Just to make sure I get all of you potential readers to leave immediately – I’m going to come out right away and say what the technique is…
“Do Nothing and Walk Away”. WAIT! Don’t go yet! I know you’ve heard “that crap” before – but there’s a story behind this that made me think about this simple approach to dealing with a street situation.
One of my students.. lets call him “Big Guy” – BG for short, is a hulk of a man; if it wasn’t for his amazing attitude and dedication to learning I would definitely NOT want to teach him. He’s the type of guy you don’t want to face in the street! BG works at his uncle’s pawn shop and also works with a lazy employee who tends to make comments that should not be made. One such comment was calling BG the “n” word while BG was dealing with a customer on the phone. BG being the guy he is, got offended at the comment and the two started arguing. I am not sure exactly what words transpired but the other employee grabbed a loaded gun and pointed it at BG.
In the Kobukai Ju-JItsu system we deal with common weapons, such as guns, knives, and clubs. BG had been working lately on the white belt charts and learning to disarm an attacker with a gun pointed at their chest called “Pistol Front – Kote Geashi” Or Wrist-Twist Throw. From my understanding, BG was about 10 feet away, he’s obviously not going to disarm an attacker 10 feet away. So, BG, recognizing that he needed to get in closer, put his hands up in a self-defense yet yielding position, and approached the attacker saying “You’re gonna shoot me, you’re gonna shoot me Mother-Fucker!” in an attempt to get closer to disarm the attacker.
As BG approached the weapon, he had a moment of clarity realizing that this guy actually might shoot him and that he has an opportunity to step away from the situation and do nothing at all. So, BG walked away, the gun was put away, and the employee was fired. Criminal charges were not filed because the employee was the son of the other owner.
I applaud BG’s confidence in his technique and I personally believe if he decided to take the weapon from the employee, I believe he could have. BUT, the story scared the fucking-shit out of me. While hearing the story all I could think was “I have taught these people wrong”. The are focusing on the technique, not on the REAL situation in front of them. By the end of the story, I felt better, but still overall concerned.
…are all part of Kobukai Ju-Jitsu. BG was not lacking in Confidence and Warrior Spirit – and I’m glad in the end he saw the reality of the situation.
that was an excellent piece of responsible writing, after being involved in martial arts all my life the most profound weapon I have learned is humility and learning that walking away is almost always the best solution.
Thank you! Humility also seems to be one of the hardest lessons to learn – that some people never get.