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Why I train...
By jwinch2 - 05-07-2010 09:14 PM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
I had a stark and powerful reminder today of why I do what I do. Why I train in the art that I do and with the mindset that I try to have. Its odd on the timing of this event, just yesterday, I was asked by a colleague who is from India and is about the nicest person I have ever met if I had anything to open a box with. Without thinking, I pulled out my pocket folder and opened it and gave it to him. Now, he knows me pretty well, he knows I carry concealed, and he knows that I train but that one caught him off guard. He looked at me oddly and I just replied "I don't go anywhere unarmed as long as its legal" to which he replied, "why?"... Now, him and I have had several conversations about this type of stuff before so I know he knows where I am coming from but due to his background and upbringing he simply cannot make the intellectual link to putting the words into practice on a personal level.
Now, fast forward to today...
I was in Fair Oaks mall in Fairfax Virginia which is a nice area and a pretty upscale mall for the area. I was out there buying my wife a birthday gift and grabbing some lunch before going back to work on a project with the same colleague I spoke of above. After getting lunch and the gift taken care of I was walking towards the exit of the mall. About 5 paces in front of me and 5 - 6 feet to the right was a nice looking black couple. They were well dressed and appeared to be nothing but normal people at the mall together. All of a sudden, from behind and to my right 2 Hispanic youths ran by me, jumped the guy and starting beating the crap out of him. He had no warning and there appeared to be nothing in the immediate time frame that had set off the altercation. His wife was freaking out and screaming so after pulling her back out of the way, I ran into the nearest store and told them to call the police.
I came back out with my hand on my pocket folder trying to decide if I should get more involved than that when all of a sudden the two guys jumped up and ran away leaving the other man standing there bleeding from his mouth but otherwise not obviously injured. The fight itself was sloppy with the two assailants throwing wild haymakers and trying to take the victim to the ground repeatedly with mixed success. The one time they got him down was on the first attack which was pretty bad. One attacker was on him and the other was kicking him in the head at the same time. Bad situation to be in. Once the fight returned to standing it was more of an even fight and the guy did a decent job of keeping one guy in between the other so only one of them could come at him at a time. I don't know if he had any training or if that was instinctual but it was effective nonetheless... A "rent a cop" showed up about two minutes later which was about a minute and thirty seconds after it had ended. The entire affair lasted somewhere between 20 - 30 seconds and then it was over and the perpetrators were gone.
Lessons learned from today: 1) you don't see it coming. 2) no one is going to help you (I was the only one who did anything and I did not intervene directly). If I had come out and it was still going perhaps I would have and perhaps not. If his wife was attacked as well I might have intervened and I might not have. I'm glad I didn't have to make the choice. Everyone talks about why doesn't someone jump in but I can attest that most people, including me, were in shock. It took a good 5 - 10 seconds before I reacted by pulling his wife back and trying to get help. 3) I need to be better prepared. I have a concealed carry permit and a nice rig which I only use about 25% of the time that I go out. That needs to change. 4) sport based ground fighting is going to get you killed in a multiple attacker scenario. I have no problem with it in a single attacker format as long as modifications for weapons and striking are made. In fact, I study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and think it is a fantastic and beautiful art. However, I watched the guy basically pull guard on his first attacker (it wasn't true guard but he did have his legs around the guy which seemed to happen by accident as he was falling) and while he was trying to fight off the first guy, that was the exact moment the other guy came in and started kicking him in the head. 5) I love my wife. All I could think about afterwards was her and how glad that I was she was not there with me as it just as easily could have been us. Immediately after offering my statement to the police officer that showed up I went to my wife's work to see her.
When I got back to work this afternoon I related this story to my colleague that I described above. He was absolutely appalled by the event and simply could not believe what I was telling him. I looked him dead in the eye and told him "that's why". I think for the first time, it actually resonated with him on an emotional level. It sure as hell shook me up. I can attest to that without hesitation.
