Assaulted - YET AGAIN!!!

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Assaulted - YET AGAIN!!!

Postby Tarandus » Sun Aug 19, 2007 2:49 pm

Last night I was on my way home from the pub here in Brighton, England. It was about 1 in the morning and I was taking a short cut through the Royal Pavilion Gardens. This is the small park at the back of the Royal Pavilion which is a former royal holiday palace constructed in the early nineteenth century. I am not pretending I was very sober but two men in their fifties I would guess were walking past me in the opposite direction in the gardens on the path an some sort of altercation ensued. One of them had chunky silver rings on each and every finger of both hands. He punched me on the chin as I wasn't sober enough to have my wits about me and it came very unexpectedly. He tried punching me again but I blocked it and there then followed a grapple with both him and his fat friend.

As a result I tripped and fell over but managed to get up again and carried on defending myself against them both. They were unable to land any further blows on me and at last I found an opening and was able to use An/Push against the man with the rings. I succeeded in flipping him over a low fence about a foot in height and he landed flat on his back on the grass behind the fence to the side of the path. That was the end of the fight.

Neither of them tried anything against me after that. I could have followed up and kicked the utter cr*p out of the man with the rings when he was on the ground but my ethics forbade me from doing so. When he got up he carried on shouting abuse at me and swearing, as did his fat friend, so I just swore back at them and carried on abusing them until they went away. I then realised my chin was bleeding from where the man with the rings had succeeded in hitting it, as presumably one or more or the rings had connected.

It was a small cut but quite deep and when I got home and looked in the mirror I saw a small flap of skin hanging off. The cut was still bleeding eight hours later. It is now about 19 hours since the fight and the cut has now dried up. I went to bed initially when I got home but woke up after a few hours and then decided to phone the police about the incident. I reached their call centre and they said that they would be sending an officer round to visit me next week. I have some hope that the men might be apprehended, as although there is no CCTV in the park, there is CCTV in the main road which they headed towards after the fight. If I can establish their addresses, I also intend to bring a compensation claim for the tort of Assault and Battery in the Civil courts.

I have always forgotten about fights in the past and have never pursued the wrongdoers. But this incident now brings the total of unprovoked attacks against me in since 2001 to six... They have been as follows:

1. In a nightclub in south London (Lewisham) in 2000 a man attempted to grab a womans breasts in front of her boyfriend who stood by and did nothing. I interposed myself between the aggressor and the woman and told him that was enough. He then took a swing at me. I blocked and used again, An/Push and pushed him over, flipping him in fact on to the small stage which was raised about a foot above the floor. He landed on his back but got up and took another swing at me which I blocked and again pushed him over. He was very dazed after the second time and crawled to the edge of the stage and sat there on the edge. I then kicked him off the stage and he was escorted out by security.

2. In Summer 2001 on my way from home some yobs threw a bottle at my head from a passing car in Lewisham, south London. Fortunately it missed and smashed against a wall behind me.

3. In Summer 2001 on my way home from work in Lewisham, south London, a man on a motorbike mounted the pavement and attempted to run me over with it. I managed to dodge out of the way.

4. I Summer 2001 again on my way home from work in Lewisham, south London, I was attacked by a gang of six teenagers, one of whom had a thick stick he had broken off from a tree. They first threw a bottle at my head, which missed, and then all attacked me simultaneously. The one with the stick was whacking me over the head repeatedly with it but I blocked all of the fifteen blows or so apart from one, which got through partially,glancing off the side of my left temple and skidding across the bridge of my nose. I subsequently had to take that individual out as he was clearly not getting the message. I waited until he was separated from the other five and then went for him with the intention of grabbing his stick arm and using Yang Style T'ai Chi Kao Tan Ma to dislocate his shoulder. However, he was moving about rapidly and I had instantaneously to adapt my strike and converted it into elbow stroke to his face, after having grabbed and deflected his stick arm. That stopped him and the others then gave up when they saw what I had done, and they all ran away. One of them, the second most aggressive, slipped on turning to run away and fell flat on his face in the road, which was highly gratifying to watch.

