Most people like to believe that violence is random. That it simply appears out of nowhere, like a storm breaking across a calm sky. Someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and suddenly everything explodes into chaos. It's a comforting belief because it suggests that violence is unpredictable, something outside our control, but in many cases that simply isn’t true. Much of the violence that happens between strangers begins long before the moment anyone realises something is wrong. It...

Many people imagine violence as something sudden and explosive; a punch thrown without warning, a fight that appears to erupt out of nowhere. Films, television, and even some martial arts training reinforce this idea. Violence is often portrayed as a purely physical event that begins the moment someone throws the first strike. In reality, violence almost never begins that way. Long before the first punch is thrown, there is usually a series of behavioural signals and escalating dynamics...

Emotion is what powers conflict long before logic ever gets involved. Most people like to believe that arguments, fights and confrontations come from differences in opinion or circumstance, but in reality they are driven by how someone feels in the moment and not what they think. When a person feels disrespected, embarrassed, threatened or challenged, their emotional brain fires first. The rational part of the mind doesn’t lead the situation, it follows behind trying to justify whatever the...