early (or late) to avoid the rushes.

If you are caught in a demonstration where things go to a clash with the police... no matter where your sympathies rest, the police side is your best bet.
Use your passport, wave it over your head while going towards them, be non threatening, ask for help.
If that does not work, escape via a side road, ask for help in some homes, store, shop, etc...
Retreat to the far end, locate yourself against a wall or in a door, look busy and don't provoke demonstrators, sometimes all some factions want is some action.
Don't make a stand, run! unless you have to protect someone... But in that case you have forgone your survival to the survival of another; just be clear about that.
If you are singled out and a crowd rushed towards you, I sincerely hope you read the first paragraph.


Be safe

osu!

LOL, were you just sitting there watching tv and got knocked in the head with this or has it been puzzling you for quite some time? By no means did I not enjoy the read and found it to be highly beneificial!

[FredInChina]

Osu,


Good one JCBel - great clip and a very stoopid "singer" with even more dumbed followers...

It has been puzzling me since 1980 after I read a book on survival in Australia that mentions the singling out of another sucker in case you are chased by a crowd...
Then there was the Heisel Stadium disaster, etc...

Glad I got it off my system.


osu!

[Gryphon]

upon entry, make a note of where the other exits are (not just the way you came in... that, everyone knows already, and you can expect the passage to be obstructed) ----- Check if these exits are not obstructed of locked (it happens all the time in Asia!)... if they are, leave! If the exits are at the bottom of the stairs, with doors that you must PULL open, leave in a hurry!

Good advice all around, this is one of my top three rules to surviving a hostile encounter (the other two are : keep breathing, and maintain your balance).

stay sober & don't smoke the funny smelling stuff, it is not broom straw!

I should probably add that to the list ...

This was a very good article, and may save a life or two. Humans can be very nice as individuals, but mobs are monsters. For my part, I try to avoid crowds unless I have a good reason for being there.