Techniques in distraction that are a part of Togakure Ryu Ninpo & Ninjutsu taught by Grandmaster Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi and his US equivalent (taught by him) Steven K. Hayes. One example being pushing a door to make one’s pursuers think you’ve gone that way when you’ve gone another. Another is that adapted from covert operations in Feudal Era Japan, what is known today as Psyops: making your opponent think one way by planting misinformation. Fact: Dr. Hatsumi has trained operatives of the CIA, MI6 & Mossad.
Congrats OP: you’ve fallen into the most basic of traps that is but one of those techniques.
The very first thing Dr. Hatsumi teaches is this: Be constantly aware of your environment. Certainly in how to use even a fairly confined space to your advantage. You’re not exactly experts in reading the room, OP.