nothing to be proud of, but first kilted scuffle

[hospitaller]

well, a few weeks ago I posted about this one guy who was somewhat of an annoyance while at the Pharmacy couple of blocks from my house, and how after I confronted him he left and afterwards as I was walking back home he was in his porch watching me walk by and nodded my way.

ok, fast forward to 45 minutes ago.

this morning (I have the advantage to be able to show up late at work on Fridays) I went to the pharmacy again to get some aspirins and a wrap for my knee.

nothing worth noting (other than the typical looks from the pharmacy girls and other customers) until I was in line for the checkout.

2 people in front of me, and I could feel 1-2 behind me, I know there was a guy immediately behind me because I saw his shoes as I looked down to the floor at one point.

Suddenly I feel a tug on the back of my sporran strap and a male voice asking 'is this for your purse?'

DISCLAIMER: I practice krav maga.

As soon as I turn to check what the heck was going on I realized it was the same guy from last time, except this time he was with a friend of his.

In less than a 1/100000th of a second I realized that:

a. this time this guy meant more than just 'joking'
b. he had another guy with him
c. I had to put an immediate stop to his 'joking behaviour'
d. my krav maga training kicked in quicker than I thought, which is nice to know.

In one swift motion I grabbed his hand, bent it downwards and away from him, thrusted myself to his side, placed my leg alongside his hip, forced him out of balance (while still holding his hand) and then simply pushed him back.

As he was already out of balance he simple moonwalked his way to the fllor while I walked to his friend who was still watching all this.

He stepped back and simply told both of them that "don't you ever grab me again and it is not a purse, it is called a sporran", followed by a nice selection of english grammar's finest words.

the guy got back up and tried to get back and actually fight me but his buddy grabbed him and walked him out of the pharmacy.

So I just went back to the line and paid, the cashier girl told me he's the local 'block bully', and just a kid in his mid 20s that tries to be tough and all that.

The other woman who was still behind me at this point simply gave me a smile and a 'good for you' nod.

As I walked out I was expecting these kids to be waiting and gang up o me or something but they were nowhere to be found.

Nothing that I am particularly proud of, but when some dumbarse decides to get physical, there is only the same option to reply in kind. in krav maga we always say 'if someone starts something with you, make sure you end it'.

So I did.

yikes, what an interesting morning.

and as a side note, there is this guy at work that ia all about celtic music, the beers, how you never mess with a guy in a kilt and all that. I am still debating whether to relay this morning's adventure to him or not. I'm sure it will make his day, but on the other hand I dont want to risk a negative backlash if the bosses find out about it and put a stop to my wearing a kilt to work.

[Streetcar]

Nicely done. Sounds like an appropriate level of force to me.

[Spc. Scott]

I would say you handled it quite well. And just maybe he will take a lesson from it.

[Birddog]

Seems to me that you handled it in the best way possible. Bullies usually back down once they see they will be pushed back. I would just say these days, it would be wise to watch your back when in that area. Some people like to retaliate. But you sound as if your prepared.

[Jock Scot]

How unfortunate for you to have to put up with this chap's nonsense.

[Captain Karrot]

Sometimes you have to fight back - maybe "fight" is not the correct word - stand up for yourself is better. If you don't, you give the other person power over your life, which gives them control. Sounds to me like you responded with the right amount of force. Well done.

[RamsayClanCommish]

I wonder if you shouldnt make a report to the police so that if this cranial rectumitis sufferer tries to get even you will have previous incidents on records to back you in case of legal trouble.

[Birddog]

Ramsay might be onto something with this. I was jumped by a complete stranger in Dayton, Ohio last year, and they said that if I wanted to file a complaint, they would have to take me in as well! What garbage! The problem was I was on temporary duty and flying out the next morning, so I let it go. Being that you live there, having a paper trail might be helpful. Don't know what this world is coming to...

[hospitaller]

ramsay et al,

that's what I thought too, you know, a simple push away from me (with the added out of balance move) is more than enough to stop the 'attacker' and be considered self deffense, yet not enough to be labeled myself as an assailant or anything like it.

And yes, now that I have those 2-3 girls that saw the incident I wouldnt have a problem making a report, if anything else, as you said, to have iton file in case something really does happen.

For now I'll simply watch carefuly as I walk to and from that pharmacy, as I'll be d**ned if I change my habits for some 'cranial rectumitis' challenged guy.

[JRB]

As far as I'm concerned, once someone puts his hands on you in any way that seems threatening, a physical response is justified. It's sounds like you handled the situation quite well. Unfortunately, it also sounds to me like you may not have heard the last of that guy.