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By jwinch2 - 05-07-2010 09:14 PM
Originally Posted at: FMATalk
====================
I had a stark and powerful reminder today of why I do what I do. Why I train in the art that I do and with the mindset that I try to have. Its odd on the timing of this event, just yesterday, I was asked by a colleague who is from India and is about the nicest person I have ever met if I had anything to open a box with. Without thinking, I pulled out my pocket folder and opened it and gave it to him. Now, he knows me pretty well, he knows I carry concealed, and he knows that I train but that one caught him off guard. He looked at me oddly and I just replied "I don't go anywhere unarmed as long as its legal" to which he replied, "why?"... Now, him and I have had several conversations about this type of stuff before so I know he knows where I am coming from but due to his background and upbringing he simply cannot make the intellectual link to putting the words into practice on a personal level.
Now, fast forward to today...
I was in Fair Oaks mall in Fairfax Virginia which is a nice area and a pretty upscale mall for the area. I was out there buying my wife a birthday gift and grabbing some lunch before going back to work on a project with the same colleague I spoke of above. After getting lunch and the gift taken care of I was walking towards the exit of the mall. About 5 paces in front of me and 5 - 6 feet to the right was a nice looking black couple. They were well dressed and appeared to be nothing but normal people at the mall together. All of a sudden, from behind and to my right 2 Hispanic youths ran by me, jumped the guy and starting beating the crap out of him. He had no warning and there appeared to be nothing in the immediate time frame that had set off the altercation. His wife was freaking out and screaming so after pulling her back out of the way, I ran into the nearest store and told them to call the police.
I came back out with my hand on my pocket folder trying to decide if I should get more involved than that when all of a sudden the two guys jumped up and ran away leaving the other man standing there bleeding from his mouth but otherwise not obviously injured. The fight itself was sloppy with the two assailants throwing wild haymakers and trying to take the victim to the ground repeatedly with mixed success. The one time they got him down was on the first attack which was pretty bad. One attacker was on him and the other was kicking him in the head at the same time. Bad situation to be in. Once the fight returned to standing it was more of an even fight and the guy did a decent job of keeping one guy in between the other so only one of them could come at him at a time. I don't know if he had any training or if that was instinctual but it was effective nonetheless... A "rent a cop" showed up about two minutes later which was about a minute and thirty seconds after it had ended. The entire affair lasted somewhere between 20 - 30 seconds and then it was over and the perpetrators were gone.
Lessons learned from today: 1) you don't see it coming. 2) no one is going to help you (I was the only one who did anything and I did not intervene directly). If I had come out and it was still going perhaps I would have and perhaps not. If his wife was attacked as well I might have intervened and I might not have. I'm glad I didn't have to make the choice. Everyone talks about why doesn't someone jump in but I can attest that most people, including me, were in shock. It took a good 5 - 10 seconds before I reacted by pulling his wife back and trying to get help. 3) I need to be better prepared. I have a concealed carry permit and a nice rig which I only use about 25% of the time that I go out. That needs to change. 4) sport based ground fighting is going to get you killed in a multiple attacker scenario. I have no problem with it in a single attacker format as long as modifications for weapons and striking are made. In fact, I study Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and think it is a fantastic and beautiful art. However, I watched the guy basically pull guard on his first attacker (it wasn't true guard but he did have his legs around the guy which seemed to happen by accident as he was falling) and while he was trying to fight off the first guy, that was the exact moment the other guy came in and started kicking him in the head. 5) I love my wife. All I could think about afterwards was her and how glad that I was she was not there with me as it just as easily could have been us. Immediately after offering my statement to the police officer that showed up I went to my wife's work to see her.
When I got back to work this afternoon I related this story to my colleague that I described above. He was absolutely appalled by the event and simply could not believe what I was telling him. I looked him dead in the eye and told him "that's why". I think for the first time, it actually resonated with him on an emotional level. It sure as hell shook me up. I can attest to that without hesitation.
Read More...
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