5. In Brighton in 2002 after a row about change in a kebab shop where I had ordered a vegetarian takeaway, three Turkish sales assistants followed me out into the street (it was about 1 in the morning) and all three started kicking and punching me. In fact first one of them followed me out and initiated the assault and he was later joined by the other two. He first threw a punch at me which I blocked and tried to kick him but as I was none to sober, I messed up the kick and fell over. While I was on the road on my back, he kicked me in the head. I got up, however, but by then the other two had joined him and all started punching and kicking me. Also, the one who had attacked me first was trying to burn me on my bare arm with a lighted cigarette while the others tried to punch and kick me. Not a single one of their attacks actually got through and eventually they just gave up when they realised my defences couldn't be penetrated. They went away uttering all sorts of dire threats of course, but it was all bullshit. The fact was, and they knew it, there were three of them trying to do their worst and they had been entirely neutralised by me.

And now there is this latest, sixth incicent. Well, I am sick of being assaulted. On the other hand, thank God I learned T'ai Chi from a highly respected Chinese Grandmaster in London. His classes have really 'saved my bacon' on all of these occasions. But now I really am sick of being assaulted and want vengeance - not physical vengeance, but the more subtle kind: court action, and I intend to have it. I am particularly keen on pursuing the civil claim if I can find the perpetrators. I would assess the likely damages as between £500 and £1000. If I am successful and they delay in paying, I shall execute the judgement and send bailiffs round, freeze their bank accounts, etc, etc. I am absolutely sick of these unprovoked attacks and now I want Justice. Kind regards, T.
'Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions. Live the questions now. You will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.' Rainer Maria Rilke.
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Postby Yue » Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:16 pm

I say good for you :lol: I strongly dislike unprovoked attacks and, while I am a big believer in self-preservation, I think one should push for justice.
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Postby Tarandus » Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:05 pm

Yue: thanks a lot for your support. Today I was called to the police station to view about 80 images of suspects on their computer. Unfotunately, they had been unable to identify anyone from the CCTV cameras so these were photos of previous suspects. I have never in my life seen such a collection of ugly, even deformed faces - quite freakish, the entire gallery... Unfortunately, none of them were the men who attacked me. Two looked vaguely similar, but were not my attackers. So I've decided to carry my mobile around with me from now on. This means that if I ever see either of the two again, I can ring the police immediately and they will send a car round and have them lifted. After six unprovoked assaults against me, I am not letting this one go. England of course is becoming more and more violent and nearly everyone I know down here has been a victim of some sort of incident. But my tally of six incidents in as many years is unusual and even the police themselves were surprised. Sometimes I have to pinch myself and tell myself there's nothing about me that says 'attack this person' and that it's just an unusual run of bad luck, but by no means inconsistent with the times in which we live .... Kind regards, Simon.
'Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions. Live the questions now. You will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.' Rainer Maria Rilke.
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Postby Yue » Sat Aug 25, 2007 1:58 pm

I live in a relatively safe neighborhood, but I get threatened a lot at school and have had to defend myself on quite a few occasions because teachers are either not around or don't care, so I think justice should always be a top priority. Be careful, though: they might get really angry if they get arrested because of you, and they may try to take revenge of their own. I hope you find the ones you're looking for.
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Postby Tarandus » Sun Aug 26, 2007 8:29 pm

Yue: I really don't give a damn if they try to take revenge of their own. If they attempt that, they will merely be faced with further legal procedures through the Courts. In any case, they didn't do too well the last time they attacked me, so I don't know how they would think they could fare better a second time around. In any event, I do not have them down as serious gang members or members of some organised crime syndicate. They were merely scrotes and wasters and typical of the sorts of individual hanging around late at night in England hoping to have a go at innocent passers by. The only thing that was unusual in their case was that they were old enough - by far old enough - to know better. They deserve everthing that's coming to them. Unfortunately, as I've said, nothing turned up on CCTV and none of the photos shown me by the police matched these assailants. But that doesn't mean that I won't catch up with them one of these days. What will then follow will be far worse for them than a beating, as it might well involve a criminal record making it very difficult for them to get a job as well as financial repercussions. I'm very sorry to hear about the trouble you're getting at school. I can well believe it. I've always believed that the modern schooling system is merely a type of bootcamp to prepare cannon fodder as slaves for the capitalist machine. If I ever have kids, no way am I sending them to school to be bullied and exposed to the cr*p street culture of video gaming, rubbish music and loutish manners. They will be educated at home - by myself - even if it means I have to go part time in my employment. Furthermore, I will educate them in Law and Accountancy as well as Maths and English. The rest of the home syllabus will be in humanities of their choice - languages, philosophy, literature, anything for the soul; education should be for the benefit of the spiritual and ethical development of the individual, not a technical training to fit them for jobs in which their labour power will be exploited for the benefit of 'Mr Money- Bags'. Of course, I will also teach them self-defence, which was more than my father ever taught me, even though he was in the army. Kind regards, T.
'Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions. Live the questions now. You will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.' Rainer Maria Rilke.
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Postby Phalanxpursos » Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:03 pm

Don't go on the street when dark.

