FIGHTING

Something for you all to think about if you are contemplating getting hands on and fighting or defending yourself.

Usually when two animals fight one loses and limps off injured or worse, the victor will usually always limp of injured to some degree.

As you may or may not know I am, for my sins, a Police Constable. Yet again last night I had to effect the arrest of a violent man. In comparison to me it was a miss-match in my favour. In any violent confrontational situation there are certain factors you need to take into consideration before thinking about going hands on. These include age, size, gender, alcohol, drugs, mental derangement, etc.. I can go on and on.

The guy I had to arrest was a extremely violent offender who's violence was fuelled by a mental instability. In a nut shell, your usual run of the mill techniques simply do not work! All 5' 6" of his stocky frame held off three of us. All Pressure Point techniques failed, simple compound strikes bounced off of him and in terms of strength it was like fighting a Gorilla.

After 5 minutes of wrestling, during which ALL of my Ju Jutsu techniques were tried, tested and failed I emerged battered, bruised and injured (busted shoulder).

The guy was 5' 6", stocky build and weighed approximately 14 stone. I am 6' 2", heavy build and 17 stone. I have 20 + years experience in martial arts, I am not a cage rage fighter and I do not profess to be the ultimate martial arts guru. However, I can state firmly that I can look after myself. This guy held me and two others off him for a considerable time and I emerged injured.

Just bare in mind, no matter what size your opponent is, no matter how good you are at Karate, Aikido and Ju Jutsu. Fighting still carries a risk of injury for whoever is involved. Unfortunately I had to fight as I had to apprehend the suspect. If you have the choice, walk away, it's not worth it. Injuries suck! That's Christmas, training, work messed up for a few weeks now while I recover.

Oss

Sensei Jeffrey John Russell - Sandan
Chief Instructor - Braintree Shotokan Karate-Do