2:30 am, I was exiting 7-11 when a red Escalade pulled up and a woman quickly fled the vehicle, while shouting, “...you gonna stab me motha*****, I’d like to see you try!” A male jumped out of the driver’s side holding her purse and chased after her. Once he confronted her she attempted to snatch her purse from his hands. While holding tight to the purse he pulled back his right fist with the intention of assaulting her. Half a doughnut in mouth I quickly shoved the other half in my cheek and placed myself between him and her. “This doesn’t concern you motha*****!” he yelled out, still with his right hand cocked back.

At this point, for better or worse, I decided get his attention away from her and on to me. I don’t remember what I said, but I’m sure it wasn’t complimentary. That’s when he came at me.

It’s cliché to say that time slowed down, but as his right fist came hurtling towards my face all my reflexes activated at once. Without much effort I found myself blocking his punch, followed by a punch of my own. By this time I’m thinking, “WOW!” Not only had I successfully blocked...then attacked my target, but I was shocked at how the punch pierced through his stance. The blow to the top of his rib cage sent him flying backwards toward the ground and into a curb, which visibly hurt him. A brief moment of pause ensued.

He gathered himself slowly to his feet...only to attempt his right punch again. This time it was much slower and seemed easier to block. However, this time I realized that he was not about to give up, so instead of one punch I gave him three, landing all on top of the original. When he fell to the ground the second time I had decided that pinning him was the only way to ensure he wouldn’t get up. Luckily for me he fell almost face down and it was easy to subdue him with a knee to the back and forearm to the back of his neck.

Not ten seconds after I had pounced on him, a police officer who had stopped to grab a morning cup of coffee noticed the brawl. The female was quick to let him know that I wasn’t the perpetrator, which was probably the only reason I didn’t get pepper sprayed. They took him into custody and got my statement. In the end they asked me if I wanted to press charges, which shocked me. I said, “No,” and the girl agreed. The officer made the comment while uncuffing him, “I think he learned enough lessons tonight.” The officer told me that typically they book guys like this, but since he was the only one hurt, and no one wanted to press charges, they let him go.

Looking back I realize that I put myself at risk by getting involved. It really wasn’t my fight, and someone might have gotten seriously. I’m sure there was a diplomatic solution to this conflict, but I’m glad my training kept me safe. Even though things ended well for me, there will always be the chance of running into the same guy at a time when I least expect it. This concern is real and should be considered any time a conflict escalates to violence. I guess this is why they say, “No one ever really wins a fight.” Luckily for me, Wing Chun worked...where regard for personal safety failed.