If you have to go, dress in black and walk quickly in the shadow. Just go to places which are crowded and of course don't drink any alcohol, I quit drinking alcohol long ago.

Probably the best is make your own life at home more useful.

For me, I just have to go on the street round 12 midday time and buy food. So there's absolutely no use going on the street late at night buying food, you can survive a day without food ok.

Seriously man it's dangerous out there at night.

People literary tried to run me over with speeding cars, robbers & beggers are waiting me up at midnight. They know where I live, they follow me.

But I just hide as much as possible.

Because I have a life in my own house, I can stay inside my home for 4 days. Just ransion food and make sure to only go on the street during daylight, 12'0 clock midday time or round 5 when everyone is eating.

Cause I tell you there are some really weird people out there.
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Postby Dvivid » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:23 pm

Wow, glad you're ok.

I just eminate the "insane street person" vibe when I walk at night.

but I also live in a safe little village, no longer in Boston.
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Postby leighspost » Fri Oct 05, 2007 1:30 am

England is an absolute war zone late at night on the weekends. There are simply some no go zones. I wouldn't go out in my town at all. I normally Travel to the next town or City.

I always keep to the safest places. Normally the classier establishments away from the Chavs. Avoiding the WeatherSpoons because cheap beer attracts cheap people!!!

Personally I would have beat the dren out of these guys. Not so much in retaliation but to get a chance to use all the MA training I have done. Life is too short to pursue these people in the courts.

When you go out in England there is always a good chance someone is going to try and have a go. But thats the chance you take. Its odd though, because when I have been to the rest of Europe they simply don't have this problem.
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Response to T. and leigspost regarding multiple attackers

Postby jfraser » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:21 am

Sorry of the long delayed response to your postings. I had no idea London and perhaps other parts of England had become such a "war zone". Sounds like this may apply to some other parts of Europe, as well.

The "inner cities" and certain neighborhoods of many US cities have also become war zones. For example, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, St. Louis, Philadelphia, NYC, etc. Most often the middle class escapes the violence by moving to the suburbs, and not going where you don't belong. Sadly, poor people cannot afford to move, and have constant worries about the well-being, health and survival of their children and themselves, and that is just for starters.

T, if you don't mind me saying so, it sounds like you like "Ahn", since that is what comes out of you in altercations. I am glad it works for you. You might also consider and practice some additional versions of "Ahn". For example by placing your hands very close to each other, using the outer edges of your palms, and whenever you touch your attackers torso, instead if pushing, issue power with a vibration (explosion) of your whole body into these palm edges. Perhaps this is what Dr. Yang describes as cavity attacks.

Or place one palm on top ot the other, and when you contact your enemy's solar plexus, or on his chest, squeeze both of your palms inward in a cork screwing manner, with your elbows rotating inwardly towards your ribs, and with your body weight behind either of these movements. This is a technique from Lan Shou Quan.

I used to put a pad on a tree at chest level and practice this over and over again, hitting the pad with these joined palms squeezing on contact, and my whole body weight behind this movement, while keeping a good structure, balance and root. I consider multiple attackers as life threatening to me, and my response will be at this level.

Personally, my experience with Ahn is that it is next to unless your Ahn jin is highly developed internally and externally. Often it results in pushing your attacker and way and perhaps down. But, he often gets up again, and becomes a bigger problem. I am aware that this is what is often demonstrated by some teachers and on some film clips of TJQ applications.

I have felt and experience one exception to my opinion about Ahn when I was looking for a TJQ teacher in the PE Department at Nantong University, in Nantong, Jiangsu. I was introduced to the chairman of the Wushu Department, and he invited me to push hands with him in his office, which I did.

When he applied Ahn to me is several times, it was a very violent feeling, whereby each time he pushed me clear across this office and out his front office door in to lockers in the hall wall; I felt real fear, and he was nice enough to "catch me" before I got hurt. I was able to get him to loose his balance, but not with the violent and scary feeling he could generate on me. He offered to teach me push hands, but I did not take him up on it. That may have been a big mistake on my part.

Because of other training I am not much of a believer in pushing attackers. I prefer to hurt them quick and take him to the ground, with me controlling him and moving around him in such a way an attacker is in the way of others getting to me, if possibe; sometimes his friends may end up hitting him or other attackers, instead of me. The others are kept away from me using him. the attacker in front of me at that second, as a shield. If you can hurt him quickly, take him down on his butt, and control him from behind (like twisting his head using his neck, you can spin him so he could be in the way of his friends getting to you.

