Printed

Random thought I wanted to add after yesterday's training, and related to a prior post on knife fighting called "The Cutting Edge". Leaving your fingerprints on things is bad. In this context, when knife fighting, if we strip the knife from an attacker (which should always be a last-ditch response when we cannot run away or evade) there is a likelihood that we will get our own fingerprints on it. Use your feet to secure it, DO NOT PICK IT UP.

Guro Fred illustrates an example where, having taken a knife away and used it to immobilize an attacker, the police arrive and...you guessed it...we get arrested and charged not just with the man we just used the knife on, but everyone else he may have used the knife on...since our fingerprints are the main ones the police discover. Can you imagine the sick irony of that?

In my post called "Broken", I explain that when we fight, under even the best of circumstances we stand a chance of being arrested and/or charged. This is worthy of serious consideration. The idea that we could get attacked, righteously defend ourselves or our loved ones, and STILL end up in prison or sued by the criminal or his/her family is insane. Insane though it may be, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.



Especially in foreign countries where gaijin/gwailo/ang mo are suspect anyway, and police do not speak English as a first language, the chances that you can get unjustly blamed for something goes up exponentially.


CSI may not be there to help you...

Let your mind imagine a situation where you are wrongfully accused, denied by your embassy (who want no part of your problem), stuck in jail awaiting trial in a country where you may not speak the language and may not have an interpreter to help you, where you are likely not to have legal counsel to protect you...and you will get a sense of how these things can escalate.

Human rights do not exist equally everywhere. Be wise. For reference, read this.

It may sound cowardly to say this, but the truth is

YOUR BEST DEFENSE IS ALWAYS TO RUN AWAY.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking...

What's the point of studying martial arts for all those years if you just run away when confronted by danger?

• Glib answer: "all the cardio training helps you run faster"
• Philosophical answer: "only one who knows war can understand peace"
• Practical answer: "I don't go to jail for NOBODY"

We all want to believe in justice, but as Guro Fred says "leave nothing to chance".

Use your head before you use your fist

oh yeah, and if you plan to pick up the knife you stripped from an attacker, be sure you are wearing gloves :-)