>>2856882>Maybe I should join a boxing gym.Step one to making a hobby of after dark strolls: you gotta be the meanest thing that goes bump in the night.
So yes, you absolutely should join a boxing club.
Best thing about becoming a trained fighter is you learn to recognize each other by just body language alone.
You learn to recognize and read someone's intent just by the way they are walking.
It could be that man you encountered had bad intentions
It could also be the reason he was having a walk in the dark snowy night was because his mother had just died, so he was so in his own head he didn't even hear you
It could be he is just having a really bad day
Maybe he got fired from his job, by a cracka ass motherfucka that LOOKED JUST LIKE YOU!!
I generally do not call out to people on my night walks, if they enter my path I put my hand in my coat to grab ole trusty slice n dice and make hard eye contact so the other guy knows he might be looking for some rabbit but what he is about to pass on the walk is in fact a prowling lion
With other trained fighters its simpler because we simply give each other some room to pass and make eye contact, a silent nod of acknowledgement so we both know our business is not with eachother and continue on our merry way.
I've been trained and have also been night walking since I was a kid OP, you got to know how to read body language, how to size someone up, if they bridge their knees when stepping, if they are sizing you up.
Aura maxing is important too, you can change a night creeps entire perspective of you if you know how to lower your shoulders and move kind of ape like, they will 100% abort their plans to do shit if they think you might be a hard target, if they can sense that you are not one bit afraid of them.
You aren't a coward OP, you sensed like any animal that there was possible danger, and that you might be out of your depth.