This drill, when done by skilled Bujinkan teachers, ends up with all of the attackers piled on top of each other in a more or less vertical knot and most of them hurting a lot. It is a real pain to get up and free from one of these piles, and attackers in this pile are not likely to persue you again.

Move in such a way such that one attacker in front of you is in between you and the second guy. Or if there is more than two attackers, move to and stay to the "outside of a wheel, and do not stay in the center or hub". The idea is to quickly take the attacker down, and move to the outside to the next one, taking care to continue staying on the outside of the wheel so to speak.

These methods, using one attacker to get in the way of another attacker, or moving to the outer edge of the wheel, and not staying in the center or hub of the attack, as well as move, move, move are methods practiced by Bujinkan Ninjutsu, and discussed by Sifu Gary Stier on the Tai Chi section of his Shenmentao forum.

There is a high level Bujinkan representative and teacher somewhere in London. He is (or was) a police officer.

Much of the Bujinkan has a Northern Chinese foundation, and I used to practice both a version of TJQ, and Bujinkan, and I think they compliment each other. I did not experience a conflict between these two systems. Actually, I learned quite a bit about the applications of movements in various Chinese forms, from the two person training of the Bujinkan. There is a world wide Bujinkan Web site, if you are at all interested. This system does not have much in the way of solo forms, except with weapons.

They do emphasis taking an opponent down fast, leaving you standing and positioned him on the floor with some kind of qinna, such that you control him such that none of his limbs can have access to you. And you are free to move around him, using hims as a shield, in the case of multiple opponents

Not much is discussed in TJQ circles about dealing with multiple attackers, as far as I know. I fully understand this fighting multiple attackers is very dangerous , regardless of your own skill level, as you do not know their skill level or real intent, and only to be persued if there is no avenue of escape.

And really hurt the group leader badly, if you can first. This often will generate fear and hesitation in other attacking group members

I am very glad you are safe from all these assaults! I am not pretending to be an expert here, just suggestions from other methods, than TJQ, with which I am familiar.

Kind regards, :)
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Postby Syd » Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:37 pm

It has to be said that most of your described encounters could have been prevented by yourself through common sense and personal life choices. If you are out and about late at night in just about any city of the world with a skin full of booze eventually you are going to attract the wrong kind of attention cause every other idiot with a skin full of grog is out and about looking for somebody to victimize. It's all about choices you make, the places you choose to go and the rest generally takes care of itself.

I'm not saying you deserve to be attacked but there seem to be a few common denominators with most of your situations that pretty clearly sum up the fact that if you changed your personal habits and behaviour you could avoid the assaults, it's not rocket science. Having grown up in the UK also I can say right now that you are very lucky that any one of those events did not go against you for the worse ... I know many that have gone that way and in every case people were in the wrong place at the wrong time ... they chose to be too and that's what happens.

I'm glad you're ok but I think there is a bigger lesson here that you might not be paying attention to.
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Postby Josh Young » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:19 pm

I would be very careful, escalation is a serious problem in already violent areas. Defeated thugs often come back with greater numbers and more dangerous arms.

What do you look like and how do you respond to strangers?
I live in an area that is not so bad, but I know of several stabbings and a few murders after dark on a trail by a river near home. I walk it often and have never had a problem, but have often seen people that were out looking for trouble.

I've even seen stray dogs, occasionally a pitbull in the same area, I ignore the dogs completely and they leave me alone, I've seen people just look at dogs and people though and then change their step slightly and this precipitated aggression.

I like taijiquan for this because it focuses upon listening skills that really are extraordinary for assessing situations and dangers. Last time I had a gang of illegal immigrants block my path I just ignored them and walked around them after giving them a nod and a smile.

Don't be afraid to run if you have to, this is a brave thing to do at times. Only a coward feels compelled to violence. You might have to fight, you may have to kill, but it takes real strength to know when this is the case.

I am a gun owner and often carry implements like a strong plastic marker that can be used to defend myself if I have to. I've been attacked before where I stabbed my attacker, having been there I can say that I much prefer running to harming others who may be making a grave mistake in attacking me. I know that you can't carry self defense items in many nations, but you can carry effective items nonetheless.

Always be careful about sizing up opponents, some people have their attacks down so well that you can't really block them for all intents and purposes. Better to be out of range and keep it that way than to try to counter.
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