This article made me immediately think of a post I saw over at Ikigai.
First the sad news from the first post:
Former British heavyweight boxing champion James Oyebola was shot in the neck in a nightclub after asking a group of men to stop smoking, a court heard Tuesday.
As unfortunate as this death may be there are three lessons here for martial artists:
- IMO he had no business telling people what they should or should not be doing. If you read the article you’ll see he was not employed by the club in any official capacity. So the old saying of “engage your brain before putting your mouth in gear” seems to apply here.
- Size often matters not and multiple opponents are almost always a losing proposition.
- The third lesson relates to Ikigai’s post:
The final interpretation brings me to my main point for this post – what can we do to prepare for encounters long before they happen?
In this case, remember that lots of people carry firearms and bullets are often final.
~BCP
Arrogance can cost one dearly.
I’m willing to speculate that in addition to making arrogant requests, the boxer wouldn’t take no for an answer. The final answer was a sentence composed with bullets.
perfect example. well found.
Well said. You have a very good point!
Bob,
I wrote an article which referred to this part of the nijukun and contrasted it specifically for untrained people who needed the benefit self defence and a fighting chance or beginners who needed a mental edge whilst still developing their skills.
Not totally related but an interesting read.
The Best Defence
http://www.a-kato.org/articles/20060411wee.html
Regards,
Colin
Richard – Yes another lesson for sure and it’s one that I missed!
Colin – You do have a point and a good one. While in this case the best defense would have been to mind one’s business and leave well enough alone, there are situations where you are better off attacking first.