Violence

A 15 year boy was walking with two girls on a street during Koninginnedag. A car wanted to pass, honked ... was annoyed got out of the car and started to have a go at the boy. It started with some pushing, some kicking and only then the boy reacted. As a brown belt karateka, the boy could do serious damage. He did not, in the end his glasses were damaged but he had defended himself without resorting to his skills.

A thirty year old man was in a bar. Recently he had been professionally trained in aggression management and self defense. There was a guy who was intoxicated, really aggressive destructive even. The man thought, I can practice what I have learned... will I first give him an upper cut or a jab... He involved himself, talked to the man, using the psychological tricks... and found that they worked. I met this man at a dinner party, he told us that he would have liked to use his new fighting skills.

At the party, we talked about aggression, that it is good to have the skill to be able to manage unpleasant situations. The consensus was that it is best not to get into a situation and that the best you can do is to prevent a situation from getting even more nasty. We tried some holds on each other... I feel uncomfortable about having a perceived need for these skills. If anything the aggression management skills are the ones I prefer to master. Running I do for fun.
Thanks,
GerardM