The Ultimate Body Language Book

ody. This nerve in particular, while vulnerable, also controls the lips, sinuses and digestion among
others. Hitting it hard and suddenly is effectively like putting the body into sensory overload causing it
to suddenly shut down. In fact, successful boxers want what is called “good chin” or the ability to
repeatedly endure blows to the head and chin without passing out. The military man, on the other hand,
is one who dares someone to attack their chins by making it an overt target. He says, “Go ahead take a
swipe, see what it gets you in return.”
Other times, the military man posture is intended to show a readiness to be open an inviting, although it
fails in this regard. We’ve all avoided the eerily empty mall shop whose underpaid employee or
distraught owner paces to and fro with his hands to his back. One has to wonder if the empty shop is
the cause or effect. Does the body language repel customers or does the body language come from
being repelled by customers? I suspect the latter, but this represents my body language bias. Naturally,
the clerks would be served well to drop the posture altogether and instead offer something more
welcoming.
Police use the military-man posture to put their confidence on display. They know their uniform, badge,
and the law they serve, protects them from challenges. School principals and teachers who want to set a
strong first impression can also be seen touring their territory with their arms to their backs. My high
school principle, in retrospect was mild mannered and quiet, he used his posture to show others he
meant business. The next principle, much younger and green, faired far worse in maintaining order. He
used his mouth far too often to try to set his tone which merely invited attacks. Evolutionarily speaking
the military man is a strutting posture and so it can preemptively avoid potentially harmful physical
show-downs between rival men. Other possible root origins stem from its concealment properties. In
other words, a spear, knife or other makeshift sharp object might be cocked at the ready to be sprung on
unsuspecting challengers – you’d never know, so why risk it! If you had no other choice, would you
physically jump a confident looking authority figure or the man hunched over who avoids eye contact?
In other words, sometimes the military man posture makes great sense.