462 - (FREE TO READ) Mailbox: A selection of this week's emails...
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1 - Email from a young man:
“Do you think, after many lessons, I’ll eventually be as good at this as you?”
Thanks for such kind words, though I hope and am sure that you will surely surpass me in having the advantage of such young years. I view myself as pretty much at the end of my physical abilities. I’m 54, have several physical impairments, and my “skills” are very much those of a mortal being and never as good as I feel they could be despite the discipline of practice.
I try to do the best with what I have, in the place I am now.
I would hope that you go on to do better than I have - not only in training for yourself but also in life. As the outside and transactional world would judge me as a failure, I can spite it by knowing that my real success in life is fatherhood which is the best thing that ever happened to me. Some of the worst things that happened to me, I’ve tried to turn into useful examples for those I train with.
Keep on keeping on, and the time spent doing and thinking will pay off. Chase ideas down as far as you can and think for yourself, always.
I think (and know) you'll be the best version of YOU which is what we should all be striving for. Be a good person and everything else will follow.
2 - Email:
“Under what circumstances do you think a man has a duty to intervene, morally? Recently I reported to the NSPCC some suspicions involving a schoolgirl and what happened to have happened to her, they told me to ring the police which I did.
However, I saw her being sought of lead across the street by a male who seemed slightly older whilst she had a fearful expression and I did NOT follow them. Later I heard her scream. Should I have followed them?”
Thanks. This is as always in such matters, estimated advice based upon ZERO recognised official/legal training. While I am certainly cheaper than a solicitor, if you listen to my advice alone, you may well end up paying for one anyway…
If you have an attack in progress, please call your legal team and hold the line until one of their operatives becomes available to answer your call…
If something feels wrong then something is wrong.
Having said that, consider what can you realistically do?
I know you personally and I know your circumstances, so I will answer based on that.
This is the first thing to recognise, that everyone has a different potential for dealing with possible physical aggression. So there are no macho blanket responses that can be given to this. Anyone giving you answers like that is a fool.
Intervening directly is to risk being assaulted in order to aid the safety of another, in this case, an unknown person based on what you think is happening at that moment with limited information available to you.
A judgment call.
Getting stabbed maybe or hurt for getting involved is dumb if you could have done something else instead. I’ve been in a couple of serious situations in my life, with guys who were both in the process of, from what I could see, murdering a woman and consistently I ended up in real shit, including being chased up Mile End Road by a guy who we thought had a knife (I guess at least my land speed record attempt might have bought the woman a few seconds of escape while the asshole focused on chasing and trying to kill me instead, hope she took it).
Causing as much disruption to an incident as you can without getting yourself seriously harmed is a smarter way to deal with this if you must.
What you’re describing though, a child? I’m not clear what you saw from your email, a girl that looked unhappy or did you think it was distress?
Call the cops first rather than a secondary organisation, this is time lost that might make the difference if it were really serious.
It’s a child welfare issue so everyone is expected to do something but being assaulted is not one of them. Stay back, follow out of direct sight, etc. If she’s put in a car, get the plate. This is safer for you and let the cops take the flack if it’s an innocent misunderstanding.
If it’s say a beating in public, then disrupt if possible, if not diminish the attack in any way that you think you can to allow a kid to get away.
If it’s clear what is going on and you were physically able and happy to fight, or perhaps have backup? Then you could go for it and take the consequences.
But one must possess the agency to act to be considered to have a moral duty to physically intervene.
3 - email:
“If you witness someone attack someone else (not family) but it’s in your home or you’re walking somewhere with that person, can you fight, legally?”
Thanks. "Can you fight, legally?"
Never choose to “fight” anyone.
If someone is about to be hurt or is being hurt - you can probably justify using reasonable force to stop that assault.
If that person has started a fight or not tried to leave and /or avoid the problem then you may have some issues if you then get involved.
Leaving is a big aspect of justifying defending yourself or others. It must be clearly seen to be the absolute last resort left to you and then, the minimum amount of force used (as best as you can) to cease the aggression/ threat.
4 Email:
“Would this work as a defence against aggression in the street?”
Thanks. I was about to say I hate this and then realised these dudes were stuntmen (??) which puts a different light on it. But if it were supposed to be real…
There’s a high chance that the dude throwing those punches like that would have something broken in the process.
The dropped arm defence is pointless and loses time.
The “attacker”? Not quite sure what was going on there. Reminded me of one of these:
5 - Email:
“Would a sweep takedown be effective when being grabbed by the collar in the street? Many years ago I used it and was studying traditional jujutsu at the time, does it increase the chances of getting stabbed in the street even if someone has already grabbed you?”
Well as you’ve used it once already and it worked, you know that it has some efficacy certainly, though dependent on the situation, which is true of nearly everything though as far as techniques go.
In terms of against a knife, sweeps can work, and then again…
It’s good to have that guy senseless / in agony / already “going that way” and other good stuff to up the chances of pulling a move off rather than just pulling that move alone.
Make sense?
Email #6 via website
“Call me (number removed)”
Top of my list of things to do mate… really.
Email #7 via website
“LEARNING self defence”
That’s great, ENJOY doing that.